Game 1 Box Score -- Bradley 8, Army 6

Game 2 Box Score -- Bradley 3, Army 1

LAKELAND, Fla. - Joe Bircher handcuffed Army over the first four innings of the opener and Jacob Booden carried a two-hit shutout in the seventh inning of the nightcap, leading Bradley to a doubleheader sweep of Army, Friday at Henley Field.

Bradley, which fended off late-inning Army rallies in both contests, captured the first game 8-6 before closing out the twinbill sweep with a 3-1 victory in the nightcap. The Black Knights brought the potential tying run to the plate in their final at-bat of both games, but could not complete a comeback in either outing.

Fueled by six Army fielding errors, Bradley built an 8-1 cushion through five innings of the opener. Bircher, who retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, allowed only a two-out single to Ben Koenigsfeld in the second inning for the Black Knights' lone base runner until there were two outs in the fourth. The Black Knights broke up the shutout bid at that point as Kevin McKague doubled off the fence in left-center field and Joey Hesnshaw followed with an RBI single to left.

The Braves had built a 4-0 lead courtesy of a pair of unearned runs off Army starter Matt Fouch in both the first and third frames. Two more Army errors in the fifth led to four Bradley runs (2 earned) as the Braves stretched their lead to 8-1.

A run-scoring single by Steve May and a three-run triple by Henshaw keyed a five-run sixth that drew the Black Knights within two runs at 8-6, but Army could get no closer, stranding a runner at first base later in the inning after Koenigsfeld had walked with no outs on the heels of Henshaw's bases-clearing triple to the gap in right-center.

The Black Knights brought the potential tying run to the plate again in the seventh opposite Bradley reliever Kori Jensen after pinch-hitter Cody Murtle singled to shallow left field. But Shaun Wixted rapped into a 6-6-3 double-play and McKague grounded to first base, ending the game.

Fouch (1-1) suffered the loss for Army, allowing eight runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits over five innings of work. He struck out six and walked three. Bircher leveled his record at 1-1 in gaining the victory. The sophomore southpaw yielded six runs (5 earned) on six hits over five-plus innings. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk. Jensen fired a scoreless seventh for his first save of the season.

Henshaw went 2-for-3 with one run scored and four runs batted in to lead Army's offense in the first game.

The Black Knights (6-6) managed little opposite Booden in the second game as the lanky right-hander held Army hitless until McKague's one-out single in the fifth. The Braves had broken up a scoreless pitchers' duel between Booden and Black Knight starter Logan Lee an inning earlier when Matt Fritz doubled and scored on a clutch two-out single by Mike McMillan. Bradley had a runner thrown out at the plate earlier in the inning when Mike Falsetti tried to score on Fritz's double to the gap in right-center field following his own one-out single to right. But a perfect relay throw by shortstop Clint Moore from center field nailed the potential go-ahead run at the plate.

Bradley (6-8) added what proved to be a pair of important insurance runs off Army reliever Ken Jackson in the bottom of the sixth as Fritz doubled and Christian Segar blasted a two-out, two-run homer to left-center field for a 3-0 Brave lead.

After mustering just two hits against Booden across the first six stanzas, the Black Knights finally broke through in their final at-bat as Wixted smacked a leadoff double down the right-field line and Koenigsfeld drilled an RBI single to right-center. But Brad Altbach relieved Booden and retired Henshaw on a flyout to deep right-center field and McKague on a groundout to third base, before striking out Moore to end the game.

Booden improved to 3-0 with the win. The sophomore right-hander permitted one run on four hits over six-plus innings. He struck out five and walked one. Altbach registered the final three outs to earn his first save for the Braves. Lee (0-1), meanwhile, suffered the hard-luck loss for the Black Knights. The sophomore left-hander scattered eight hits and allowed just one run over five solid innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Army concludes its seven-game, nine-day trip to Florida on Saturday evening. The Black Knights will battle nationally ranked Ohio State at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Black Knights Blog: Army dropped to 2-4 on its spring trip ... Friday's games marked the first ever meeting between Army and Bradley ... Shaun Wixted extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a sixth-inning single in the first game and a seventh-inning double in the second ... Joey Henshaw's bid for a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh inning of the second game died just in front of the warning track in deep left-center field ... temperatures crept into the 70s for the first time during Army's stay in Florida ... prior to Friday, Army had not been swept in a doubleheader since dropping two games to Holy Cross on April 4 of last year, 12 twinbills earlier.