By Justin Phelps ‘05
Ashley Birdsong ‘09 throws a pitch during Bradley’s 2-1 loss to Missouri. (Bradley University / Bob Hunt)
Throughout the season, first-year Bradley coach Amy Hayes and her staff talked to the Braves about making history this year.
“From the beginning, that’s something we told them they could do this year,” Hayes said. “I think it took a little time for them to believe it and believe in themselves, but they just proved it. I’m really proud of this team.”
The Braves season ended Saturday night in a 2-1 loss to DePaul in an elimination game at the Columbia, Mo. Regional in the NCAA tournament. But this team has much to be proud of when it reflects on the season.
The Braves (26-28) won the Missouri Valley Conference softball tournament for the first time in program history.
“Bradley’s never done that,” said senior pitcher Ashley Birdsong, who was 10-2 in the last 12 games of the season. “No one can ever take that away from us. We’re the first team at Bradley University to ever do that. We made history.”
Bradley also advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time and claimed its first NCAA tournament victory. The Braves defeated 15-seeded and 20th-ranked DePaul, 2-1, Friday afternoon in the double-elimination regional.
Hayes told her team they raised the bar for the program. By raising the bar, the Bradley softball program isn’t an unknown anymore.
“I think people know who we are now,” Hayes said. “Being in the state of Illinois, that’s a tough place to recruit. You have to deal with Northwestern, DePaul, Illinois, Southern Illinois-Carbondale - and now Edwardsville is moving up - and Eastern and Western. This puts us on the map as one of the best.”
May 16th, 2009 |
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DePaul 2, Bradley 1 (Final)
DePaul ends Bradley’s season with a 2-1 victory.
Seventh inning (DePaul 2, Bradley 1)
Birdsong finshes her 85th consecutive inning with two strike outs and a fly out to left.
DePaul gets Bradley to go 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game.
Sixth inning (DePaul 2, Bradley 1)
Birdsong gets a couple pop outs and a strike out for a 1-2-3 inning.
Bachkora gets a leadoff walk and O’Malley pinch runs for her. O’Malley moves to second on a ground out to third. She moves to third on a ground out to short, but Clack’s strike out ends the threat.
Fifth inning (DePaul 2, Bradley 1)
Tarulli-Fisher has a scary moment at the plate. She fouls off a 3-1 pitch, but it hits the brim of her helmet and off her face. She’s OK. She fouled off a couple more pitches before blooping a single into short left putting runners on second and third on a error.
Bradley’s plan when playing DePaul this weekend was to avoid facing Patton with runners on base. For good reason. With runners on second and third, Patton hits a two-RBI slap double off the wall in left to give DePaul a 2-1 lead.
1-2-3 inning for DePaul in Bradley’s half of the fifth.
Fourth inning (Bradley 1, DePaul 0)
Birdsong gets out of a jam with two pop ups. With runners on first and third, she gets pinch hitter Morocco to pop up to Vitale and Yniquez to pop out to Roth at third.
Wegmann gets Bradley’s first hit of the game, a grounder to center. Clack put a good hit on a ball to right center with one out, but Warren made a nice running catch to keep Wegmann on first. Wegmann stole second, Sherman walked, but Creighton struck out for the second time today to end the threat.
Third inning (Bradley 1, DePaul 0)
Another quick inning for Birdsong. This time two fly outs and a ground out. Someone in the press box just asked if a major league baseball pitcher threw a no-hitter and didn’t get the win. In fact, it happened in 1964. Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45s gave up zero hits in nine innings of a 1-0 loss to Cincinnati.
Bradley gets another runner on base, but still doesn’t have a hit. Roth reached first on an error by Patton at third. Roth moved to second on a grounder to Heteniak.
Second inning (Bradley 1, DePaul 0)
Short inning of work for Birdsong. She gets a strikeout, pop out to first and a ground out to third for three quick outs.
Just as quick of an inning for Heteniak. A first pitch ground out to second and two strikeouts end the 1-2-3 inning.
