BY DALTON KEMPER AND TYLER ARMSTRONG
As the season draws closer to the end, the Bradley Braves softball team looks back on what their expectations and goals were for this season.
“Our goal for this year was to really improve our defense, as that was something we struggled with last year. We knew if we could clean that up, we would be able to win more ball games. We had really high expectations coming in with our hitting because we returned a lot of hitters from last year, and our freshman coming in were a force to be reckoned with” said first baseman Allison Apke, who this year broke the Bradley Braves home run record in just her junior year with the Braves.
The Braves currently holds a 24-18 record and are ranked tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. They rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference in home runs, hits, and runs scored. The Braves also rank in the top five in RBIs and slugging percentage. The defense has also improved their fielding percentage as well this season.
“So far I would rate the teams success at around an 8 out of 10, I think we’ve accomplished a lot that we want to really get done, but we still have strides that we can make forward and were in a really good place to be in that MVC tournament” said senior pitcher Megan Mahaffy, who is excited and looking forward to her final Missouri Valley Conference tournament run.
This is a young Bradley Braves group as well, with only four seniors on the team. The future definitely looks bright for the Braves, but that is the expectation for junior outfielder Brooklyn Bane, “I see the team moving in a positive direction. The seniors have left a good foundation for future years and the majority of the team has strong underclassmen representation. We have a good mix of experience and young talent, which means we should be good in the years to come.”
The Braves have continued to play beyond expectations this season despite some of the obstacles they have faced. Early in the season the Braves are often forced to travel due to the harsh weather in central Illinois but that has not slowed them down.
The Braves hold an outstanding 12-4 record on the road, an 8-8 record at neutral sites, and just a 4-6 record while playing at home this year. But with only 10 games played at home so far this season the Braves face the struggle of not having home field advantage most of the time, and also face the challenges of being on the road. School work and time management become extremely challenging and stressful as they try to complete homework but also prepare to play in games and even tournaments. To perform that well in more than 30 games on the road, with the challenges of being a student athlete, tells you how hard these girls work and how much they really love this game.
The Braves have exceeded their expectations this season, and will continue to build around the success they have had. The Braves have a high powered offense with many of those key players returning for next season. The Braves will look to finish their season strong and make a run in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.