A sixth-place finish in the regular season followed by a bow out in the quarterfinals of the MVC championship has left the Bradley softball team hungry for more.
“This year, we reset and we go after what we always want, which is a conference championship,” head coach Amy Hayes said.
Picked to finish seventh out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll, the Braves will come into the season with a huge chip on their shoulder, as they look to improve on the 4-14 away record and 20-22 overall record they put together last season.
The team returns 11 players, including seniors Camryn Monteer and Grace French, along with welcoming five freshmen to the fold. Monteer, the team’s leader in hits, batting average and on-base percentage last season, knows what it takes to improve on those numbers and shoot even higher.
“I think that focusing on the little things and going to practice with a purpose every day,” Monteer said. “Just making small adjustments and trying to win a ballgame.”
As for French, she led the team in wins, complete games and strikeouts, and has been utilizing her time off to try and get even better
“I spent a lot of time this fall and in the offseason just working on perfecting pitches and improving my motion to get the most out of my body,” French said. “So really fine-tuning and just working on getting better.”
Hayes recognizes these two veterans and expects big things from them this season.
“[Camryn] Monteer was our leadoff last year and just had a great season holding down third,” Hayes said. “Grace French is coming in very determined and ready to go. She’ll be in the circle for us and holding down second.”
Hayes also alluded to a big change for another one of the star seniors on the team.
“Lucy Mead may find herself a little bit more in the outfield and at second, just based on the addition of [freshman] Addie Welsh to our program,” Hayes said. “But Lucy is such a five-tool player and she has the ability to play anywhere defensively.”
Welsh, a shortstop hailing from Mapleton, Illinois, led Illini Bluffs High School to a 2021 state championship her senior year while hitting .582, earning a first-team all-state selection. According to Hayes, she and other newcomers will play a big role this upcoming season.
“I think we’ve got a really solid pitching staff, especially with the addition of Abbott Badgley, a freshman,” Hayes said. “Defensively, I think even some of our freshmen are going to make a big impact.”
From an offensive standpoint, Hayes says the team is getting more swings this year now that things are relatively back to normal.
Some Braves that were featured less last year are poised to make a bigger impact now that they’ve got a season or two under their belt.
“I think that some of the things we didn’t have last year, like Jordy van der Werf behind the plate; she’s really settled in nicely her sophomore year,” Hayes said. “And I think Olivia Bradley [is] really able to hold down center field for us.”
French can’t contain her enthusiasm either as she looks forward to a big year from her teammates.
“I’m really excited for this team,” French said. “I think we have a lot of good returners coming back that’ll be able to contribute a lot, as well as some exciting freshmen that have come in that I think, will be able to help us a lot.”
The team has lofty goals, but Monteer thinks they can reach them while using their preseason ranking as fuel.
“I would say we should finish in the top three or four [in the] MVC,” Monteer said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We’re gonna be an underdog and I think that we’ve got a really great freshmen class. I expect to win a lot of ball games in the preseason.”
Hayes doesn’t want to look into the future too much, but she does admit there is one weekend of matchups that’ll challenge her squad a lot: the Plainsman Invite, hosted by Auburn from Feb. 25-27.
“That Auburn tournament,” Hayes said. “Being able to go down there and put ourselves to the test a little bit and see what we can do against the Power Five.”
Taking on four Power Five teams this year along with the rigor of an MVC schedule is certainly a tall order, but one that Monteer welcomes with open arms.
“We have a really tough schedule and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun to show off what we got,” Monteer said.
They’ll get their first crack at it on Feb. 11 at the Kickoff Classic in Phoenix.
