Bradley Picks Up A Win, Suffers Two Losses To Missouri State

Junior Maria Schroeder went 3-for-6 at the plate, but Bradley managed just seven hits off Missouri State pitching as the Braves dropped a pair of games 4-0 and 5-0 to the Bears Saturday in Missouri Valley Conference Softball action.
 
Bradley couldn’t push a run across in either of the team’s first two games at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex Saturday and a Schroeder double in the top of the first of the day’s second game was the only extra-base hit of the afternoon for the Braves.
 
Missouri State (18-11 overall, 6-2 MVC) wasted no time getting on the board, taking advantage of one of four Bradley errors in the opener to push a pair of runs across in the top of the first.  The Braves left a pair of runners on base in the bottom half of the first and also stranded a pair in the third.
 
The Bears pushed the lead to 4-0 after single runs in both the sixth and seventh.  With runners at second and third and one out in the sixth, a failed squeeze play resulted in the second out of the frame at the plate.  Mary Stephens drove in a run, however, with a two-out infield single.  In the seventh, Hailee Vigneaux drove in a run with a two-out single.
 
Missouri State’s Kaitilin Beason scattered five hits in the complete game shutout as Schroeder and senior Kelly Kapp each went 2-for-3 to lead the Braves. Teutopolis graduate Allison Apke had one at-bat for Bradley.
 
In the nightcap, Holly Kelley held Bradley to just two hits.  Schroeder had a one-out double in the bottom of the first, but the Braves were unable to drive her home.
 
Stephens doubled in the top of the second and came home on a Bradley throwing error on a flyout to center as Missouri State grabbed a 1-0 lead.
 
Following Schroeder’s single, Kelley retired 10 consecutive batters before surrendering a two-out Katie Habryle single in the bottom of the fourth.  Kelley settled down after the Habryle single to get the next 10 hitters out as she cruised to the win.
 
A four-run sixth for Missouri State put the game out of reach.  A single and double to open the frame drove in the first run of the inning and Stephens drove in a run with a single to left.  Elena Gambill tripled down the right field line to drive in another run and scored on a sacrifice fly to push the Bears’ lead to 5-0.

Apke had two at-bats for Bradley.
 
Freshman Kealia Wysocki highlighted a five-run fourth with a pinch hit grand slam and junior Maria Schroeder drove in three runs as the pair helped power Bradley to a 9-1, five-inning victory over Missouri State Sunday at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.
 
After collecting just seven hits in Saturday’s doubleheader against the Bears, Bradley roughed up Missouri State pitchers for 11 hits in the series finale.
 
Senior Kelly Kapp got things started for Bradley with a bunt single in the top of the first and went on to steal second to break the Missouri Valley Conference season stole base mark with her 38th of the year.  Kapp later scored on a Schroeder single through the right side to give Bradley (18-17 overall, 4-5 MVC) a 1-0 lead.
 
Missouri State (18-12 overall, 6-3 MVC) answered with a run in the top of the second.  A leadoff walk and stolen base gave the Bears a runner at second with two outs when Morgan Greenlee drove in pinch runner Olivia Roark with a single to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Bradley loaded the bases in the third, but couldn’t push a run across.  A one-out infield single by Kapp in the top of the third made her Bradley’s career hits leader as she broke Katie Kiss’ (1997-2000) school record with the 211th hit as a Brave.  Missouri State escaped a bases loaded jam, however, to keep the game knotted at 1-1.
 
Bradley loaded the bases again in the fourth.  Sophomore Megan Mahaffy led off the frame with a single and the Braves loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and walk.  Wysocki delivered her second pinch hit homer in a little over a week with a grand slam over the fence in left center for Bradley’s first home run at its new home field and gave the Braves a 5-1 advantage.
 
A two-out single by senior Caitlyn McCarron kept the inning alive and she scored all the way from first to give Bradley a 6-1 lead on a Katie Habryle double to right center.
 
The Braves had to get out of a jam in the top of the fifth after a walk and single to open the inning.  Mahaffy, who took over in the circle after the leadoff walk, struck out the next two batters looking and battled back from a 3-0 count to MSU’s Madison Jones to get an inning ending strikeout.  
 
Mahaffy led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and sophomore Stephanie Campos followed with a single.  A Missouri State error loaded the bases and Bradley got another run when pinch hitter Allison Apke was hit by a pitch to push the BU lead to 7-1.  Schroeder capped the contest with a two-run single to right for her third hit of the day to close out the 9-1 Bradley victory.
 
Schroeder was 6-for-10 with a double and three RBI in the weekend series against Missouri State.  Sophomore Julie Kestas earned the victory for Bradley to improve to 5-6 on the year, scattering three hits over four innings.  Fellow sophomore Megan Mahaffy was 1-for-2 with a run at the plate in addition to earning the save for her scoreless inning out of the bullpen.
 
Bradley will play its final non-conference game of the season Tuesday at SIU Edwardsville in a 4 p.m. matchup against the Cougars.