First inning (Bradley 1, DePaul 0)
Birdsong gets Patton the strike out around a couple pop ups to get out of the inning. Patton is 0-for-the-tournament thus far. She entered the tournament hitting .509. She hasn’t had a hit in three games for the first time this season.
Bradley strikes first. Mitchell reaches base on a walk, moves to second when Bachkora was hit by a pitch. The Braves attempted a double steal and Ashkar’s throw to third was wild, allowing Mitchell to score and Bachkora reach third. Scary moment with two outs: Voss tumbled into the bullpen down the left field line attmpting to catch a foul ball. She’s OK.
Starting lineups
Bradley is the home team again today and wearing white with red trim. DePaul is wearing black with blue trim as the visiting team.
Bradley
2b Lindsay Watkins
lf Janay Mitchell
1b Alycia Bachkora
ss Miriam Wegmann
c Jacqueline Vitale
cf Amanda Clack
dh Julie Sherman
rf Anne Creighton
3b Jackie Roth
p Ashley Birdsong
DePaul
1b Jack Tarulli-Fish
3b Amber Patton
p Becca Heteniak
c Simone Ashkar
dh Samantha Morgan (for cf Alex Morocco)
2b Brittney Yniquez
lf Marie Thompson
ss Tara Voss
rf Shea Warren
Welcome back
Bradley is back on the field warming up for an elimination game against DePaul, whom the Braves defeated Friday night, 1-0. The 15-seeded and 20th-ranked Blue Demons eliminated Illinois, 6-0, to get another shot at Bradley.
The winner of this game moves on to play Missouri in the championship game Sunday. Because of the double-elimination format, the DePaul-Bradley winner needs to beat Missouri twice to win the regional.
Bradley relaxed in the stands of University Field during DePaul’s victory over Illinois. Later the team stayed loose with fielding and hitting drills on the soccer field behind the softball field.
First pitch in a few minutes.
May 16th, 2009 |
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Missouri 2, Bradley 1 (Final)
Bradley plays in the 6:30 p.m. game against the winner of the Illinois-DePaul game. The winner of tonight’s 6:30 p.m. game has to beat Missouri twice on Sunday to win the regional.
Seventh inning (Missouri 2, Bradley 1)
Birdsong gets Mizzou in order in the top of the seventh.
Bradley needs one run to extend the game. Due up is Sherman, Creighton and Roth.
Lauren Meister gets a two-out hit as a pinch hitter, but Delaney strikes out Watkins to end the games.
Sixth inning (Missouri 2, Bradley 1)
Mizzou makes a lead off hit by Taylor payoff. Taylor steals second, advances to third on a grounder to second and Poet’s RBI double to the centerfield wall scores her. Birdsong escapes more trouble by getting Allen to ground out to second with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Bradley crowd urging on the softball with chants of BU-BU. Bradley scores one in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly by Vitale. Bachkora was hit by a pitch. Wegmann hit a rocket off the leftfield wall to put runners on first and second. A passed ball moved them to second and third leading up to Vitale’s RBI sac fly. Clack put a good hit on one, but Minner caught it in right for the third out.
Fifth inning (Missouri 1, Bradley 0)
Birdie escapes trouble in the fifth. Outs alternating with singles gave Mizzou runners on first the second with two outs. Julie Silver, pinch hitting for Vock, popped out to Wegmann at short to end the inning.
Bradley misses a golden opportunity to tie the game, but it took an outstanding defensive play by centerfielder Taylor. With runners on first and second with two outs, Watkins sends a short fly to left center, where Taylor made a diving catch to end the inning.
The Braves are down to their last six outs to tie the game.
Fourth inning (Missouri 1, Bradley 0)
Birdie makes quick work of Mizzou again in the fourth with two more strike outs. Minner disagreed with the K call to end the inning, but made her feelings known to the dugout rather than the umpire.
New pitcher for Mizzou to start the fourth is right hander Stacy Delaney.
Wegmann draws a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but the Braves go scoreless in the fourth.
