Bradley Has Multi-Homer Efforts In Classic, Illinois State Claims Win

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Junior Kealia Wysocki hit a pair of homers and Bradley slugged four home runs as the Braves topped Montana 7-6 Friday afternoon to open play at the Troy Cox Classic.

Wysocki turned in the ninth multi-homer effort on record in Bradley history, hitting a two-run homer in the second and adding a solo shot in the third.  She is the first Bradley player with multiple homers in a game since senior Katie Habryle and current Bradley assistant coach Rachel Huggins both had multi-homer games in each part of a doubleheader at Wichita State on April 16, 2016.

The victory was Bradley head coach Amy Hayes’ 208th win as coach of the Braves as she passed Clint Wilson for the most coaching wins in program history.

Bradley (2-4 overall) opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second.  Sophomore Stacia Seeton singled to leadoff the inning and Wysocki followed with a two-run homer to right center.

Montana (1-6 overall) answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning.  A two-out walk proved costly as Lexi Knaus followed a single with a RBI double to cut the Bradley lead in half at 2-1.

The Braves added four insurance runs on three homers in the top of the third to push the advantage to 6-1.  Freshman Lucy Mead hit a one-out solo homer to left center.  Senior Gabby Stoner had an infield single and moved to second on a wild pitch before junior Allison Apke (Teutopolis) ripped her first home run of the year, hitting a two-run shot down the right field line on a full count.  The homer was the 16th of Apke’s career, moving her into a tie for third in Bradley history.

After a pitching change, Wysocki left the yard again with her second homer of the contest.  The solo home run gave the Braves a 6-1 advantage and was her 15th career dinger as she moved into a tie for sixth all-time at Bradley.

Montana would once again answer in its half of the inning, pushing four runs across in the bottom of the third to keep the Bradley lead at one (6-5).  The second BU error of the game helped lead to the four-run frame for the Grizzlies.  The first run of the inning came home on a two-out single off the bat of Kylie Hayton and Brooklyn Weisgram followed with a three-run homer to left.

Senior pitcher Julie Kestas took over in the circle for Grace French to get out of a jam in the fourth and she sat Montana down in order in the fifth.

A two-out rally in the Bradley half of the sixth pushed across an important insurance run.  Freshman Samantha Smith started the rally with a two-out double and scored on a pinch-hit single by Taise Thompson as the Braves took a 7-5 lead.

Montana didn’t go quietly, however, plating a run in the bottom half of the sixth.  A walk and one-out double by Knaus put runners at second and third for Cami Sellers, who drove in a run with a double down the right field line.  With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Kestas settled down to strike out the next two batters and preserve the 7-6 Bradley lead.

The Grizzlies tied to rally again in the bottom of the seventh.  A pinch-hit double with two outs by Jessica McAlister kept the game going and Weisgram drew a walk to put two runners on.  Kestas got Kylie Becker to fly out to end the game as she earned her first victory of the season.

Kestas struck out six batters in 3.2 innings of work out of the bullpen in the win.

Friday evening

After clubbing four home runs earlier in the day in a win against Montana, Bradley Softball returned to the field late Friday night to hit two more homers in a 4-3 win at New Mexico State to wrap up the first day of the Troy Cox Classic.

Bradley (3-4 overall) earned its first road win of the season with the 4-3 victory as junior Allison Apke hit a solo homer in the first and senior Katie Habryle slugged a two-run dinger in the top of the sixth in the first loss of the year for tournament-host New Mexico State.  Junior Emma Jackson improved to 2-1 on the young season with the complete game effort, striking out six.

Bradley wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, with freshman Lucy Mead leading off the game with a bunt single and moving all the way to third on a New Mexico State error on the play.  She would score the first run of the game on a groundout by senior Gabby Stoner.  Apke followed with solo homer to left as Bradley jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  The home run was the 17th of Apke’s career, moving her into a tie with Maria Schroeder for second in Bradley history.

New Mexico State (5-1 overall) threatened in the bottom half of the first, but left a pair on base.  The Aggies eventually pushed a run across in the bottom of the third. With one out and runners at second and third, Mya Felder drove in a run with a groundout to cut the Bradley lead in half at 2-1.

After leaving a pair of runners on base in the second, Bradley stranded two more runners in the fourth and the Braves left six runners on base in the first four innings.

