{"id":1727,"date":"2018-03-06T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T21:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/?p=1727"},"modified":"2018-03-07T09:39:01","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T15:39:01","slug":"bradley-softball-avoids-weather-with-indoor-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/2018\/03\/06\/bradley-softball-avoids-weather-with-indoor-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"Bradley Softball avoids weather with indoor facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The facade of the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex, located in Peoria.<\/p><\/div>\n

By Kerra Fisher and Nick Kelly<\/em><\/p>\n

The Bradley University softball season kicks off in early February which leads the team to face challenges against the weather. <\/span><\/p>\n

Central Illinois weather can be temperamental during the early season, ranging from cold temperatures and snow to rain. The team has to adjust practice location according to the weather using the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex<\/a>\u00a0for indoor practices when the weather is not permitting. <\/span><\/p>\n

The complex also hosts a tournament each spring that brings some prominent programs to Peoria. This year\u2019s rendition included Washington, currently the top-ranked team in the AP Poll.<\/span><\/p>\n

While many of the premier teams host home series in February, Bradley will not play a true outdoor home game until March in most seasons. Most of those games are still played in less than favorable conditions. <\/span><\/p>\n

With that, practicing on a different surface than you traditionally play on can create challenges for players.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sophomore outfielder Sydney Young perfecting her slap-hitting on a tee inside the indoor facility.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAs an infielder, the biggest adjustment we must make is reading the balls,\u201d sophomore Allison Apke<\/a> said. \u201cThe ball will bounce differently on the dirt as opposed to the turf.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradley currently sits at 5-7, with three of those wins coming in that tournament. All but those five tournament games have been played on grass and dirt. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us have been playing on dirt our entire lives,\u201d senior Maria Schroeder<\/a> said. \u201cWhen you practice on turf every day, it\u2019s an adjustment to play on dirt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Senior catcher Maria Schroeder and the Bradley Softball team stretch before practice at the complex.<\/p><\/div>\n

As an athlete, you never want to admit or succumb to disadvantages. However, being in a cold climate proves to be one, as 18 of the current top 25 teams in the country are located in warm-weather climates. <\/span><\/p>\n

To escape the conditions and still get games in early in the season, the team travels<\/a> to some of these warmer climates, including Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are an outside sport who is stuck inside for a good two months at practice, your motivation is a 45 degree day here and there so we can get outside and play,\u201d head coach Amy Hayes<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sophomore outfielder Sydney Young prepares for a pitch from a machine.<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, when you have been inside all winter, playing outside can create new challenges of its own.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the sun can get a little tricky, along with the wind, but those two factors are easier to adjust to,\u201d Apke said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIndoors, you don\u2019t have to worry about wind, sun and other factors,\u201d Schroeder said. \u201cThese are things you have to take into account and think about when you move to playing outdoors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Junior pitcher Julie Kestas throws a pitch during practice at the indoor complex.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bradley is fortunate, though, to have their outdoor home surface mimic that of their indoor practice surface. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even that can create inconsistencies for the team when it comes to moving outside. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on how much [the turf] is groomed, it can play a little differently every day,\u201d Hayes said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team will continue to adjust to weather conditions until they hit the road March 8 for the Louisville Classic in Kentucky.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kerra Fisher and Nick Kelly The Bradley University softball season kicks off in early February which leads the team to face challenges against the weather. Central Illinois weather can be temperamental during the early season, ranging from cold temperatures and snow to rain. The team has to adjust practice location according to the weather using the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex\u00a0for indoor practices when the weather is not permitting. The complex also hosts a tournament each spring that brings some prominent programs to Peoria. This year\u2019s rendition included Washington, currently the top-ranked team in the AP Poll. While many of the premier teams host home series in February, Bradley will not play a true outdoor home game until March in most seasons. Most of those games are still played in less than favorable conditions. With that, practicing on a different surface than you traditionally play on can create challenges for players. \u201cAs an infielder, the biggest adjustment we must make is reading the balls,\u201d sophomore Allison Apke said. \u201cThe ball will bounce differently on the dirt as opposed to the turf.\u201d Bradley currently sits at 5-7, with three of those wins coming in that tournament. All but those five tournament […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":1732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[249,163,261,260,262],"class_list":["post-1727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bucom360","tag-bradley-athletics","tag-bradley-braves","tag-bradley-softball","tag-louisville-slugger-sports-complex"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1727"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1738,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727\/revisions\/1738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}