Bradley Softball Team Competes at Louisville Classic

Senior Maria Schroeder collected four hits to extend her career-best hit streak to 12 games and help Bradley to a 6-5 win over UMass in addition to a 7-3 victory against Eastern Michigan Saturday at the Louisville Classic.
 
Schroeder went 2-for-4 in both contests with her four hits moving her into the top 10 in career hits at Bradley and pushed her career hit total to 170.  The two wins evened Bradley's record at 10-10 as the Braves won for the third time in four games and picked up their sixth victory in the last nine contests.
 
UMass Game Recap

In Saturday's opening game against UMass, sophomore Allison Apke (Teutopolis graduate) drove in two more runs to push her team-best RBI total to 21.  Senior Elizabeth Leonard got things started early with a first-inning walk and would later score when Kealia Wysocki reached on an error.  Apke drew a walk, one of four on the day, to load the bases and freshman Stacia Seeton gave Bradley a 2-0 lead with a RBI single to center.
 
The Braves added three more runs in the bottom of the second.  Junior Gabby Stoner had a one-out double and scored on a two-out double off the bat of Schroeder.  Wysocki followed with a RBI single to plate Schroeder and Apke added another run on the first of her two doubles to push the BU advantage to 5-0.
 
UMass (8-8 overall) struck for three runs in the bottom of the third, pulling within two at 5-3.  A leadoff walk and Jena Cozza triple led to the first run.  Erin Stacevicz drove in Cozza with a double and a Bradley error on the play allowed Stacevicz to come around to score.
 
The Braves got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth, but UMass pulled with a run in the fifth.  A single, walk and Bradley error loaded the bases and BU's lead stood at 5-4 after a RBI single by Melissa Garcia.  The Braves threw out a runner at the plate for the second out of the inning and took a one-run lead into the seventh.
 
Bradley added an important insurance run in the seventh.  Wysocki had a one-out single and pinch runner Brooklyn Bane would give the Braves a 6-4 advantage when she scored on Apke's fifth double in the last five games.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Madison Gimpl started a Minutewomen rally with a single to right and later scored on a two-out Garcia single to right, once again cutting BU's lead to one at 6-5.  Bradley hurler Megan Mahaffy, who tossed the final five innings, notched her only strikeout of the game to close out the 6-5 victory as she improved to 4-6 on the year with the win.
 
Eastern Michigan Game Recap

In a rematch with Eastern Michigan, Wysocki highlighted a three-run sixth inning with a two-run homer to help Bradley to a 7-3 victory.
 
Eastern Michigan (4-14 overall) scored a run in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead.
 
After driving in seven runs in Friday's win over the Eagles, Apke was intentionally walked to lead off the bottom of the second.  She would score on a Jillian Navarro single and the Braves loaded the bases on a Bane infield single.  Vicki Zaluske was hit by a pitch to drive in another run and Leonard knocked in the third run of the inning on a RBI single to put Bradley in front 3-1.
 
Bradley and Eastern Michigan both got single runs in the third inning.  In that third inning the Braves managed to score a run without putting the ball in play.  Apke drew the second of her three walks in the game and freshman Taise Thompson followed with a walk of her own.  A two-out free pass to Bane loaded the bases and Zaluske received her own base on balls to drive in Apke as the Braves led 4-2 after three innings.
 
Eastern Michigan got another run in the sixth to pull within a run at 4-3 and threatened for more before Mahaffy and the Braves got out of a jam.  Mahaffy took over in the circle with a pair on and one out to load the bases with a walk.  She got the second out of the inning at the plate on a comebacker and fielded another ground ball to end the inning as Eastern Michigan left the bases loaded.
 
The Braves tacked on three more runs in the sixth.  Stoner reached on an error to open the inning and scored on an Eastern Michigan error on a Schroeder single.  Wysocki ripped a two-run homer to left, her fourth of the season, to push Bradley's lead to 7-3.
 
Mahaffy worked around a two-out single and walk for a scoreless seventh as she earned her first save of the year in the 7-3 victory.  She gave up just one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.  Sophomore Emma Jackson was the winning pitcher, to up her record to 4-2.   

Junior Gabby Stoner drove in a pair of runs and senior Maria Schroeder extended her hit streak to a career-best 13 games, but Bradley Softball left the bases loaded in each of the first three innings and stranded a total of 12 runners in a 6-3 setback to Louisville to conclude the Louisville Classic Sunday.

Stoner led off the game with the first of her two hits on the day and Bradley (10-11 overall) would load the bases on a Kealia Wysocki single and Allison Apke walk.  Louisville (19-5 overall) would get a lineout to end the first-inning threat by the Braves.

In the bottom half of the inning the Cardinals would strike for a pair of runs to take an early 2-0 lead.  Louisville had a runner at third after a leadoff walk, wild pitch and ground out for Megan Hensley, who drove in the first run of the game with a double to right.  Hensley would come around to score on a Nicole Pufahl double.

Bradley loaded the bases again with no outs in the second on a Taise Thompson single, Louisville error and Vicki Zaluske single.  Stoner drove in Thompson from third with a sacrifice fly to left as the Braves cut the Cardinals’ lead in half at 2-1.  Senior Elizabeth Leonard had a bunt single to once again load the bases, but Louisville starter Kyra Snyder got a popout and fly out to get out of the inning without any more damage.

Louisville added two more runs in the bottom of the second, scoring on a sacrifice fly and a Sydney Melton single to push the advantage to 4-1.

A two-run top of the third for the Braves once again made it a one-run game at 4-3.  Apke led off the frame with her second walk of the game and fifth in the last two contests and junior Katie Habryle followed with her fourth double of the year.  Bradley loaded the bases when Thompson reached on a Louisville error and Zaluske drew a bases loaded walk to drive in the first run of the inning.  A two-out bases loaded single by Stoner drove in another run.  Hensley, who took over in the circle earlier in the inning for Louisville, struck out the next two batters to limit the damage as the Braves left the bases loaded for the third consecutive inning.

Bradley reliever Emma Jackson worked around a leadoff error in the bottom of the third and junior Megan Mahaffy took over in the circle for the Braves in the fifth to toss a scoreless inning.  Louisville added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth, however, to extend the lead to 6-3.  The Cardinals had two on with one out when a Bradley error on a fielder’s choice allowed a run to cross.  Another fielder’s choice allowed the second run of the inning.

Bradley tried to rally in the sixth with Schroeder and Wysocki both collecting one-out singles.  A foul out and strikeout ended the threat and Hensley sat the Braves down in order in the seventh to close out a 6-3 win for Louisville.  Hensley struck out six and scattered four hits in five innings out of the bullpen to improve to 6-2 on the year.

The Braves have a pair of midweek games on the schedule, traveling to Clarksville, Tenn., Tuesday for a 3 p.m. game at Austin Peay in addition to a game Wednesday at Lipscomb.