May 9, 2025 | Peoria, Ill. | Dozer Park
The Braves swept the Valparaiso Beacons to move one game ahead of the Evansville Purple Aces, taking over the final MVC Championship spot with just one series left in the season.
Game 1: Valparaiso 4, Bradley 14
The Braves scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh to end the game early via run-rule against the Valparaiso Beacons on Friday. The Beacons took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Jackson Smith belted a home run to cut the deficit in half. In the third, Cole Smith's RBI single tied the game, and Mason Breidenbach reached first on an error that allowed two more Braves to score, giving them a 4-2 lead. Valparaiso cut the deficit to one in the fifth, but a double steal in the sixth allowed Ashton Horchem to score, increasing the lead to 5-3. The Beacons plated one in the seventh, but the Braves scored nine in the bottom half of the inning to end the game via run-rule. Timmy O'Brien went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Cole Smith hit 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while being hit by a pitch and stealing a base. On the mound, Brayden Marks earned his first save of the season, throwing 2 ⅓ innings, yielding a run on two hits, walking one, and striking out two.
Top Performer: Cole Smith (3-for-4, 3 runs scored, an RBI, a HBP, a SB)
Bradley Offense: 14 runs, 16 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts
Pitching Grit: 4 runs allowed, all earned, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks
Game 2: Valparaiso 7, Bradley 9
The Braves held on to an early lead to win game two 9-7 over the Valparaiso Beacons. The Braves broke the game open in the second with a Cole Luckey two-RBI triple, a two-run bomb from Nick Hosie, and a Jackson Smith RBI single. The Beacons scored four more in the fifth to bring the score within one. Bobby Atkinson's two-RBI double and Timmy O'Brien's RBI double gave the Braves an 8-4 lead in the sixth. In the seventh, Luckey added an insurance run with a solo shot to left-center field. The Beacons attempted to rally with three runs across the eighth and ninth, but Bradley held on to win their second straight. Luckey went 3-for-4 with two triples, a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. On the mound, Jackson Horras earned his first win this season, throwing 2 ⅓ scoreless innings while giving up just two hits.
Top Performer: Cole Luckey (3-for-4, two 3B, a HR, 3 RBI, two runs scored)
Bradley Offense: 9 runs, 14 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Pitching Grit: 7 runs allowed, all earned, 7 strikeouts
Game 3: Valparaiso 3, Bradley 13
The Braves ended the game via run-rule for the second time this series against Valparaiso to complete the series sweep. Bobby Atkinson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first to score the Braves' first run, and Timmy O'Brien's sacrifice fly scored another to make the score 2-0. Jackson Smith's RBI double in the second extended the lead to 3-0. Nick Hosie and Jackson Smith both hit two-RBI singles in the fifth to make the score 7-0. Beau Durbin's two-RBI single in the sixth gave Bradley a nine-run lead. The Beacons scored three in the seventh, but it was already too late as the Braves scored four more in the eighth on Durbin's bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch that allowed O'Brien to score, Hosie's RBI single, and Ashton Horchem's bases-loaded walk. Jackson Smith was 3-for-3 on the day with a double, two walks, three RBI, and a run scored. On the mound, Jack Stellano threw six shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five to earn his third win this season.
Top Performer: Jack Stellano (6.0 IP, no runs, a walk, 5 strikeouts)
Bradley Offense: 13 runs, 10 hits, 9 walks, 1 strikeout
Pitching Grit: 3 runs allowed, all earned, 6 strikeouts
Looking Ahead
The Braves will face the Evansville Purple Aces next week in a must-win series to clinch a berth in the MVC Championship.