Third inning (Missouri 1, Bradley 0)
Birdie gets an easy inning with three quick outs with a strikeout, pop out to second and a grounder back to the circle. Ditto for Nottelman: Two fly outs and a grounder back to the circle for her.
Second inning (Missouri 1, Bradley 0)
Minner scores from first on a double down the left field line by Ubrun to give Missouri a 1-0 lead. Ubrun was caught in a rundown between second and third. A line out to Wegmann at shortstop and a flyout to center end the inning for Birdsong.
Bradley has trailed only once since the regular season, to Southern Illinois in the MVC tournament.
Hard luck inning for Bradley. Wegmann and Vitale start the inning with singles, Clack’s sac bunt moves them to second and third. Sherman, who had her first hit since April 11 in yesterday’s 1-0 win over Dunlap, tried to bunt the tying run in, but she popped it up and infielder Schweisberger made a diving catch. With Wegmann almost to home plate and needing to tag up at third, Schweisberger was able to easily get her out at third.
First inning (Bradley 0, Missouri 0)
Birdsong gives up a leadoff hit to Taylor, who is later caught stealing. The Bradley pitcher, who has 11 shutouts this season and moved into fourth on the MVC career strikeout list yesterday, strikes out Schneider and gets Poet, who is swinging a hot bat as of late, to hit a dribbler back to the circle.
Nottelman gets a 1-2-3 inning with a nice running catch by Poet near the foul line for the first out. A strike out and a pop out end the inning.
Starting lineups
Missouri (46-9) is the visiting team this afternoon and will wear all black w
Because Bradley is the home team, the Braves are in Missouri’s dugout while the Tigers are in the visiting dugout.
ith gold trim. Bradley (26-26) is wearing its home white pants and shirt with red trim and red socks.
Bradley
2b Lindsay Watkins
lf Janay Mitchell
1b Alycia Bachkora
ss Miriam Wegmann
c Jacqueline Vitale
cf Amanda Clack
dh Julie Sherman
rf Anne Creighton
3b Jackie Roth
p Ashley Birdsong
Missouri
cf Rhea Taylor
3b Gina Schneider
lf Kathryn Port
rf Micaela Minner
dh Lindsey Ubrun
1b Marla Schweisberger
2b Andee Allen
c Katie Milles
ss Abby Vock
p Kristin Nottelman
Another good Bradley crowd of about 50 in attendance today, but they are clearly out numbered by Mizzouri fans in yellow and black. In all, looks like a crowd of about 700 or 800.
Welcome back
The Bradley Braves softball team returns to University Field on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia for a game against Missouri in the Columbia, Mo. Regional of the NCAA tournament.
Bradley defeated DePaul 1-0 Friday in the opener to advance to the winner’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament. Missouri and Illinois were delayed by rain overnight. Missouri defeated Illinois 5-1 this morning to advance to play Bradley.
Bradley-Mizzou first pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
May 16th, 2009 |
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By Justin Phelps ‘05
Julie Sherman ‘12 scores the Braves only run in their 1-0 win over DePaul. (Bradley University / Bob Hunt)
The players’ expectation is different.
First-year softball coach Amy Hayes says that’s the biggest difference in the Bradley softball team’s winning streak, which extended to 10-games with a 1-0 victory Friday afternoon over DePaul in a first-round regional game.
Senior pitcher Ashley Birdsong struck out her eighth batter to end the game, sparking a wild celebration on the field and in the stands among about 50 red-clad Bradley fans, including President Joanne K. Glasser.
“I think some people think that celebration is like the players don’t expect to win,” said Hayes, a Decatur, Ill. native who was a Bradley assistant coach in 1997. “But I think it’s the exact opposite. These kids expect to win now, and that’s what has turned our program around.”
In the last 10 games, Birdsong has put the softball team on her shoulders. She is 10-0 with five shutouts and has led the program to its first Missouri Valley Conference championship and first NCAA tournament victory.
