Allison Apke Named Preseason All-MVC

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Junior first baseman Allison Apke (Teutopolis, Ill./Teutopolis) was named a preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection according to a vote of the MVC softball head coaches announced by the league office Wednesday.
 
A First-Team All-MVC selection last year as a sophomore, Apke was a First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete in 2018 after she tied the school season home run record with a league-best 12 homers in addition to ranking ninth in the Valley with a .353 batting average.  She also broke the Bradley season slugging percentage mark, leading the MVC with a .699 slugging percentage.
 
Apke finished the 2018 campaign with third-best season RBI total in school history with her 44 RBI second in the MVC and most by a Brave since 2004.  She slugged 11 doubles and drew a team-high 25 walks to become just the fourth player in league history to tally 11 doubles, 12 homers, 44 RBI and 25 or more walks in a season.
 
Last year, she had a 15-game hit streak midway through the season which tied as the second longest hit streak in Bradley history.  A .370 hitter with runners on in 2018, Apke owned a .360 average with runners in scoring position and boasted 18 two-out RBI thanks to a .383 batting average with two outs.
 
Apke begins her junior season tied for fifth in career home runs at Bradley with 15 and is the team's active career leader with 54 RBI.
 
Bradley was picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll, which was also released Wednesday.  Defending MVC regular-season champion Drake received nine of the 10 first-place votes and was tabbed the preseason favorite.
 
The Braves open the 2019 season Feb. 8-10 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., where Bradley will play three of five games against Pac-12 teams.  The season kicks off Friday, Feb. 8 with a 10 a.m. (CST) contest against Stanford.