New Mexico State managed to tie things up in the top of the fifth.  Shelby Shultes led off the frame with a pinch-hit double and came round to score on a double off the bat of Victoria Castro to knot the score at 2-2.

The game wasn’t tied for long though with Habryle delivering the big hit of the game for the Braves in the top of the sixth.  Freshman Samantha Smith was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Habryle ripped the first pitch she saw over the fence in left to give Bradley a 4-2 advantage.

Jackson got out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth as the Aggies left a pair on base and she found herself in trouble again in the seventh before closing out the victory.

Kelsey Horton led off the New Mexico State half of the seventh with a single and would later score on a single by Kayla Bowen to make it a one-run game.  The Aggies eventually loaded the bases on a two-out walk by Alyssa Barela, only to have Jackson strike out the next batter she faced to finish off the 4-3 win for the Braves.

Saturday's Games

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A day after hitting six home runs in two victories at the Troy Cox Classic Friday, Bradley Softball clubbed a school single-game record five homers, including three in the sixth inning, to rally for a 12-10 victory over Texas State Saturday afternoon.

Bradley (4-4 overall) evened its record at 4-4 on the young season and slugged a school-record five home runs on a windy day at the New Mexico State Softball Complex in the win over Texas State (4-4 overall), which reached last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Junior Kealia Wysocki, who had a two-homer game Sunday against Montana, drove in five in a 2-for-2 effort at the plate to help highlight a 14-hit outing by the Braves.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead, plating a run in the first inning without a hit.  A pair of walks and a double steal resulted in the Texas State run.

In Bradley’s half of the first, senior Gabby Stoner had a single and sophomore Stacia Seeton was hit by a pitch with two outs to put a pair of runners on.  Wysocki followed with a two-run single through the right side as the Braves went in front 2-1.

Texas State went back in front with a four-run third.  The Bobcats loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of walks and a single for Samara Lagway, who ripped a bases clearing double to left center.  Lagway later came around to score on a Jordyn Smith double as Texas State took a 5-1 lead.

The Braves answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, however, to tie it up at 5-5.  Stoner tripled to open the inning and a Texas State error on the play allowed her to score.  Junior Allison Apke followed up her two home run day with a solo shot for her third homer of the year as she took over sole possession of second in career home runs at Bradley with her 18th.  Seeton made it back-to-back homers for the Braves with a solo dinger to center, knotting the game at 5-5.

Both teams threatened in the fourth, but left a pair of runners on and Texas State recaptured the lead in the fifth.  A two-out walk proved costly as Smith drew a two-out free pass on four pitches and scored on a triple by Mari Cranek to give the Bobcats a 6-5 advantage.

A four-run top of the sixth pushed the Texas State lead to 10-5.  A walk and three straight singles to open the inning led to a run and Texas State would eventually push three more runs across in the frame with a run coming home on a passed ball and two more on a Cranek single.

Bradley once again had an answer in the bottom half of the inning though.  Senior Katie Habryle doubled to start the bottom of the sixth and sophomore Vicki Zaluske drew a walk to put two on.  Sophomore Taise Thompson hit the first of three BU homers in the inning with a three-run shot to left center to cut the Texas State lead to 10-8.

A two-out single by Brooklyn Bane kept the Bradley rally alive and the Braves had two runners on following a Seeton single.  Wysocki reentered the game to bat for pitcher Grace French and ripped an 0-2 pitch over the fence in left, giving Bradley an 11-10 lead with her three-run homer.  Sophomore Jillian Navarro added an insurance run, smacking the first pitch she saw for a solo homer to left center as the Braves led 12-10 heading to the seventh.

French, who pitched 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, reentered for the seventh to get three groundouts as she earned her first win as a Brave.

Earlier in the day Bradley Softball hit a school single-game record five home runs, but the Braves returned to the field later that same day to crush eight homers in a 14-6 victory over San Jose State Saturday night at the Troy Cox Classic.

Junior Kealia Wysocki helped highlight the Bradley barrage with a school single-game record three home runs as she drove in six runs in a 3-for-4 outing at the plate.  Leading 4-3 in the top of the sixth, the Braves broke the game open with five solo homers in the top of the sixth to tie the NCAA record for home runs in an inning last done by Oklahoma on March 15, 2015 vs. East Carolina.