“I don’t think anyone expected us to be here, but every time we put on our uniform, we expect to win,” Birdsong said. “Surprising? Yes, because we’ve had ups and downs, but not surprising from the past 10 games.”
Bradley (26-26) advances to play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the Illinois-Missouri game. The second game was postponed because of inclement weather with Illinois leading 1-0 in the top of the first. They will resume play at 11:00 a.m.
The Braves need two wins to claim the regional.
(Peoria Journal Star / Ron Johnson)
Birdsong limited DePaul’s impressive lineup, which averages 7.55 hits per game, to three hits. Bradley put an emphasis on containing senior Amber Patton, who has led the nation in batting average and entered the game hitting .509. Patton was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
But the defense behind Birdsong was equally important. In the second, shortstop Miriam Wegmann made a nice play to reach behind her body while moving away from second base to tag out a would-be base stealer. In the sixth inning, centerfielder Amanda Clack tracked a long fly ball by senior catcher Jackie Tarulli-Fish to the warning track, where she caught it.
“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here, but we just kept fighting throughout the season,” Hayes said. “It’s been an up-and-down season. But in the end, it’s about getting these kids to believe. Friday’s game is proof that even when it gets tough in the late innings and they’re putting pressure on us, these kids are ready and not giving up.”
Bradley scored in the second on senior Anne Creighton’s two-out RBI single that scored Julie Sherman, who reached first on a softly hit ball over the pitcher. Sherman stole second to get in scoring position.
“We’ve known this could happen from Day 1,” said Creighton, who has been especially effective in the last 10 games. “We fought through it and kept going, and here we are at regionals. We’re all really confident, having fun, and playing together. The team chemistry right now is unbelievable.”
May 15th, 2009 |
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Seventh inning
Sherman leads off with a hit down the left field line, but the Braves can’t advance her from first. The inning ends when Plese makes a diving catch in foul territory on Watkins fly ball.
Bradley is three outs from winning its 10th straight and its first NCAA tournament game.
Heteniak leads off with a single up the middle. Warren, who pinch hit again, bunts into a fielder’s choice to third and Heteniak is out at second. Voss’ sacrifice bunt moves Warren over to second. The Bradley faithful are very rowdy with a victory one out away. Birdsong strikes out DeMas to win its first NCAA tournament game and advance to tomorrow’s winner’s bracket game at noon.
Sixth inning (Bradley 1-0)
The clouds are dark enough that officials at University Field have turned on the lights. The storms appear to be far enough a way to complete this game.
No hits again for Bradley, but Clack sent a shot to the warning track in fight field.
Patton may not know what hit her. Birdsong just struck out DePaul’s leadoff hitter, who is 0-3 today. And Birdsong just about missed what hit her on Plese’s liner up the middle. Birdsong barely got a glove on Plese’s hit, but it was enough to deaden the ball for her to pick up and get the out. The Bradley faithful get louder with each out and each end to an inning.The sixth ends with a long fly ball by Tarulli-Fish to the warning track in straight away center, where Clack caught the ball.
Fifth inning (Bradley 1-0)
Bradley’s bench is getting more energetic with its cheers, many of which designed to encourage the Bradley batter. An example: “Two, two, two, two-four.” This is done repeatedly for Bachkora, who wears No. 24. Not a lot to cheer about in the Bradley fifth though as Heteniak gets three quick outs.
Bachkora dives on the warning track near the Bradley bullpen down the right field line but is short of the ball. Still, great effort on the first pitch of DePaul’s inning. Ashkar pinch hits for Voss and reaches base on a hit to right field. She is sacrificed to second by Braget, who pinch hit for DeMas, and to third by Morgan, who pinch hit for Yniguez. With two outs and Ashkar on third, Bradley organizes its defense with a meeting in the circle. No need, Birdsong strikes out Mathews, who pinch hit for Morocco, to avoid Patton with runners in scoring position.
Fourth inning (Bradley 1-0)
Heteniak is having control issues. She walked Vitale to leadoff the inning and hit Creighton. Tarulli-Fish and DePaul coach make visits to the circle around a couple ground outs by Bradley to end the inning.
