Kori Jensen came to Bradley to play second base.
So how did the junior from Wichita wind up the team's
closer.

Pitching ins't new to Kori Jensen. The junior college transfer was 6–and–1 last year. But he didn't come to Bradley to pitch.

Bradley Coach Dewey Kalmer said, "We thought we'd stick him in the middle infield and see how he did and if he didn't hit enough we'd move him to the mound. Early in the season he struggled with the bat and we had another kid, Mat Fritz, who continued to play well. Eventually those two guys made our decision for us."

Bradley Pitcher Kori Jensen said, "In junior college I did a lot of pitching. I was a starter and a closer. When I got here I didn't play too well in the field. My best asset to this team was to become a pitcher so I pursued that and worked hard at that and things worked out well for me."

Jensen's made a home on the mound, becoming the Braves' closer – a position coach Dewey Kalmer isn't used to having.

Kalmer said, "In the past we never had the luxury of having a closer. Whoever was in the bullpen and rested was out closer."

Jensen said, "I definitely prefer being a closer because coming from playing the field I'm used to playing everyday. Being a starter you're going to throw once every 7 days or so, but being a closer you have the opportunity to get in the game every single day."

Kori already has 6 saves, which broke the single–season school record. With a third of this year plus his entire senior season left he only needs 5 more saves to break the Bradley career mark.

Jensen said, "I didn't realize I was so close to the record so early in the season. But once I discovered it I thought it was a pretty cool feat."

Kalmer said, "Kori really gave us something we needed this year, which is some pitching depth. Going into the season we didn't know if we'd need that or not, but he's turned out to be a God–send."