Baseball to Pay Tribute to Janssen

Bradley Baseball will honor the memory of former teammate Mitch Janssen throughout this weekend's series versus SIU at Dozer Park

Bradley Pre-Series Notes

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Baseball 4/15/2021 11:32:00 AM

PEORIA, IL – Bradley will pay tribute to its fallen former teammate Mitch Janssen throughout this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference baseball series versus Southern Illinois at Dozer Park, which continues the program's longest home stand in a quarter century.

SERIES DETAILS
Southern Illinois (24-6, 4-4 MVC) at Bradley (9-13, 3-4 MVC)
Peoria, IL | Dozer Park
Friday, April 16 | 6:00 p.m. CT | ESPN3 | SIU Radio | Live Stats | Tickets
Saturday, April 17 | 1:00 p.m. CT - DH | SIU Radio | Live Stats | Tickets
Sunday, April, 18 | 1:00 p.m. CT | ESPN3 | SIU Radio | Live Stats | Tickets

SETTING THE SCENE
• Bradley Baseball will continue what is now an 11-game home stand this weekend by hosting Missouri Valley Conference rival Southern Illinois in a 4-game set at Dozer Park.
• The Braves will honor former teammate Mitch Janssen throughout the series, including the use of a commemorative baseball the entire series, video board spotlights Friday night and Sunday's annual postgame head shaving event in recognition of the team's efforts on behalf of the Vs. Cancer Foundation.
• Reduced from 12 games due to last weekend's weather, Bradley's 11-game home stand is its longest since the Braves also played 11 straight home games March 30-April 7, 1996 at the old Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field.
• Although tied for sixth in the MVC standings entering the weekend, Bradley is just one-half game behind Southern Illinois and Illinois State, who are tied for third.

REMEMBERING MITCH
• The Bradley Baseball program suffered a tragic loss March 3, 2020 when 2019 graduate Mitch Janssen was killed in a plane crash. Mitch Janssen Tribute Baseball

• An All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team selection in 2019 after leading all of NCAA Division I in earned run average for several weeks of the season, Janssen was an accomplished pilot, who at age 20 had become the youngest pilot in the world certified to fly the Embraer Phenom 100 multi-engine jet.
• From the Peoria County community of Princeville, he was a teammate to 15 members of the 2021 Bradley Baseball roster.
• The team is wearing a patch in tribute to Janssen on their caps and he will be honored with a special logo on the baseballs to be used throughout this weekend's series versus Southern Illinois.
• Janssen also will be the subject of several video board features during Friday's series opener.
• Following Sunday's series finale, the Braves will conduct their annual head-shaving event to raise awareness for the fund-raising efforts on behalf of the Vs. Cancer Foundation, an effort championed by Janssen during his four years at Bradley.
• Coincidentally, one of the best outings of Janssen's collegiate career came against Southern Illinois April 12, 2019, when he blanked the Salukis on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts in his complete-game effort, leading the Braves to a series-opening, 8-0 win at Dozer Park.

🅱️⚾️ ONCE A BRAVE, ALWAYS A BRAVE

A teammate to 15 current Braves, Mitch Janssen will be remembered throughout this weekend's home series versus @SIU_Baseball.

📰 https://t.co/yO7Sj8GH0Q pic.twitter.com/PGAurIXwaw
— Bradley Baseball (@BradleyBaseball) April 15, 2021

SERIES NOTES
Game 170-173 | Southern Illinois leads 89-79-1
• This weekend's series versus Southern Illinois will represent games 170-173 in the all-time series between the longtime in-state rivals.
• Southern Illinois owns an 89-79-1 all-time record against Bradley, though the Braves own a 40-31 series edge at home and a narrow, 14-13 margin at Dozer Park.
• Bradley has won four straight against the Salukis at Dozer Park.
• Since SIU swept the 2013 series on Bradley's home field, the Braves have won 12 of the last 18 matchups.
• The teams first met on the diamond by splitting a 2-game, non-conference series May 30-31, 1952 in Carbondale.
• The teams had met in 43 consecutive seasons, dating to the 1977 MVC Tournament, until COVID ended the series streak last year.

HOME HEAVY STRETCH UNDER WAY
• Having played 18 of its first 19 games away from home, Bradley now sees the travel schedule change dramatically in its favor by continuing an 11-game home stand (originally 12, but one of last weekend's Evansville games was rained out).
• Bradley's first 19 games of the season have been played in six different states: Illinois, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska and Missouri.
• Not only did the Evansville series mark the start of an 11-game home stand, but it marked the start of an overall schedule that will see the Braves play 19 of its final 27 regular-season games at Dozer Park.
• The 11-game home stand that is the longest for the Braves since a similar, 11-game stretch at the old Pete Vonachen Stadium at Meinen Field March 30-April 7, 1996.
• The Braves went 10-1 during that 1996 home stand.

ROOKIES UP THE MIDDLE
• Luke Shadid had started 151 of Bradley's 161 games from 2017-20, while brother Andy Shadid started 200 games in center field from 2016-19.
• Freshman Ryan Vogel started nine of Bradley's 10 games in CF during the abbreviated 2020 campaign and remains classified as a freshman during this 2021 season.
• Bradley opened the 2021 season by starting true freshmen at SS (TJ Manteufel) and 2B (Jackson Chatterton) with re-freshman Vogel in CF and has used the same trio up the middle in all 22 games to date this season.
• The Braves also started freshman Logan Delgado behind the plate in the second game of the Feb. 26 DH versus Ball State, putting a freshman in all four spots up the middle on the first day of its 2021 season.
• Delgado has started three more games at catcher, putting freshmen up the middle four times this season

TURNING TWO
• Bradley enters the weekend series against Southern Illinois ranked 16th nationally and first in The Valley by averaging 0.91 double plays per game.
• That number stands out a bit more when you consider the Braves have started true freshmen TJ Manteufel (SS) and Jackson Chatterton (2B) up the middle in all 22 games to date this season.

UP NEXT
• Bradley will continue its 11-game home stand next weekend by hosting local rival Western Illinois in a 4-game, non-conference set at Dozer Park.
• As the calendar flips to May, Bradley will close out the regular season with its four remaining Valley series, beginning April 30-May 2 at Indiana State.

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