Bradley Softball Team Nabs Two Over Weekend

After collecting just two hits in a 7-0 series-opening loss to Evansville, Bradley slugged 13 hits, including three home runs, in a 7-4 victory in the nightcap as the Braves split a doubleheader with the Purple Aces Saturday at Cooper Stadium.
 
Bradley (16-15 overall, 2-3 MVC) struggled in the day’s first game, managing just two singles off Evansville’s Morgan Florey.  The Purple Aces collected 10 hits in the game and broke the contest open with a four-run fifth which included two Bradley errors.  Evansville (12-13 overall, 4-1 MVC) went on to take the opener 7-0.
 
Senior Kelly Kapp had a season-best 15-game hit streak snapped with a 0-for-3 effort in the opener, but opened the nightcap with a bunt single and was 4-for-5 with two runs in the second outing of the day.  Junior Maria Shcroeder, who had one of Bradley’s two hits in the first game, gave the Braves an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first.
 
Bradley left the bases loaded in both the second and third innings, before Evansville was able to tie the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.  Morgan Lambert followed a two-out walk with a double to drive in a run and Florey drove in another run with a RBI double of her own to pull the Purple Aces even at 2-2.
 
Sophomore Gabby Stoner walked to leadoff the Bradley half of the fifth and Kapp had an infield single.  Schroeder drove in Stoner from third with a sacrifice fly to center as Bradley went back in front 3-2.
 
Bradley hurler Julie Kestas struck out seven of the first eight batters she faced in the contest and fanned a career-best 12.   Kestas worked around a leadoff single in the fourth to strikeout the side and limited Evansville to four hits through the first six innings.
 
Stoner and Kapp led off the top of the sixth with singles and Kapp went on to steal second as she tied the Missouri Valley Conference career stolen base record with her 92nd.  Senior Caitlyn McCarron homered for the third time in four games, ripping her team-best fifth of the year to give Bradley a 6-2 lead.  Freshman Kealia Wysocki followed with a pinch hit solo homer of her own to push the Braves’ advantage to 7-2.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Kestas got a groundout for the first outing of the frame, but Tess Hupe had a double and a Brittany Hay two-run homer made it a three-run contest at 7-4.  Sophomore Megan Mahaffy took over in the circle for the Braves and sandwiched a pair of groundouts around a two-out single to close out the 7-4 victory.  Kestas improved to 4-5 on the year and struck out a career-high 12 in 6.1 innings of work.
 
Kapp’s 4-for-5 outing in the nightcap pushed her career hit total to 207, three short of matching the Bradley career hits mark.  Schroeder drove in three runs and now has a team-high 32 RBI.  McCarron, who was 2-for-4 with four RBI in the nightcap, has now driven in eight runs in the last four games and is second on the team with 31 RBI this spring, while owning a team-high five home runs.

Teutopolis graduate Allison Apke was the designated hitter, had three at-bats. She finished with a walk and two singles.

Sunday's Game

Senior Caitlyn McCarron was a home run away from the cycle and scored the winning run in the top of the seventh, while fellow senior Kelly Kapp broke the Missouri Valley Conference career stolen base record as the pair helped Bradley to an 8-7 victory in the rubber match of a three-game series at Evansville Sunday.
 
After the series finale was delayed more than three hours by rain, Sunday’s contest finally got underway a little after 3 p.m. and Bradley (17-15 overall, 3-3 MVC) found itself in an early hole after Evansville (12-14 overall, 4-2 MVC) scored a pair of runs in the first.  Chandra Parr gave the Purple Aces a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first.
 
Bradley got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the second and tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the third.  Kapp drew a walk to open the inning and broke the MVC career stolen base record with her 93rd career steal.  A double off the bat of Maria Schroeder drove in Kapp and Schroeder raced home when McCarron reached on an error to tie the game at 2-2.
 
A four-run top of the fourth, which included three Evansville errors, gave Bradley a 6-2 lead.  With runners at first and third and one out after back-to-back UE errors, sophomore Katie Habryle drove in the first run of the frame with a sacrifice fly.  Another run came home on a passed ball to give the Braves a 4-2 advantage.
 
The third Evansville error of the inning allowed Kapp to reach base and she promptly swiped second to break the Bradley season stolen base mark and tie the MVC season record with her 37th steal of the year.   Schroeder was hit by a pitch and McCarron ripped a two-run double to center as Bradley went in front 6-2.  The double was McCarron’s league-leading 12th of the season.
 
Evansville answered with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, however, to go back in front 7-6.  Michal Lambert hit a solo homer to open the frame and two more runs came home on a Morgan Luckett bases loaded single.  Pitcher Morgan Florey helped her own cause with a RBI single to right center and a Hayli Scott RBI double capped the inning.
 
In the top of the fifth, junior Elizabeth Leonard had a single for the 100th hit of her career to open the inning and stole second.  Leonard moved to third on a wild pitch and scored from third to tie the game at 7-7 on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Megan Mahaffy.
 
Bradley pitcher Jaelen Hull worked out of jams in both the fifth and sixth innings.  After giving up a leadoff triple in the fifth, Hull retired the next three batters she faced.  In the sixth, Evansville had runners at second and third with only one out after a single, hit by pitch and passed ball.  Hull fanned the next two batters she faced, however, as the teams went to the seventh knotted at 7-7.
 
McCarron belted her team-best third triple of the season to start the Bradley half of the seventh.  Leonard drove McCarron in from third with the go-ahead run with a single to left to put Bradley back in front 8-7.
 
Hull sat the Purple Aces down in order in the bottom of the seventh to close out the 8-7 victory for the Braves.  The win was Hull’s career-best eighth of the year, as she improved to 8-2 on the season.  She struck out six and gave up just two hits in 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
 
McCarron and Leonard each had three hits and one run, combining for six of Bradley’s seven hits in the contest.  McCarron drove in three runs and now has a team-best 34 RBI this spring.  Kapp scored a pair of runs and swiped two bases in the victory.  T-town's Apke stepped in to pinch hit but did not get on base.