Bradley, Illinois State Split Softball DH

PEORIA, Ill. – Illinois State won the opener of a Tuesday doubleheader 8-1, but Bradley softball answered with a 9-1, five-inning victory in the nightcap at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex as the Braves claimed the regular-season series from the Redbirds.

Bradley (24-18 overall, 11-8) took two of three games from its I-74 rival and the Braves have now claimed the regular-season series from Illinois State (13-31 overall, 7-9 MVC) in three of the last four years after Tuesday’s split.  With two weekends remaining in the regular season, Bradley is tied with Missouri State for fourth in the league standings at 11-8.

Juniors Allison Apke (Teutopolis) and Kealia Wysocki both slugged their team-leading 11th homers of the season.  Apke went 1-for-3 in each game to extend her hit streak to six games, while Wysocki highlighted the nine-run outburst in the nightcap with a two-run homer in the third and a two-run triple in the fifth which ended the contest.

Teutopolis graduates' Kadi Borries played left field for Illinois State in the second contest while her sister Anni was a pinch runner.

After collecting just three hits in the opening game, Bradley gave starter Julie Kestas an early lead in the second game with two runs in the first.  Kestas, who struck out six batters in the complete game victory, fanned a pair of Redbirds as she sat Illinois State down in order in the first.

In the bottom of the first, junior Sydney Young and sophomore Jillian Navarro led things off with back-to-back singles.  Apke drove in Young from third with a groundout and an Illinois State error led to another Bradley run as the Braves took an early 2-0 lead.

Kestas got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the second, but Illinois State was able to cut the Bradley lead in half with a run in the top of the third.  Riley Hale had a single and came around to score all the way from first on an Emme Olson triple as the Redbirds trimmed the Bradley advantage to 2-1.

The Braves answered with a five-run third to break the game open.  Apke followed a Navarro one-out single with a RBI double and would later score on a Stacia Seeton single.  Seeton was able to race home on a Taise Thompson single through the left side and Wysocki highlighted the inning a two-run homer to left center to give her squad a 7-1 advantage.

Kestas sat Illinois State down in order again in the fourth and worked out of another bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth.

Bradley picked up its school season-record eighth run-rule victory by pushing two runs across in the bottom half of the fifth.  Seeton led things off with a single and Thompson was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second.  Wysocki ripped a triple down the right field line to plate both base runners and close out the 9-1 win.

Wysocki collected three hits on the day and was 2-for-3 with a run, triple, home run and four RBI in the Bradley victory.  Kestas improved to 6-3 on the year with the win, scattering four hits and walking three.

In the opener, Illinois State starter Morgan Day held Bradley to just three hits and the Redbirds collected 11 hits of their own as ISU snapped a three-game BU win streak in the series with an 8-1 victory.

A four-run first inning gave ISU the early lead.  A walk and one-out double by Olson led to a run and two more runs came home on back-to-back doubles by Allison Spence and Ellie Weltha.  A hard-hit single to third off bat of Brittni LaFountaine capped the four-run first for the Redbirds, who were the home team for the day’s first game.

Illinois State was able to add three more runs in the bottom of the second.  A one-out double by Hale got things started and she scored on a Spence RBI single.  Weltha followed with a two-run homer to left to give the Redbirds a 7-0 lead.

Day held Bradley hitless through the first 3.1 innings before Apke smacked a solo homer to left for her 11th home run of the season as she now sits one short of matching the Bradley season home record of 12 for the second consecutive year.

Bradley had another scoring chance in the top of the fifth after Wysocki led off the inning with a single, but Day and the Redbirds got out of the inning unscathed and the Braves came up empty again in the sixth after putting the first two hitters on base.

Illinois State added an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth to take a 7-1 lead.  Taylor Vanderpool had a bunt single and moved to second on a wild pitch, only to later score on a one-out single off the bat of Hale.

Day worked around a two-out walk in the top of the seventh to close out the 7-1 Illinois State victory.

Bradley continues a five-game home stand with a weekend series against Indiana State at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.  The Braves and Sycamores open the series Saturday with a noon doubleheader, which will be Bradley Softball Alumni Day with the 2009 MVC Tournament Championship team recognized between contests.  The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 11 a.m., with Bradley’s senior class recognized in a pre-game ceremony.