Bradley hosts the Drake Bulldogs for a weekend series, looking to get back in winning ways.
No stranger to each other, the Braves and Bulldogs have met 101 times since 1984, and Drake leads the series 68-32. The most recent matchup was May 12, 2022, where the Bulldogs defeated the Braves 9-6.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
| WATCH |
ESPN+ |
| TIMES |
Friday: 5:00 p.m. | Saturday: 2:00 p.m. | Sunday: 12:00 p.m. |
| LOCATION |
Louisville Slugger Sports Complex | Peoria, Ill. |
BRADLEY BRAVES
The Braves are 10-28 overall and 2-9 in conference thus far. The team recently played a doubleheader against Illinois State and were defeated in both games.
Grace French,
Austin Comstock and
Lauren DeRolf are leading the Braves on offense, all hitting over .300. French is also tied for third in the NCAA for doubles with 14. DeRolf and French's names can also be found in multiple top ten categories for statistics in the MVC, including: batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits and RBIs. French,
Bailey Sample and
Abbott Badgley are tied for the team lead in home runs with four each. On the pitching side,
Camryn Schaller leads the Braves with an ERA of 3.20 and is top 10 in strikeouts (6th, 72).
BRADLEY 2023 STATS LEADERS
| AVG. |
RBI |
ERA |
| DeRolf - .346 |
French - 20 |
Schaller - 3.20 (59.0 IP) |
| French - .321 |
McCoy - 16 |
French - 4.85 (95.1 IP) |
| Comstock - .306 |
Sample/Badgley/van der Werf - 15 |
Badgley - 5.83 (63.2 IP) |
DRAKE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs come into the weekend with a record of 8-22 overall and 1-8 in conference. The team finished fourth in the MVC last year, going 21-29 overall and 14-12 in conference. Drake is 2-3 in its last five games, claiming victories over Murray State and Creighton while losing two to the Racers and one to Indiana State in the series finale. The Bulldogs are led offensively by a Aubree Beitzinger, who is hitting over .300 this season. She has 29 hits and 10 RBI on the year. Mackenzie Hupke leads the Bulldogs in the circle. Hupke has an ERA of 3.03 and has 77 strikeouts on the season.
DRAKE 2023 STATS LEADERS
| AVG. |
RBI |
ERA |
| Aubree Beitzinger - .312 |
Emma Dighton - 23 |
Mackenzie Hupke - 3.03 (71.2 IP) |
| MaKayla Rice - .296 |
Emily Valtman - 10 |
Paige Bedsworth - 4.53 (34.0 IP) |
| Emily Valtman - .278 |
Two players with 10 |
Emma Dighton - 5.25 (48.0 IP) |
The Braves will head to Illinois State for a single game on April 11 before returning home to host Valparaiso in a weekend series.
