PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Softball hit a pair of inside-the-park homers and got a complete game shutout from Camryn Schaller in her first career start as the Braves took both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Missouri State (5-0 & 4-1) to complete their first regular-season series of the Bears since 2009 at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.
Lucy Mead helped spark the Bradley (12-10 overall, 5-4 MVC) offensive attack, going 4-for-5 with an inside-the-park homer, four runs scored and three RBI as she scored or drove in six of BU's nine runs on the day.
Making the first start of her collegiate career, Schaller struck out a season-best eight batters in a complete game shutout effort to help highlight a 5-0 Bradley win in the day's opener. She scattered four hits and walked none as she improved to 2-0 on the year with the victory.
After leaving a pair of runners on base in the second, Bradley struck for two runs in the bottom of the third. Mead and Camryn Monteer singled to open the inning and Avry Blume followed with a bunt single of her own. A Missouri State error on the play allowed both Mead and Monteer to race home to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.
Mead's speed factored in a three-run fourth for Bradley. Taise Thompson was hit by a pitch and freshman Jordy van der Werf singled to left to put a pair on. Mead slapped the first pitch she saw from Madison Hunsaker over Kelly Metter's head in left to plate both base runners. With the ball rolling all the way to the corner, Mead raced all the way around the base paths for a three-run, inside-the-park homer as Bradley went ahead 5-0.
Schaller retired Missouri State (16-13 overall, 7-4 MVC) in order in the fifth and worked around a pair of two-out singles for a scoreless sixth. She struck out the first batters of the seventh and closed out the complete game shutout with a foul out.
In the nightcap, Missouri State jumped ahead with a run in the top of the second. Tess Weakly drew a walk and Hunsaker drove her home from first with a double to left as the Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead.
Grace French tied it up in the bottom half of the inning, however, ripping a ball into the right field corner. With the ball scooting past a diving Annie Mueller in right field, French was able to circle the bases for Bradley's second inside-the-park homer of the day.
A two-run bottom of the third put BU in front 3-1. Mead got things started with a one-out single and eventually scored on a single by Blume. A RBI triple off the bat of Stacia Seeton plated Blume to give the Braves a 3-1 edge.
Bradley starter Morgan Radford got out of a jam in the top of the fourth after the Bears put runners at first and second with only one out. Radford got a pair of fly outs to end the MSU threat as the Bears left runners at the corners.
In the fifth, Mead singled to left and moved to second on a groundout. She stole third and was able to come home on a MSU throwing error on the play, extending the Bradley lead to 4-1.
Freshman Raegan Branon came on in relief of Radford in the sixth with two on and one out to induce a fly out and lineout as the Braves took their 4-1 lead into the seventh. Branon worked around a leadoff walk for a scoreless seventh as she locked down her first career save with 1.2 innings of scoreless work out of the bullpen. Radford earned the victory for Bradley, upping her record to 5-4.
Bradley returns to action next weekend, opening a three-game series at Loyola with a noon doubleheader in Chicago next Saturday.