Senior pitcher Julie Kestas was the beneficiary of the Bradley home runs, improving to 2-0 on the season as she scattered six hits and three runs over 4.1 innings of work in the victory.

Wysocki has now belted six home runs over the past two days, including four Saturday, and drove in six runs against the Spartans.  She overtook teammate Allison Apke for second in career home runs at Bradley, pushing her career total to 19.

Bradley (5-4 overall) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, plating four runs in the top of the first.  Lucy Mead and Brooklyn Bane singled to open the game and Mead came around to score on a single by sophomore Stacia Seeton.  The first of Wysocki’s three home runs in the game, a three-run shot, made it a 4-0 Bradley lead.

San Jose State (5-5 overall) chipped into the Bradley lead with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to pull within one at 4-3, before the Braves broke the game open in the top of the sixth.

Sophomore Jillian Navarro started the historic inning for the Braves with a home run to lead off the sixth.  Freshman Samantha Smith later added a solo homer of her own with one out to push the Bradley lead to 6-3.  Mead followed a pitching change with a solo homer as the Braves built a 7-3 advantage.  San Jose State got a lineout for the second out of the inning, only to have Seeton and Wysocki hit back-to-back solo homers to push the Bradley lead to 9-3.

San Jose State managed to answer with three runs in the bottom half of the sixth to pull within three at 9-6, but Bradley wasn’t done offensively.  In the top of the seventh, freshman Carly Chovanec got things started with a one-out pinch hit double.  A two-out, four-pitch walk to Mead put a pair of runners on and a pinch-hit three-run homer by Keller van Breusegen gave Bradley a 12-6 lead.  The Braves weren’t done, though, as Seeton drew a walk and Wysocki capped the scoring for the Braves with her third homer of the night, smashing a two-run shot to center as Bradley led 14-6 heading to the bottom of the seventh.

After a single and hit by pitch to open the bottom of the seventh, Grace French settled down to a get a strikeout, fielder’s choice and pop out to close out the Bradley victory.

Eight of Bradley’s 15 hits in the game left the yard and the Braves have now hit 19 homers over the last four games, which includes 13 during Saturday’s victories over Texas State and San Jose State.

Sunday Afternoon

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Bradley Softball hit another three home runs to push its weekend total to 22, but tournament-host New Mexico State was able to rally from behind to snap a four-game win streak for the Braves as the Aggies held on for an 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon to close out the Troy Cox Classic.

Bradley (5-5 overall) hit 13 home runs during Saturday’s two games and had 19 in the first four games of the Troy Cox Classic.  The Braves picked up right where they left off last night, hitting the first of three homers on the day in the first.  Sophomore Stacia Seeton got the scoring started with a two-out solo homer to left to give Bradley a 1-0 lead.

Kelsey Horton led off the New Mexico State half of the first with a solo homer of her own, however, and the Aggies loaded the bases with back-to-back singles and a hit batter.  Kayla Bowen drove in two more with a two-run single to left as New Mexico State went in front 3-1.  Senior Julie Kestas, who came on in relief with the bases loaded, got out of the jam without any more damage, though, striking out the next two batters and getting a line out to end the frame.

In the top of the second, sophomore Jillian Navarro followed a Katie Habryle single with a two-run homer, knotting the score at 3-3.

Kestas worked around a leadoff double for a scoreless bottom of the second and sat the Aggies down in order in the third.  The Braves plated two more runs in the top half of the third, getting yet another homer.  Senior Gabby Stoner led off the inning with a solo homer, giving Bradley a 4-3 advantage.  Back-to-back walks to Seeton and Wysocki put a pair of runners on for Habryle, who drove in a run with a single to center as Bradley led 5-3.

Kestas retired New Mexico State in order again in the fourth, before running into trouble in the fifth.  The Aggies opened the frame with back-to-back doubles to pull within one at 5-4 and tied it up at 5-5 when a run scored on a passed ball.

Bradley had a chance to go back in front in the top of the sixth, but left the bases loaded.  New Mexico State opened the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles and loaded the bases with a one-out walk.  The first run of the inning came home on a groundout and the Aggies led 8-5 after two runs scored on a passed ball.

The Braves tried to mount a late rally, with sophomore Taise Thompson leading off the top of the seventh with a single.  Bradley had runners at first and second after sophomore Navarro reached on a one-out error.  Pinch runner Sydney Young was able to race home from second when the Aggies had an error on a Vicki Zaluske single.  A two-out infield single off the bat of Lucy Mead drove home another run, cutting the New Mexico State lead to 8-7.

