DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University softball team is the No. 1 seed for the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Championship this week at Buel Field. The Bulldogs open the tournament Friday in the first semifinal matchup at 4 p.m. The championship's title game is Saturday at 1 p.m. Every game of the MVC Championship will be on ESPN+.
 
Drake (41-10, 24-1 MVC) enters the 2018 MVC Championship as the No. 1 seed after the Bulldogs claimed their third MVC Regular Season Title to be the top seed as the championship host. The winner of the MVC's three-day tournament earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Drake will play the winner of No. 4 Valparaiso and No. 5 Indiana State, which will play Friday morning at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs are trying to win their fourth MVC tournament title in school history (1993, 1994, 2008).
 
Drake is hosting the MVC Championship for the third time in program history. The Bulldogs previously hosted the championship in 1992 and 2010.
 
Drake defeated Valparaiso (26-23) twice in a weather-shortened series in April. The series was moved from Buel Field to the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa due to inclement weather in Des Moines. The Bulldogs beat the Crusaders of 4-0 and 2-1. In its first in the Valley, Valpo earned the fourth seed and a bye to the quarterfinals.
 
Drake won two games over Indiana State (26-27) in Terre Haute, Ind. in March. The series between the Bulldogs and Sycamores was also shortened to just two games due to inclement weather in Terre Haute. Drake won by scores of 4-0 and 8-0. No. 5 Indiana State rallied for a 4-3 win over No. 8 Bradley Thursday in the championship opener.
This season has been a banner year for Drake, which finished the regular season with a 41-10 overall record, including a 24-1 record in MVC games. Both win totals are school records. The 24 league wins tied the all-time mark for an MVC program in regular season play, equaling the 2005 SIU team (24-3).
 
Since the Valley went to a 27-game league schedule in 2001, Drake is the only MVC team to suffer just one loss in regular season league play. The Bulldogs' impressive winning percentage of .960 in conference games is a new league-record since the 27-game schedule was adopted.
 
Drake claimed multiple MVC end of the season honors Wednesday night at the MVC Awards Banquet.
 
Sophomore Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) was the first-ever Drake softball player to be named MVC Player of the Year while redshirt junior Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) was the MVC Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her career. Head coach Rich Calvert and assistant coaches Tina DeAngelo and Kasey Griffith were tabbed the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Sophomore Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.), Newman, junior Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) and Roemmich were picked to the All-MVC First Team while senior Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa), junior Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.), freshman Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa), senior Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) and freshman Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) were selected to the All-MVC Second Team. Junior catcher Gabbie Jonas (Omaha, Neb.) rounds out the awards as she was named to the MVC All-Defensive team.
 
Roemmich, who had an outstanding first season and was an All-MVC Second Team selection in 2017, is having a great sophomore season. This year, she leads the team in batting average at .360, triples with two, doubles with 12, walks with 24, runs scored with 34, hits with 58 and slugging percentage at .478. Roemmich, who has started every game at shortstop, also hit her first career home run this season and has driven in a career-high 21 runs. She has a career batting average of .369, which is already No. 2 all-time at Drake. Roemmich blistered MVC pitching with a .429 batting average, which ranked third in the Valley.
 
Newman, who missed nearly all of 2017 due to injury, has dominated in her return to the circle. This season, she is 19-3 with the second-lowest earned run average in the nation at 0.64 and has struck out 213, which is the second-best total in MVC. This past weekend, Newman moved to No. 1 all-time at Drake and No. 7 in MVC history in career strikeouts with 768. Newman, who won her first MVC Pitcher of the Year award in 2016, is 12-1 with a 0.41 ERA, has 137 strikeouts to 18 walks and tossed two no-hitters against Valley opponents in 2018. She helped at the plate with a .297 batting average, two home runs, three doubles and seven RBI in league play. This is the third time in her career, Newman, who is third all-time at Drake in wins with 61, has been selected to the All-MVC First Team.
 
This is the first All-MVC honor for Maddox, who is batting .324 with four home runs, six doubles and a team-high 29 RBI. She batted .324 with two home runs and 14 RBI against MVC foes. Maddox played in all 51 games with 49 starts at first base.
 
This is the second All-MVC selection for Pena, who was on the 2016 All-MVC Second Team. She made 49 starts at third base and is batting .297 with two home runs, 10 doubles, 16 runs scored and is tied with Maddox for the team lead in RBI with 29. Earlier this season, Pena was selected MVC Player of the Week and Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career.
 
This is the first all-conference award for Alexander, who has played in 50 games in center field and is batting .267 with four home runs, 25 RBI and is second on the team in stolen bases with 15. She raised her play in league action with a .313 batting average with one triple, two doubles and two home runs with 13 RBI. Alexander is No. 5 all-time in career stolen bases with 53.
 
This is the second All-MVC accolade for Frank, who was tabbed to the 2016 All-MVC First Team. This season, she is batting .279 with six doubles, 15 RBI and 26 runs scored and is third on the team in stolen bases with 14. Frank has played in 46 games this season, primarily at second base.
 
In her first season, Johnson is second on the team in batting average at .344 along with swiping a team-best 19 stolen bases. She has collected 44 hits, one triple, two home runs, six doubles and 23 RBI. Earlier this week, Johnson, who has played primarily in the outfield, earned her first career MVC Newcomer and Player of the Week awards.
 
Smith is on the All-MVC Second Team for the second time in her career after being on the 2016 team. A two-way standout, she is a pitcher/utility player selection, who is 9-3 with the second-lowest ERA in the MVC behind Newman at 1.14 and is second in saves with seven. At the plate, Smith has crushed a team-best five home runs and 21 RBI.
 
Timmons is having a great first season in the circle. She is 13-4 with a 1.97 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 110.0 innings. Timmons has combined with Newman and Smith to compile a 1.21 team ERA, which ranks fourth in the nation. Timmons was 8-0 with a 2.44 ERA against Valley teams. She was named MVC Newcomer of the Week twice and MVC Pitcher of the Week once.
 
Jonas played in 42 games at catcher and helped the pitching staff have a tremendous season. She batted .250 with one double and six RBI.