DES MOINES, IOWA ? The Drake softball team scored four runs off of five consecutive hits in the fourth inning of the second half of a doubleheader against Wichita State to earn a 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference victory Saturday. The Shockers took the first game, 3-0.
Senior
Susan Slycord (West Des Moines, Iowa) led the Bulldogs in game one, going 2-3 from the plate with a double.
Drake moves to 25-24 on the campaign with a 12-10 MVC record while Wichita State is 32-26 with a 13-12 league mark. The Bulldogs play their final home game of the season at noon on Sunday against the Shockers.
Wichita State scored runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh inning to win the first game, 3-0. The Shockers out hit the Bulldogs 8-4 in game one.
Freshman pitcher
Brynne Dordel (Chanhassen, Minn.) struck out seven batters pitching the complete game.
Wichita State pitcher Ashly Bright set a MVC single-season strikeout record recording her 365th strikeout. She threw a complete game, while allowing only four hits and notching 14 strikeouts.
Freshman
Erin Mollohan (Tinley Park, Ill.) singled-home senior
Marilyn Buss (West Des Moines, Iowa) to even the score at 1-1 in the first inning of the second game.
Wichita State took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning when Cynthia Verhulst hit a two-run home run over the center field fence.
Drake answered back with its four-run fifth. Sophomore
Kelsey Kahler (North Liberty, Iowa) began the Bulldogs' rally, hitting the first of Drake's five consecutive singles.
Buss singled to drive in freshman pitcher
Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho) who had walked to lead off the inning. Senior
Kristin Birocci (Des Moines, Iowa) singled through the right side to plate Kahler.
Senior
Jaci Faidley (Colfax, Iowa) singled-home Buss and then stole second and scored on a single by Slycord, who hit the final of Drake's five consecutive hits.
The Bulldogs gave up two hits and one run but left the bases loaded to hang onto their 5-4 lead, in the sixth inning.
DeLong earned the win for Drake, striking out five batters. Sophomore
Mandy Osborn (Blair, Neb.) earned her second save of the season, pitching one inning in relief of DeLong. Osborn limited the Shockers to only one hit.
The Shockers out hit Drake 10-7, but stranded nine runners on base.
