Peoria, IL. Bradley Baseball had to battle the elements and some last-minute schedule changes but still took two out of three games against MVC newcomer Murray State.
Game Recaps
Game 1 | Saturday, March 25th.
After the initial start day to the series was rained after three to four inches of rain hit Murray, Kentucky, both Bradley and Murray State set their sights on beginning the series on Saturday and playing a doubleheader on Sunday.
Jacob Kisting would be the game-one starter for BU. The sophomore starter went 4.2 IP against 23 batters surrendering two walks and five earned runs in the contest.
Carson Husmann and
Jackson Chatterton highlighted Bradley's offense in game one as both collected three hits with Husmann driving in two of Bradley's nine runs. However, Bradley would find themselves trailing by a single run heading into the final two innings but a Husmann triple followed by an
Adam Brian single would drive in three more runs for BU to set the game score at 7-5. BU would tack on two more insurance runs in the 9th off a
Cole Luckey double and a
Cal McGinnis single to seal a 9-5 final with
Jacob Norris getting credit for the win (1-0) and Thomas McNabb claiming the loss (3-1).
Game 2 | Sunday, March 26th (Doubleheader 1)
Travis Lutz would take the mound for Bradley in the first of two games played on Sunday. Lutz would go just over three innings striking out five batters and giving up two earned runs.
Noah Edders would come in relief for Lutz and threw four strong innings allowing four hits against, with four strikeouts and no runs allowed. BU's offense would find some late runs by way of the long ball with TJ Mantuefel homering on a hanging breaking ball deep to left field to drive in two runs to give BU a lead they wouldn't lose. Edders would record the win (2-1) and
Connor Langrell recorded his fifth save of the season.
Game 3 | Sunday, March 26th (Doubleheader 2)
After securing the series win,
Josh Flack would take the hill for BU in the finale. This game would serve as the outlier for the Braves as this was the only game in the series that they didn't record 13+ hits as a team. Murray State's offense coincidentally would find its rhythm as the Racers sent a baserunner across the plate in every inning outside the 4th. BU's lone run came in the first inning on a
Logan Delgado ground ball that would score Chatterton. Flack would record his first loss on the season (2-1) with Murray State's Bryce Valero getting the win (3-0).
What's Next
Bradley will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they host the Eastern Illinois Panthers (13-6). This will be Bradley's home opener after having their initial home opener against Illinois moved to Champaign earlier this season. You can watch Bradley vs Eastern Illinois on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m.