New Mexico State hurler Samaria Diaz struck out the next batter she faced, however, to close out the victory for the Aggies.

The Braves head to Knoxville, Tenn., next weekend for the Tennessee Invitational where Bradley will open tournament play Friday with a 1:30 p.m. (CST) game against Louisville.

Utah State 13, Illinois State 8

TEMPE, Ariz. – It was an offensive war at the plate between Illinois State (0-9) and Utah State (3-6) Saturday night, as the Aggies outlasted the Redbirds for a 13-8 win.

 
BIRD BITS

Top Performers:

 Emme Olson: 3-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR

Shannon Felde: 2-for-4, 2 R, BB

Andrea Coursey: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, BB

 
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS

The Redbirds wasted no time getting on the board, scratching a trio of runs across the plate in the top of the first on a single by Andrea Coursey and a sacrifice fly to right field by Brittni LaFountaine. Illinois State’s three-run first inning marks the most runs scored in the opening frame by the Redbirds this season.

Utah State responded in the bottom of the first and second, scoring seven runs on seven hits to jump out to a 7-3 lead.

Heading into the Littlewood Classic, the Redbirds had given up 18 runs to their opponents in the first inning. The Aggies’ lone run scored in the bottom of the first inning marked the first run given up in the opening frame by ISU this weekend.

In the top of the third, Illinois State struck again with a single through the left side by Alyssa Wiebel, bringing Coursey home from second base.

Both teams chalked up a big offensive fourth inning, as a three-run moon shot over the center field wall by Emme Olson leveled the score at seven-all. The Aggies responded, scoring four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to regain their lead.

Utah State scratched two more runs across in the bottom of the fifth, holding a 13-7 lead going into the sixth inning.

Olson launched her second home run of the game – and third of her rookie season – over the center field wall in nearly the same spot to cut into the Aggies’ lead, but Utah State held on for the victory.

With her pair of long balls, Olson became the first Redbird since Jordan de los Reyes (2014-17) to hit two home runs in a single game.

Shannon Felde is riding a four-game hitting streak heading into the final game of the Littlewood Classic, leading the team with eight hits.

Illinois State 13, San Diego 2

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Illinois State softball team (1-9) secured its first win of the season Sunday, taking down San Diego (2-8) 8-0 to close the Littlewood Classic. The Redbirds’ run-rule victory marks the first of a nonconference opponent since 2017, when ISU beat Rutgers (3/11/17) in five innings, 13-2.

 
BIRD BITS

Top Performers:

Ellie Weltha: 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR

Riley Hale: 1-for-1, R, RBI, 2 BB

Taylor Vanderpool: 2-for-3, R, 3 RBI, HR

Shannon Felde: 1-for-4, RBI – game-winning single to center field

 
Pitching Breakdown:

Shannon Felde: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

 
BY THE NUMBERS / KEY INNINGS

Illinois State jumped on the board in the bottom of the second inning, taking an early 3-0 lead. Ellie Weltha and Riley Hale drew back-to-back walks, before Taylor Vanderpool knocked her second home run of the season over the left center field wall to bring her teammates across home plate.

The Redbirds continued their offensive momentum in the bottom of the third, after a single by Anni Borries (Teutopolis) brought Alyssa Wiebel home from second base to help ISU to a 4-0 advantage.

Weltha registered her first career hit – launching her first career home run – over the center field wall to lead off the home half of the fourth inning, pushing the Redbirds to a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back singles by Andrea Coursey and Wiebel put two on for ISU with no outs, before a sac bunt by Borries moved the pair into scoring position. Weltha reached first base on a San Diego error to bring Coursey home, while a walk issued to Hale loaded the bases. In the same play, a passed ball by the Torero catcher helped ISU scratch its seventh run across, before Felde’s single to right field helped the Redbirds to a walk-off win.

The last time ISU shutout a nonconference opponent was in 2018, when the Redbirds took down Purdue (3/4/18) at the LSU Tiger Invitational.

ON DECK

Illinois State will travel to Gainesville, Florida, next weekend to compete in the Bubly Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida. The Redbirds are set to take on Syracuse, the host Gators and Florida A&M in the five-game set.