The Braves continued conference play against Murray State but were swept by the Racers in three games. Murray State, a newcomer in the MVC this season, won the Ohio Valley Conference last year with a record of 21-7 and an overall record of 40-18-1.
In the opening game on Friday,
Grace French got the scoring started for the Braves. After
Lauren DeRolf singled and
Angela Cirone moved her to second on a sac bunt, French drove in DeRolf on a single. Following a scoreless second inning, Bradley would go up 2-0 on an
Addie Welsh solo home run. Murray State would go on to score five runs in the next three innings, showing off its offensive capability. The Braves would get another run in the bottom of the fifth after
Bailey Sample homered, but it would be the final run for the team. The Racers took game one with a score of 5-2. French started the game in the circle and threw five innings, giving up three runs and striking out five.
Camryn Schaller came in to finish the game, striking out two and allowing two runs to score. DeRolf went 1-2 with a single and a run scored, Welsh was 1-3 with a home run and a run scored, and Sample was 1-1 with her pinch hit home run.
The second game of the series would be a low-scoring affair on both sides with a final score of 1-2 in favor of the Racers. With two runners on in the top of the second, Murray State would take a 2-0 lead on a double, marking its only runs of the game. The Braves lone run came in the bottom of the seventh off of another home run from Welsh, her second of the weekend. The game was dominated by defense and pitching, with both pitchers throwing complete games. Jenna Veber of Murray State gave up four hits and one run, walked three and struck out six. Schaller was in the circle for the Braves and once again put on a show. She gave up six hits and two runs but only walked three and struck out eight. Welsh was again 1-3 with a solo homer, and French was 1-1 with a single and two walks.
The final game of the series once again contained minimal runs. The Racers would tally two runs in the fourth and one in the seventh, while the Braves were kept off the board entirely, losing the game 3-0. Each team only picked up three hits throughout the game, but four errors for Bradley allowed the Racers to take the final game of the series. Murray State's star pitcher Hannah James threw seven innings, walking one and striking out nine. Cirone,
Abbott Badgley and
Austin Comstock each tallied a hit for the Braves. French was once again in the circle, pitching a complete game with three strikeouts and two walks.
The Braves will head back on the road to face UNI in a three-game series in Cedar Falls.