Peoria Standard

The Bradley baseball team hosts Iowa in its home opener on Wednesday night. First pitch at Dozer Park is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

ABOUT THE BRAVES

• Bradley owns an 8-14 record after winning 1-of-3 games at Southern Illinois in its MVC opener last week.

• The Braves have been led by their offense in 2022, averaging 7.0 runs per game.

• Junior Connor O'Brien has led BU – ranking first on the team in batting average (.398), doubles (8), home runs (5) and RBI (25).

 

SERIES HISTORY

• In a series that dates back to 1934, Iowa holds the slightest of edges in the series, 39-38-2.

• The schools are meeting for the first time since 2019 when they split a pair of contests, both winning at their home park.

• Overall, Bradley has won its three games versus the Hawkeyes at Dozer Park.

 

ABOUT THE HAWKEYES

• Iowa is 14-10 during the 2022 season, winning 2-of-3 games last weekend versus Central Michigan.

• The Hawkeyes have been one of the NCAA's top pitching teams this season, allowing teams to hit just .186 this season with a 3.43 earned run average.

• Offensively, Iowa is averaging 5.4 runs per game, while hitting .267.

 

HOME SWEET HOME

• After playing its first 22 games of the season on the road, Bradley is finally set to make its home debut on Wednesday.

• It marks BU's latest Peoria opener since 1983, when it made its home debut on April 15.

• In fact, Bradley is one of just seven schools in the nation to have not played a home game this season with five scheduled before BU's Wednesday night game – only Niagara has a later home opener scheduled on April 14.

 

HIGH RANKS FOR O'BRIEN

• Junior Connor O'Brien is enjoying the best year of his career in 2022.

• O'Brien ranks in the top 100 nationally in batting average (55th; .398), hits per game (42nd; 1.59) and RBI per game (1.14).

 

CONSISTENCY FOR O'BRIEN

• The key for Connor O'Brien during the 2022 season is his consistency.

• O'Brien has recorded at least one hit in 19-of-22 games, while reaching base in 21 contests.

• The junior has reached base in each of the last 20 games.

• O'Brien recorded a hit in 15-straight games (the fifth-longest streak by a Brave in the last 20 years) from Feb. 26 to March 1 and it was only snapped after a game in which he drew two walks.

 

CAUGHT STEALING

• The defensive highlight for BU is senior Keaton Rice, who is nearing a school record.

• Rice has thrown out 58 runners during his career – including a Valley-best eight in 2022.

• The senior is now tied for the school record, originally set by Austin Jarvis from 2011-14.

• Rice has thrown out eight runners this season in just 15 stolen-base attempts – easily ranking first in the Valley with a .533 rate (Valpo's Angel DiFederico is second at .263).