ST. LOUIS – Freshman Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.) of the Drake University softball team has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Newcomer of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 27.
 
Maddox crushed the ball at the Mardi Gras Classic in Lafayette, La., to help Drake finish with a 5-1 record. She went 8-for-18 (.444) at the plate with three home runs, three walks, five runs scored and 10 runs batted in. Maddox tallied a .944 slugging percentage and compiled a .524 on-base percentage.
 
Maddox struck out just once in the six games and smashed a three-run home run against then No. 16 Louisiana. She went 2-4 in the win over Maryland with one RBI, 3-3 with two home runs and five RBI in one of the wins over Bowling Green and 1-3 with one RBI in the win over Mississippi Valley State.
 
In her first season, Maddox is batting a team-leading .347 with a team-high six home runs and 18 RBI. Her home run and RBI total lead the MVC. This is the first career MVC weekly award for Maddox and the first for Drake this year since junior Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) was named MVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 13.
 
Maddox and her teammates travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they will play five games over three days from March 3-5 at the Easton Crimson Classic hosted by No. 10 Alabama. Drake plays Stanford at 11 a.m. and Alabama at 6 p.m. on March 3 to start the tournament.