Amanda Bradberry steps into the box with one out, the score tied and the bases loaded in the sixth inning against Drake on Wednesday.

In the first game of the series, Bradberry struggled, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

Not this time. Bradberry sends the ball into the outfield for a game-winning two-run single, completing a 2-for-3, two-run, two-RBI game for Bradberry.

The way the series played out was strikingly similar to the way the season has gone for sophomore second baseman Bradberry.

She got off to a slow start, hitting only .234 through the first 18 games of the season and having some difficulties on defense.

“I think my struggles started at Arizona [at the Hillenbrand Invitational],” Bradberry said. “Just going into that game, it was a big game and I stressed myself out too much, and then the mistakes that I made during that game carried on for a while. It took me a while, and I had to sit down with the coaches to figure out what was going on. It was kind of one of those mental aspects of the game that just threw me off completely.”

By the end of that tournament, Bradberry was riding the bench.

“It was kind of weird for me, because I saw how she wasn’t starting at the beginning of last year – and then she beat out a senior [Jennifer Bigbee] for that spot,” said freshman shortstop Carrie Monroe. “That says a lot about her right there. But this year, she struggled – so it was kind of a test to see if she would redeem herself or if she would just kind of take it. There wasn’t a day where she didn’t keep working and trying to get better.”

Co-head coach Crystal Turner said that, although Bradberry was clearly frustrated with how she was playing, she was still focused on getting better.

“All it took was for me to tell her exactly the reasons why, and she turned it around,” Turner said. “She got the opportunity and turned it around.”

Much of what Bradberry talked about with the coaching staff was her confidence, not specific mechanics.

“We just talked about my mental game – where I was at, what I was thinking and how I was feeling and why what I was feeling was affecting my game,” Bradberry said. “I worked hard and went back to the basics. I also worked on the things that I had been struggling with: hitting and defensively. I got in as many reps as I could and worked on my confidence quite a bit, too.”

Even though she was no longer getting as much playing time, she was practicing as hard as ever.

“If I just came to practice one day, not being on the team and not knowing that she was benched, I would have thought she was a starter,” Monroe said. “The way that she practiced, she is just really intense out there and is always looking for ways to get better.”

Bradberry’s hard work eventually paid off. Thirteen games after being benched, she was put back into the starting line-up. This time, she took advantage of the position. In her first game back, on March 18, she went 3-for-3 in the Cyclones’ loss to Creighton.

“It was kind of one of those ‘adrenaline/upset so I’m going to take it out on this game’ sort of things,” Bradberry said.

Since that game against Creighton, Bradberry’s game has remained hot – she’s raised her batting average from .234 to .295 by hitting .385 in the 15 games since her return.

She is tied for the best batting average against Big 12 competition on the team – .351.

Bradberry isn’t wasting this against poor competition, either. Since coming back to the field, the Cyclones have been in an offensive slump. While the whole team’s average has been on the decline, Bradberry’s has risen during the stretch.

“We have probably faced our hardest pitchers these last five or six games [as of Tuesday],” Monroe said.

But during those games, Bradberry has been on fire, batting .455.

Her batting is not the only thing that has improved. Bradberry had also been playing stellar defense since returning to the lineup, making several diving stops at second base.

Bradberry seems to have learned from the whole experience.

“Being in the position that I was in, and knowing that I had it, and I lost it – I think that that is kind of in the back of my mind, and so it is making me work a lot harder,” Bradberry said. “I’m spending the extra time in here [at practice] – I’m getting extra cuts, I’m getting extra ground balls and stuff like that.”

So, after striking out three times in the first game against Drake, Bradberry didn’t bat an eye. She just went right back to work and helped the Cyclones get the win.