In the first home series for Bradley baseball (10-17) this year, the Braves struggled to find their groove, dropping two of three to the Wright State Raiders (14-15) last weekend.
The Braves’ last non-conference series started with a doubleheader on Saturday after the first game on Friday was pushed back due to weather.
In the first game, runs were hard to come by as the teams combined for six total hits. The deciding factor in the seven-inning affair fell on the shoulders of the Bradley defense, as three errors were enough to help the Raiders win the first matchup by a final of 2-0.
“With our injuries this year [and] being short-staffed, we really can’t be having errors giving them free bases and extra runs,” junior first baseman Connor O’Brien said.
Braves freshman ace Jacob Kisting put on an impressive performance, throwing six innings while striking out five, and both runs that he gave up were unearned.
In the second game, things were much brighter for the Braves. Bradley senior hurlers Matt Hamilton and Nick King both pitched five innings each, and gave up four combined runs in the process.
With the game tied at four entering the bottom half of the 10th, freshman Cole Luckey walked things off at Dozer Park, as his fielder’s choice allowed sophomore Jackson Chatterton to score, giving Bradley the 5-4 victory.
“[The] energy was high; [the] team was very excited,” O’Brien said. “It was great to see Cole Luckey pull through for the team as a freshman.”
With the rubber match of the series taking place on a windy Sunday, it was all Raiders from the start as they scored early and often, bringing home 20 runs through the first six innings. The pitching struggled this time around, giving up 17 hits and six walks.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Braves were able to muster five runs on eight hits, but it was too steep of a hill to climb, as the Braves lost 20-5. The defeat pushed their record to 9-17 on the season before beating No. 16-ranked Dallas Baptist on Thursday afternoon.
Senior catcher Keaton Rice had the bright spot of the game, as he threw out his 59th runner of his career, becoming the program’s all-time leader in runners caught stealing.
“It’s a great accolade,” O’Brien said. “He’s one of the best catchers I’ve ever seen, so it’s just cool to play baseball with him every day.”
After the game, the ballclub concluded with memorial celebrations for Mitch Janssen, a former Bradley pitcher who was killed in a plane crash in March of 2020, and also participated in their annual head-shaving tradition in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation.
“Mitch Janssen is always one of the bigger weekends; it means a lot,” O’Brien said. “He was one of the best guys you’ll ever meet and it was also just cool seeing the whole group shaving our heads for the kids.”
The Braves were set to take on Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Tuesday, but the game was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. The team began a three-game set versus 16th-ranked Dallas Baptist on Thursday, downing the Patriots 10-4.
