The Braves went south to Edwardsville to face the SIUE Cougars in a doubleheader.
In the opening game, Bradley got on the board early, scoring in the bottom of the first. After
Angela Cirone drew a walk,
Grace French doubled out to left center, allowing Cirone to score and giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. SIUE wouldn't get on the board until the third inning. The Braves' two errors of the game allowed two runs to score, and SIUE would tack on a third run off of a double to left, giving the team a 3-1 lead. Bradley would go on to score in the seventh.
Allie Paregien came into the game to pinch run for
Jordy van der Werf after she singled. Paregien would then advanced to second on a groundout and third on an
Addie Welsh single, and
Lauren DeRolf would drive her in after an error was committed. This was the final run scored for Bradley in the 2-3 loss. Welsh went 2-3 with two singles, and French went 2-3 with a double and an RBI, along with striking out four in her pitching performance.
The second game of the day would be similar to the first, with the Braves ultimately falling 2-3 again. Strong pitching and defense came from both sides, as no runs were scored until the top of the sixth inning when French hit a two-run home run to give Bradley a 2-0 lead. Heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars' bats came alive. After getting runners on base, two errors committed by the Braves allowed runs to score in two different instances, leading to a tie game. SIUE's go-ahead run came off of a single to center field. DeReolf went 3-4 at the plate with three singles, keeping her season batting average above .400. Cirone would chip in two singles and a run scored, and French went 1-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
Abbott Badgley was in the circle for the Braves and threw for five innings before
Kierston McCoy came in for the final frame. Badgley gave up six hits and three runs, only one earned, and struck out five.
The Braves will open conference play this weekend with a series at Evansville. The first game will be on Friday March 17th at 5:00 p.m..
