Bradley University Athletics

Bradley Baseball to Pay Tribute to Mitch Janssen This Weekend; Finish Series with Vs. Cancer Fundraiser

Baseball 4/7/2022 12:30:00 PM

The Bradley baseball team hosts Wright State during its first weekend series of the 2022 season at Dozer Park. During the three-game set, the Braves are set to honor former teammate Mitch Janssen '19 before finishing the weekend with the program's annual postgame head shaving in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation.

SERIES INFORMATION
Due to weather, Bradley will host Wright State in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at noon, before wrapping up the three-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Dozer Park.

HONORING MITCH JANSSEN

The Braves will honor former teammate Mitch Janssen, who passed away tragically in 2020, throughout the series – including the use of a commemorative baseball the entire series (which will be available to purchase this weekend) and a first pitch thrown out by the Janssen family before Saturday's game.

Less than one year after graduating from Bradley, Janssen was killed in a plane crash on March 3, 2020. 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.

In four years on campus, Janssen totaled 12 victories on the mound with a 4.34 earned run average – highlighted by a 4-2 senior season when he posted 2.06 ERA and allowed opponents to hit just .199.

Five Braves on the current roster were teammates of Janssen during his standout career at Bradley.

VS. CANCER FUNDRAISER
Following Sunday's series finale, the Braves will conduct their annual head-shaving event to raise awareness for the fundraising efforts on behalf of the Vs. Cancer Foundation, an effort championed by Janssen during his four years at Bradley.

In the past six seasons, Bradley baseball has supported Vs. Cancer by raising awareness and funds for the organization, collecting $86,700 during its time with the organization. The Braves are slated to go past six figures in their fundraising efforts as the team has already raised more than $20,000 during the 2022 campaign.

Bradley finished the 2021 season as the top college fundraising team in the country and again are on pace to earn that recognition as the school's total is the highest among any team at any level this year – nearly $10,000 more than any other college program.

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