The Braves hosted the Drake Bulldogs over the weekend, dropping the series 0-3.
In the opening game on Friday, the first few innings were a pitcher's duel between
Grace French and Mackenzie Hupke. After two scoreless innings, the Bulldogs got on the board in the third to take a 1-0 lead and extended it to 2-0 in the fourth. Come the top of the sixth, Drake would once again score to take a 3-0 lead, but the Braves would finally get on the board in the bottom of the inning. A triple from
Kierston McCoy put the freshman on third, and she scored the first run of the game for Bradley after a single from
Austin Comstock drove her in. Drake would breakout in the top of the seventh inning to score four runs and extend its lead to 7-1. Bradley would score once more in the bottom of the seventh on a double from French that drove in
Lauren DeRolf but lost the game 2-7. McCoy had a three-hit day with a triple and two single, also scoring a run. Comstock would also have a multi-hit game with two singles and one RBI. Another multi-hit game came from
Allie Paregien, who tallied two singles and a stolen base. French threw 6 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits and six runs (three earned) and struck out five.
Abbott Badgley would throw for the final out of the game, giving up one hit and one run while striking out a single batter.
The beginning of Saturday's game would be similar to Friday's, with no runs being scored until the third inning. Drake got on the board first after pulling off a double steal, but Bradley would respond in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded,
Addison Pettit was brought in to pinch-hit. Pettit smacked a single to the outfield, scoring
Ashley Breeding and
Addie Welsh to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Drake, however, would respond big in the top of the fifth with a three-run inning that saw the Braves once again playing from behind. Badgley would secure a spot on base after a pinch-hit single, and DeRolf then came in to run. With French up to the plate, the grad student sent a double to a gap in the outfield, allowing DeRolf to score from first. The Braves ultimately lost 3-4. DeRolf went 2-3 with two singles and a run scored. Badgley, French, Paregien,
Jordy van der Werf and Pettit all tallied solo hits in the game.
Camryn Schaller got the start in the circle and threw the first four innings. Schaller finished with four walks and two strikeouts and gave up three runs on five hits. French would throw the final three innings, giving up three hits and one walk.
The Bulldogs came out of the gate hot on Sunday afternoon, taking a 4-0 lead over the Braves by the end of the second inning. They would score another two innings before the game was over. Bradley had four errors in the game and failed to get on the board, falling to Drake 0-6. French, DeRolf, McCoy, Comstock and
Addie Welsh were all 1-3 with singles. French once again started the game in the circle. She threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits, while walking four and striking out four. Schaller finished the game for Bradley, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out three.
The Braves will head to Illinois State for a single game on Tuesday to wrap up their season series before hosting Valparaiso at home this weekend.