Monroe, LA. -- The Bradley Baseball team drops the Sunday rubber match to Louisiana-Monroe and takes the series loss to start the season. 

Game 1 Recap

The Braves opened their 2023 season on Friday night in Louisiana taking on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. The Braves dropped the opening game, 7-0.

The Warhawks got the scoring started early with a two-run first inning. Louisiana-Monroe would add two more in the fourth and seventh innings. Finally, the Warhawks tacked on one more run in the seventh inning. Russell Derbyshire came in to shut the game down in the ninth inning and protect the 7-0 shutout. 

Bradley managed just five hits in the first game. Ryan Vogel and Connor Manthey each had two hits to lead the Braves. 

Bradley starter Jacob Kisting went just four innings in his 2023 debut. Kisting gave up four earned runs on five hits, allowing three walks and struck out seven batters. 

Game 2 Recap

In game two, Bradley got on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Vogel scoring Manthey in the top of the second. The Warhawks responded with three runs of their own in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, RBI single and RBI ground out. 

The Braves answered right back in the top half of the fourth with an RBI single from Vogel and a three-run home run by Connor O'Brien, his first of the season. Bradley tacked on two more in the fifth and one in the ninth. The Warhawks made a run at a comeback in the bottom of the ninth scoring three runs but Bradley would hold on to take the 8-6 win. 

Vogel, O'Brien, Manthey and Cal McGinnis each had two hits on the day for Bradley. 

Sophomore Travis Lutz went seven innings in his Bradley debut, allowing two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. 

Game 3 Recap

Sunday was set for a rubber match to start the opening series and this one went the way of the Warhawks. 

It was a pitcher's duel through four and a half innings until ULM broke open the scoring in the bottom of the fifth with three runs. The Warhawks added two more in the sixth to create a 5-0 lead. 

Bradley battled back in the seventh and eighth, adding two runs each inning. A Peter Hansen single and a Connor Manthey double brought in two in the seventh. A home run from TJ Manteufel scored two more for the Braves in the eighth. 

The Warhawks were not done yet, scoring three in the bottom of the eighth to secure the 8-4 victory to take the series two games to one. 

Vogel had another two-hit day for the Braves. 

Dalton Mall pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and allowed four walks. 

Weekend Notes

Ryan Vogel led the Braves offensively throughout the weekend. Vogel ended with six hits in 11 at-bats, finishing with a .545 batting average. The junior had three RBIs and scored twice. 

Connor Manthey added five hits in 11 at-bats as well this weekend. 

Jackson Chatterton tied a career-high with two stolen bases in Saturday's 8-6 win over ULM. 

What's Coming Up?

The Braves travel to Little Rock, Arkansas next weekend to take on the Little Rock Trojans. 

The first pitch will come Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. from Gary Hogan Field.