DES MOINES, IOWA - Led by a 3-for-4 afternoon from junior Erin Bly (Frankfort, Ill.), the Drake softball team opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 14-1 run-rule shortened victory in game one of the Bulldogs' doubleheader with Bradley on Saturday (March 27) at Buel Field.

Junior Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho) allowed one run on four hits on the mound en route to collecting her team-leading 10th complete game of the year to improve her ledger to 9-3.

Drake stole the momentum in the affair plating three runs in the bottom of the first inning to assume a lead it didn't relinquish.

Senior Elena Leon (West Des Moines, Iowa) led off the frame with a walk before stealing second and then came home on a triple off the top of the wall in right center by freshman Lindsey Vande Wall (Prairie City, Iowa).  Junior Erin Mollohan (Tinley Park, Ill.) plated Vande Wall with an RBI sacrifice bunt and Bly scored on a fielding error to round out the scoring in the frame.

The Bulldogs drove in one run in the second to assume a 4-0 lead before the Braves collected their only run in the affair on an RBI single by Amanda Clack in the top of the third.

Drake added three runs in the bottom of the frame on a three-run home run by junior Molly McClelland (West Des Moines, Iowa) over the wall in left center.

The Bulldogs followed with a seven-run explosion in their final at-bat in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run pinch-hit triple down the line in right by senior Mandy Osborn (Blair, Neb.).  Vande Wall also added a two-run home run to conclude the scoring.

Vande Wall finished the contest 2-for-4 with a team-high three RBI.  Mollohan added a pair of base hits, while McClelland and Osborn recorded three RBI each.

DeLong struck out six in her five innings on the mound, while Katie Dennis suffered the loss for Bradley, allowing four runs (all earned) in one inning to fall to 2-4 on the year.