The Braves headed to St. Louis for the Saint Louis Tourney and went 1-3 on the weekend.
In the first game of the tournament against Northern Illinois, the Braves fell to Huskies 3-4. NIU got on the board in the first inning with two runs thanks to a home run. Bradley would not score until the bottom of the sixth inning when
Angela Cirone and
Grace French hit back-to-back doubles that drove in three runs. The Huskies came back in the top of the seventh and scored two more runs that would ultimately give them the win. Cirone, French,
Austin Comstock and
Addie Welsh all hit doubles in the game, while
Lauren DeRolf claimed the lone stolen base.
Grace French threw six innings with four strikeouts and no walks, and
Camryn Schaller came in to finish the game, giving up two runs and striking out one.
Bradley would face Saint Louis in the second game of the tournament. The Billikens collected five runs throughout the first two innings, and Bradley wouldn't score until the fourth. SLU led 8-1 going into the final frame, but the Braves weren't done.
Kierston McCoy sent a single through the right side that scored French, and
Jordy van der Werf picked up four RBIs on a grand slam to center field. Unfortunately, that would be all the Braves could do in the seventh and lost the game 6-8. McCoy went 3-4 with three singles, one RBI and two runs scored.
The Braves would once again face Northern Illinois on Sunday, falling to the Huskies 7-8. The Braves scored first in the second, McCoy coming home after
Ashley Breeding singled to left, but NIU would tie the game at one in the bottom of the inning. Three more runs would cross the plate for Bradley in the third. Comstock's double to left scored French and DeRolf, and she would then score on an error to put the Braves up 4-1. DeRolf would once again score off of Cirone's double in the fourth inning, putting the Braves further ahead. Come the fifth, NIU fought back. The Huskies tied the game on a grand slam and drove in three more runs to take a 8-5 lead. The Braves would score two runs in the seventh to come within one, but that was all they would get.
Bradley's final game of the weekend was win against Saint Louis. French would knock in an RBI in the opening inning, with DeRolf scoring. The Billikens tied the game in the bottom of the inning. The Braves would get another run after
Abbott Badgley was hit by a pitch, walking in a run. Yet again, SLU would even the score in the next inning. Bradley's breakthrough came in the top of the sixth when Welsh scored on a pass ball and another run was walked in, leading the team to a 4-2 victory. DeRolf went 3-4 with three singles and two runs scored. French threw a complete game, giving up two runs and six hits, walking two and striking out four.
Bradley will head south to SIUE for a doubleheader on Tuesday March 14th before opening conference play this weekend at Evansville.