Drake Moves To 8-0 In MVC Play With 7-6 Victory Over Evansville

Sunday, April 03, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa – Senior Molly McClelland's ninth-inning suicide squeeze scored freshman Amy Pierce and gave the Drake University softball team a 7-6, extra-inning victory over Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville Sunday at Buel Field. The win put Drake at a perfect 8-0 in the MVC and 21-12 overall.

McClelland (West Des Moines, Iowa) stepped to the plate in the ninth with one out and Pierce (Olathe, Kan) 60 feet away from a series sweep. The senior dropped a perfect bunt in front of Evansville pitcher Kendall Kautz to score Pierce and add to Drake's best-ever conference start.

The Purple Aces nearly claimed victory after hanging three runs on Bulldog ace Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho) in the seventh and taking a 6-5 lead into the bottom half of the frame. DeLong had none of it, leading off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to left, her team-best ninth of the season, and sending the game to extras.

DeLong tossed the first seven innings of the contest before handing the reigns to senior Brynne Dordel (Chanhassen, Minn.) in extra innings. Dordel pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to earn her ninth win of the season. DeLong struck out five and allowed five runs in her seven innings of work. Both pitchers inched closer to Laurie Bowden's all-time school strikeout mark of 670, set in 1993. DeLong stands at 655 career strikeouts, while Dordel is at 644.

In addition to scoring the winning run, Pierce finished the game 2-for-4 with her first-career home run; a third-inning blast to left that scored DeLong and put Drake up 4-1. Pierce joined fellow freshman Jordan Gronewold (Carlisle, Iowa) as Drake's most consistent batters this weekend. Both led the squad with six hits in the series.

The Bulldogs step out of conference for a matchup with in-state rival Iowa Wednesday at Ron Buel Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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