TUSCON, Ariz. – The Drake University softball team looks to continue its strong start as the teams travel to the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Arizona, Feb. 16-19.
 
Drake opens the invitational against No. 10 Arizona on Thursday at 6 p.m. CST before taking on Ball State and North Dakota State Friday at 2 and 8 p.m., respectively. The Bulldogs will once again take on Arizona Saturday at 6 p.m. before facing Boston College at 8 p.m. Drake closes the tournament with a game against Abilene Christian Sunday at 12 p.m. The two games against Arizona, Ball State and Abilene Christian will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
 
The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-1 performance at the UNI Dome-Classic which featured two victories over South Dakota State as well as Omaha and Montana. Wisconsin handed Drake its sole loss of the season with a 4-1 victory in eight innings. Drake was led by junior pitcher Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) who earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors after compiling a 2-1 record with a 0.39 ERA and one save in four appearances, including a five-inning no-hitter in the first win over South Dakota State. Newman recorded 35 strikeouts in 18.0 innings for the Bulldogs in their opening weekend.
 
Drake also welcomed the addition of freshman Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.) who batted .357 (5-14) in her first five career games. Maddox opened her career with an inside the park grand slam as well as another solo homerun in the Bulldogs' 8-0 victory over South Dakota State in the season-opener.
 
The Bulldogs face a strong Arizona team who is coming off a five-win opening weekend including a 4-0 win over then No. 21 Baylor. Senior third baseman Katiyana Mauga was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after hitting four home runs in four games with eight RBIs and a 1.357 slugging percentage.
 
Ball State and North Dakota State are both coming off 1-4 performances last weekend dropping multiple games by close margins. Three of the Cardinals loses were by three runs or less while North Dakota State lost their four games by a combined seven runs. Boston College went 3-1 last weekend including victories over the Houston and Wright State. The Bulldogs will close the weekend against Abilene Christian who returns to the field after a 3-3 outing last weekend including a victory over Iowa.
 
Following the Wildcat Invitational, Drake travels to Lafayette, La. for the Mardi Gras Classic hosted by Louisiana where they will play six games in three days, Feb. 23-25. The Bulldogs open the three-day tournament against Bowling Green on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.