Bradley University Athletics

Overview: Bradley's #1 starter in each of her first three years, Birdsong enters her final season on The Hilltop nearing several career records ... She will again be the Braves #1 starter in the circle ... Ranks second in school history with 638 career strikeouts and needs just 65 strikeouts to break Beth Hawkins school career mark ... Ranks third in school history with 45 victories and is fifth all-time in appearances (97), starts (78) and innings pitched (562.2) ... She is second at BU in complete games (68) and needs 162 strikeouts to become just the fourth player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 800 career strikeouts ... She is the only player in school history with three seasons of 150 strikeouts or more.

Hayes on Birdsong: "She will leave here as one of the most accomplished pitchers at Bradley, but there is still more for her to achieve as a leader on this team.  I have never seen as much movement on a ball.  She can make it dance.  She has put this team on her back for three years and I want this year to be a special one for her."

2008 Season (Junior): Led the team in wins, appearances, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts for the third consecutive year ... Also led the squad in ERA for the second consecutive season ... Picked up victories in each of her first three appearances and started off the season with a 5-1 record and one save in her first seven outings ... Had six games with 10 or more strikeouts, including a career-best 14 strikeouts against fifth-ranked Northwestern ... Helped Bradley to its first ever victory against a ranked team when she tossed a complete game four-hit shutout against Northwestern ... Picked up the win in Bradley's first-ever win against a Pac-10 team, as the Braves topped Oregon 11-3 in five innings ... Earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 with a save in three appearances at the Coach B Classic in Carbondale, Ill. ... Notched her first save since her freshman year in BU's first win against Southern Illinois since 2003, giving up one unearned run in three innings of work ... Her 183 strikeouts is the fourth best season total in school history ... Bradley scored one run or less in 12 of her losses on the year.

2007 Season (Sophomore):  Named to the MVC All-Tournament Team after striking out 18 batters and allowing one earned run over 13 innings ... Picked up the victory in Bradley's first MVC Tournament win since 2000 ... Set Bradley single-season records for pitching starts (31), innings pitched (230.1), and complete games (28) ... Won 20 games, second-most for a single season in school history ... Walked just 38 of 935 batters faced ... Notched seven shutouts ... Struck out at least ten batters on nine different occasions ... Opponents hit just .226 against her ... Went 6-10 in conference play with a 2.84 ERA and two shutouts ... Won her first five decisions of the season ... Started the season with a scoreless streak of 22.1 innings ...Pitched a one-hit shutout with ten strikeouts against Drake ... Struck out a season-high 13 batters in a Feb. 25 win over Saint Louis ... Tossed a no-hitter while striking out seven against Belmont ... Didn't allow a run over 11 innings in a doubleheader against Missouri State March 25 ... Struck out 12 batters over nine innings in a win at Illinois-Chicago ... Fanned 12 in a two-hit shutout against Indiana State.

2006 Season (Freshman):  Led the team in wins (16), appearances (30), starts (22) complete games (19), shutouts (5), saves (3), innings pitched (162.2) and strikeouts (180), while limiting hitters to a team-best .209 batting average ... Her 180 strikeouts rank as the third best season total in school history and the most by a Brave since the pitching rubber was moved to its current distance following the 1986 season ... She posted a 16-8 record, notching the most wins by a Bradley freshman and tied for the fourth most wins in a season overall ... Her 16 wins were also the most victories for a Braves pitcher since Amy Elza won 16 games in 1996 ... Tossed five complete game shutouts, including a no-hitter against Georgia State in which she fanned a season-high 12 batters ... Picked up nine of Bradley's 10 conference victories, going 9-5 with a 2.24 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 100 innings of work ... Struck out 10 or more batters five times ... Earned the win in each of her last six decisions and went 6-0 with one save in her final nine appearances, and boasted a 1.77 ERA and 48 strikeouts while walking just seven in 51.1 innings of work ... Earned all-tournament honors at  the Bradley Invite, going 1-0 with a save as she struck out 15 batters and owned a 0.70 ERA.

High School: Helped lead Taft to the state championship as a senior ... Owned a 77-14 career record and owned a 0.17 ERA during her prep career ... Pitched 22 no-hitters and 15 perfect games, including a national season record eight perfect games as a junior ... Earned first-team all-state honors all four seasons and struck out over 1,300 batters during her prep career, while walking 16 batters in four years ... Owned 62 career shutouts and gave up two or less hits in 63 games during her high school career ... Struck out all 21 batters in a game twice ... Named the Gatorade Softball Athlete of the Year for the state of Oregon as a junior and senior ... ASA teammate of fellow Oregon native Anne Creighton.

Personal: The daughter of Diane Douglas, Ashley was born Feb. 26, 1987 in National City, Calif. ... Has three brothers: Timothy (17), Triston (10) and Degan (1) ... Majoring in psychology, criminal justice and sociology ... Named to the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times at BU.