Birdsong has allowed one hit through four innings. DePaul is averaging 7.55 hits per game. Of great importance, Birdsong has kept Patton of the bases. DePaul’s leadoff hitter has a .509 batting average but is 0-2 with a couple ground outs to the left side of the infield. With runners on first and third, Birdsong gets out of a jam with her fifth strikeout of the day, this one on Voss.
Third inning (Bradley 1-0)
Bachkora, who leads the team in home runs this season, sends a two-out shot over the Warren’s head in right and off the wall. She gave it a good ride, but it’s going to take something special to get it over the wall with the wind blowing in. Wegmann’s ground out to third ends the Bradley half of the inning.
It’s clouding up to the west and the weather map confirms storms are on the way. A large cluster of storms is developing just north of the I-70 corridor near Kansas City.
Birdsong is on today. She has four strikeouts through three innings with two in the third. She gets Morocco to ground out to her to end the inning.
Second inning (Bradley 1-0)
Anne Creighton continues her hot streak. Her two-out single to center scores Sherman from second. Sherman reached base on a looper over the pitcher and stole second. Bradley 1-0.
Bradley is 20-7 when they score first this season.
DePaul’s Frankiewicz leads off with a single to right. Warren pitch runs and is caught stealing by Vitale. Wegmann made a great tag to make the out. The ball was to the first base side and Wegmann had to reach behind her to get the out.
First inning
First pitch came at 2:32 p.m. from Heteniak.
Looks like about 50 Bradley fans made the trip down I-55 through St. Louis and over I-70.
Watkins led off with a walk, Mitchell moved her over with a bunt, but a pop out and a fly out ended the Bradley half of the inning.
Patton, DePaul’s .509 leadoff hitter, grounded out to ss Wegman to start the bottom of the first. After a strikeout by Birdsong, a great defensive play by rf Creighton gets her out of the inning. Tarulli-Fish’s laser to right was fired back by Creighton to 1b Bachkora for the third out. It’s the rare 9-3 putout.
Lineups
Bradley is the visiting team on the scoreboard and is wearing red tops with grey pants. DePaul is wearing white jerseys trimmed in blue and red with blue pants.
Bradley’s starting lineup
2b Lindsay Watkins
lf Janay Mitchell
1b Alycia Backhora
ss Miriam Wegmann
c Jackueline Vitale
cf Amanda Clack
dh Julie Sherman
rf Anna Creighto
3b Jackie Roth
p Ashley Birdsong
DePaul’s starting lineup
3b Patton
lf Plese
c Tarulli-Fish
p Heteniak
dh Frankiewicz (batting for rf Warren)
ss Voss
1b Demas
2b Yniguez
cf Morocco
Game time in 15 minutes.
Welcome
Welcome to University Field, home of the University of Missouri-Columbia Tigers softball team and site of the Columbia, Mo. Regional in the NCAA Softball Championship Tournament.
Bradley (25-26) plays the DePaul Blue Demons (37-12) at 2:30 p.m. today in the first of two games. Check back often for updates.
Bradley senior pitcher Ashley Birdsong is warming up in the bullpen in front of about 30 red-clad Bradley fans sitting along the first base line. Birdsong is preparing for the Blue Demons, who are the No. 15 seed in the tournament and average .296 at the plate. Amber Patton is DePaul’s biggest weapon. The senior from Forsyth, Ill. has led the nation in batting average and enters today’s game hitting .509.
The wind is blowing in at about 22 mph and rain is in the forecast, though it is tracking north of Columbia thus far.
Game time in 21 minutes.
May 15th, 2009 |
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The Bradley softball team’s surprising postseason run continues Friday and this is the place for updates and news from the Columbia, Mo. Regional of the NCAA tournament. The No. 6 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, the Braves won their first MVC softball championship to earn the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance. Check back throughout the weekend for game blogs, recaps, and updates about the Bradley Braves and their progression through the regional.
May 14th, 2009 |
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