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4
Winner Bradley BRAD 15-15, 3-4 MVC
2
Valparaiso VALPO 9-16, 1-6 MVC
Winner
Bradley BRAD
15-15, 3-4 MVC
4
Final
2
Valparaiso VALPO
9-16, 1-6 MVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bradley BRAD 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 4 9 1
Valparaiso VALPO 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 3

W: French, Grace (4-7) L: Seib (5-7)

French_18
Josh Schwam

Softball Tops Valpo 4-2 In Series Opener

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Game Recap: Softball |
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Senior Grace French turned in another strong effort, limiting Valparaiso to just three hits and she collected three hits of her own along with a pair of stolen bases as she helped Bradley Softball open a three-game series at Valparaiso with a 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon.
 
Inclement weather forced the postponement of Saturday's second game and the teams will now play a noon doubleheader on Sunday to conclude the three-game set. 
 
French took a shutout bid into the seventh, surrendering just one hit through the first six frames, and also helped highlight the offensive efforts by going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of stolen bases.  Fellow senior Keeler van Breusegen drove in a pair of runs in a 2-for-4 outing at the plate and freshman Katie Pederson was 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI as the trio combined for eight of Bradley's nine hits.
 
After stranding a pair of runners in scoring position in the first, Bradley (15-15 overall, 3-4 MVC) opened the scoring with a run in the second inning.  Pederson had a leadoff single and stole second before coming home on a van Breusegen single to center to give the Braves an early 1-0 lead. 
 
French, who faced just one over the minimum through the first five innings, took a no-hitter into the fourth before Valparaiso (9-16 overall, 1-6 MVC) managed a one-out single.  Bradley erased the hit with an inning-ending double play, however.
 
Bradley added a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.  Freshman Abbot Badgley was hit by a pitch to open the frame and Pederson followed with a single.  Van Breusegen made it a 2-0 Bradley lead with a RBI single to second base and the BU advantage was 3-0 after a RBI single off the bat of Abigail Tyler.
 
A pair of Valparaiso errors in the top of the seventh helped lead to another Bradley run.  French, who reached base in all four of her plate appearances, reached on a one-out error and senior Samantha Smith also reached on an error to put two runners on.  A Pederson single through the left side of the infield allowed pinch runner Camryn Schaller to score from second as the Braves pushed the lead to 4-0.
 
Ryan Milkowski, who had Valparaiso's first hit of the contest, led off the Valpo seventh with a double.  The Beacons cut the BU advantage in half with a two-run homer by Lauren Kehlenbrink, trimming Bradley's lead to 4-2.  French settled down to get a lineout and a pair of groundouts to close out the complete game victory that improved her to 4-7 on the year. 
 
Bradley and Valparaiso will play a noon doubleheader Sunday to close out the three-game series.  Both games of Sunday's doubleheader will be available on ESPN3.
 
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Players Mentioned

Grace French

#32 Grace French

P/UT
5' 4"
Senior
R/R
Camryn Schaller

#9 Camryn Schaller

P/UT
5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
Samantha Smith

#12 Samantha Smith

OF/C
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Abigail Tyler

#15 Abigail Tyler

C/U
5' 7"
Junior
R/R
Keeler van Breusegen

#8 Keeler van Breusegen

OF
5' 4"
Senior
R/R
Katie Pederson

#00 Katie Pederson

C
5' 8"
Freshman
R/R

Players Mentioned

Grace French

#32 Grace French

5' 4"
Senior
R/R
P/UT
Camryn Schaller

#9 Camryn Schaller

5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
P/UT
Samantha Smith

#12 Samantha Smith

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
OF/C
Abigail Tyler

#15 Abigail Tyler

5' 7"
Junior
R/R
C/U
Keeler van Breusegen

#8 Keeler van Breusegen

5' 4"
Senior
R/R
OF
Katie Pederson

#00 Katie Pederson

5' 8"
Freshman
R/R
C