DES MOINES, IOWA -
The Drake University softball team broke a pair of single season records
en
route to a doubleheader split with Missouri Valley Conference leader
Southern
Illinois, Friday. The Bulldogs dropped game one, 6-1, and won, 2-0, in
game
two.
Junior Erin Mollohan (Tinley Park, Ill.) stroked her conference-best 18th double
of the
season in game two to pass Dani Tyler's 1994 total of 17 for the Drake
single
season doubles record. The hit was her 28th career double, putting her
at tenth
on the Drake career doubles list.
Senior Elena Leon
(West Des Moines, Iowa) drew her 38th and 39th walks of the season in
game one,
passing Katie Shimon's 2004 total of 37 for the Drake single season
walks
record.
Leon used heads-up baserunning to score Drake's only run
in the third inning of game one. After advancing to third base on a wild
pitch,
Leon crossed the plate after Saluki pitcher Danielle Glosson turned her
back to
the play thinking time out had been called.
Junior pitcher Brynne Dordel (Chanhassen, Minn.) was solid in the circle for six innings,
allowing one run on three hits while striking out 11. The Salukis
figured her
out in the seventh and went on to score five runs on four hits, a hit
batsman
and two Drake errors to earn the 6-1 victory.
Junior Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho) earned her 17th victory of the season
with a
six-hit shutout in game two. DeLong tossed seven innings and struck out
eight
while walking two. She worked Drake out of trouble for the duration of
the
game, overcoming three Bulldog errors and forcing Southern Illinois to
strand
10 base runners.
Mollohan's record-breaking double scored freshman Macie Silliman (Winterset, Iowa) to
give Drake a 1-0 advantage after one inning. Senior Kelsey Kahler (North Liberty, Iowa) scored on an RBI double by Leon
to give Drake a 2-0 lead after four frames. DeLong struck out the side
in the
sixth and faced the minimum in the seventh to close the door on SIU.
Silliman, senior Bridget Shields (Iowa City, Iowa) and sophomore Torey Craddock
(Tucson, Ariz.) tallied two-hit days for Drake.
The Bulldogs' record moved to 32-20 overall and 12-12 in
the Missouri Valley Conference.
Drake closes its regular season with MVC Tournament
seeding on the line tomorrow when it hosts Southern Illinois in the
finale of
the teams' three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
