Softball Set For First MVC Road Series At Southern Illinois

Softball 3/25/2021 2:04:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- After taking two of three at home from Valparaiso to open the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference schedule, Bradley Softball heads to Carbondale, Ill., this weekend for a three-game road series at preseason league favorite Southern Illinois.

Bradley (9-7 overall, 2-1 MVC) has won seven of its last eight heading into Saturday's series opener doubleheader at Southern Illinois (20-5 overall, 2-3 MVC). The Braves and Salukis open the set with a noon doubleheader at Charlotte West Stadium Saturday and conclude the series Sunday with a single game at 11 a.m.

After a 2-6 start to the year, Bradley has won seven of its last eight games. In fact, the Braves had won seven straight games before Valparaiso took the final game of last weekend's three-game series to snap what was BU's longest win streak (7) dating back to a 10-game win streak in 2009 that included the final five games of the regular season, four games in the MVC Tournament and a 1-0 victory over #20 DePaul at the NCAA Regional.

Over the last eight games, Bradley is hitting .300 as a team and averaging 4.89 runs per contest in addition to owning a 2.07 team ERA. The Braves hit .198 as a team and scored 2.00 runs per game in the first eight games of the year with a 5.60 team ERA. Sophomore Lucy Mead owns a team-best five-game hit streak after going 6-for-9 at the plate in the Valpo series and is 8-for-14 (.571) with four runs and four RBI over the last five contests.

Bradley took both games from Valparaiso on the first day of MVC play, outscoring Valpo 21-4 in the doubleheader. The Braves scored a season-best 16 runs in the second game of the doubleheader on 14 hits as Bradley had its highest scoring game since a 19-5 win over Eastern Michigan on March 9, 2018. The 16-run effort equaled BU's record for runs in a Valley game set against Indiana State in a 16-4 win on March 19, 2016 and the 15-run win was the largest margin of victory in a league game in school history. Bradley's largest margin of victory in a Valley game prior to this season was a 13-0 win over Wichita State on April 19, 1985.

Bradley has been pitching by committee early on in 2021, with the Braves having only two complete game efforts. In fact, BU has five pitchers with 17.0 innings or more and no one with more than 25 innings. Helping Bradley to a 7-1 record in the last eight games, BU hurlers have held opponents to a .230 batting average and just 2.38 runs per game over that stretch. Grace French is 3-0 with a save in her last four appearances, while boasting a 1.91 ERA in 18.1 innings of work. Freshman Morgan Radford has been equally impressive over that span with a 3-0 record and 1.97 ERA in 10.2 innings. The biggest contribution may be out of the bullpen over that stretch, however, with Taise Thompson and Camryn Schaller combining for a 1-0 record with three saves and a 1.02 ERA while holding opponents to a .200 batting average.

Sophomore Camryn Monteer has taken over the spot at the top of Bradley's order, reaching base an impressive 56 percent of the time she leads off an inning. After collecting 20 hits in her first 94 career at bats between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Monteer is hitting a team-best .366 on the year with 15 hits in 41 at bats and is hitting .370 (10-for-27) with the bases empty this year.

Bradley follows up the series at Southern Illinois with a three-game home series against Missouri State April 2 & 3. The Braves and Bears kick off the series Friday, April 2 with a noon doubleheader at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

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