Apke, Teammates Named All-Missouri Valley Conference

PEORIA, Ill. -- Sophomore Allison Apke, a Teutopolis graduate, was a First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was one of three Braves to earn all-conference honors with senior Maria Schroeder and freshman Stacia Seeton both garnering Second-Team All-Valley recognition according to an announcement by the league office Wednesday night.
 
Apke is the first Bradley underclassman to earn First-Team All-MVC Honors since Erika Hasnen in 2015, while Schroeder earned Second-Team all-league honors for the third team in her career and is the first three-time all-conference pick for the Braves since Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (2011-14).
 
The conference leader in both home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.707), Apke tied the Bradley season home run record with her 12th of the year in Sunday's win against Evansville.  She is currently tied for fourth in the Valley with 11 doubles and is just the fourth player in Valley history to collect 11 doubles, 12 homers, 44 RBI and 25 or more walks in a season.
 
Apke is hitting .353 this season to rank second on the team and owned a team-best .333 average in Valley player.  The second player in program history with 30 runs and 40 RBI in a season, her 44 RBI rank as the third-best season total in school history and is second in the MVC.  Apke owns a .380 batting average with runners on base, in addition to an impressive .391 average with two outs and tied the second longest hit streak in program history with a 15-game streak.
 
The MVC Player of the Week for the week of April 16, Apke tied the school single-game record with seven RBI in a win against Eastern Michigan.  She has 10 multi-RBI games in 2018, including five outings with four or more driven in, in addition to collecting multiple hits in 11 contests.
 
Schroeder was named a Second-Team All-MVC pick for the third time in her career, also garnering the distinction as both a freshman and sophomore.  She ranks 10th in the MVC with a team and career-best .354 batting average in 2018 in addition to leading the Valley with 39 runs.  Schroeder enters this week's MVC Tournament tied for fifth in the league with 30 RBI.
 
The only player in school history to collect 40 or more hits in each of their four seasons, Schroeder is 12th in Valley history with 136 career runs and 17th all-time in the Valley with 127 career RBI to join two-time MVC Player of the Year Jessica Huff (Evansville) as the only individuals ranked in the league's career top 20 in both categories.
 
Bradley's career walks leader, Schroeder owns a .363 average this spring with runners on base.  She has 16 multi-hit outings in 2018 and is currently fourth in Bradley history with 202 career hits.  Schroeder also ranks second in school history with 17 career home runs and her career .336 batting average ranks seventh all-time on The Hilltop.  In addition to the Second-Team All-MVC honors, Schroeder also earned a spot on the league's All-Defensive team.
 
Seeton is currently fourth among the Braves with a .309 batting average and ranks second in the MVC with a .597 slugging percentage, which would be the best slugging percentage by a Bradley freshman.  She is tied with Apke for the team lead and for fourth in the MVC with 11 doubles, in addition to slugging a Bradley freshman record nine home runs to break the previous mark of seven.
 
A three-time MVC Newcomer of the Week selection this season, Seeton also earned MVC Player of the Week honors back on April 9.  Her 29 RBI this spring are tied for seventh in the MVC and she joined Schroeder and Hansen (both in 2015) as the only freshmen in program history with 24 runs and 25 or more RBI.
 
Seeton homered in three consecutive games in two different stretches during the 2018 campaign.  She is hitting .372 with runners in scoring position this spring and belted five of her nine home runs in Valley play.
 
Bradley Softball faces #5 seed Indiana State in the opening round of the 2018 MVC Tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jacksonville State 11, EIU 10

OXFORD, Ala. -- Eastern Illinois softball fell 11-10 to No. 3 Jacksonville State in game one of the OVC Tournament. Haley Mitchell led the Panthers going 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and three RBI.

EIU falls to 34-19 overall while JSU improves to 30-23.

The Panthers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first half inning.  Kayla Bear led off for EIU with a single to left field. Mady Poulter and Mitchell were walked on the next two at bats. Mia Davis singled to center field and recorded two RBI as Bear and Poulter scored on the play. Mitchell would score EIU's final run in the inning. Alexus Jimmerson recorded JSU's only hit of the first inning and tallied an RBI as Caitlyn Sapp scored for the Gamecocks narrowing the Panthers lead 3-1.

EIU led 5-4 heading into the fifth inning and scored another four runs on four hits. Megan Burton tallied the first hit of the inning with a single through the left side. Bear later singled to right center recording two RBI. Mitchell would score Bear and herself on a solo homer, while Davis closed the inning with a double down the left field line.

JSU responded with a two-run homer by Hayley Sims in the fifth inning and another three runs on four hits in the sixth inning to tie the game at 9-9. Bear scored on a single to left field by Mitchell to give the Panthers a 10-9 edge heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

Alexus Jimmerson stepped up for the Gamecocks with a two-run double to center field giving JSU an 11-10 walk-off win. Jimmerson finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI.

Bear was 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases. Davis finished 2-for-3. Jessica Wireman tallied six strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.

The Panthers will play Thursday at 10 am against the loser of No. 2 Austin Peay vs. No. 7 UT Martin.