Thursday, March 1

Full Notes in PDF Package

THIS WEEK IN DRAKE SOFTBALL
Drake (5-7) will play five games this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.  On Friday before the 2012 Woo Pig Classic begins the Bulldogs will play host Arkansas at 5 p.m.  On Saturday the Classic begins with two games and IUPUI will be the Bulldogs first opponent at 12:30 p.m.  Drake will again play Arkansas at 5 p.m. and Sunday the tournament will conclude with an 8:00 a.m. matchup with the Butler Bulldogs followed by the consolation or championship game.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Arkansas
Drake and Arkansas (11-2) played earlier this season at the USF Classic and the Razorbacks won 4-1 behind a strong pitching performance by Chelsea Cohen.  Cohen limited the Bulldogs to just four hits and one run.  The Razorbacks are on a five-game winning streak and just won their last home tournament with a win over Jackson State.  Cohen is 6-2 this season with a 1.09 ERA and 26 strikeouts.  Infielder Devon Wallace leads Arkansas with a .457 average and 14 RBI to go along with two home runs and three doubles.  The Razorbacks were picked to finish fifth in the Western Division of the SEC.

IUPUI
The Jaguars (4-7) are coached by Maggie Calcaterra, who is in her sixth season as the head coach of IUPUI.  Infielder Kelsey Rupert is the top hitter for the Jaguars at .438 and Eryn Dillion is next at .364.  IUPUI was picked to finish in a tie for sixth place in the Summit League.

BUTLER
The Bulldogs (2-4) are coached by Scott Hall, who is in his second season at Butler.  Senior utility player Lauren McNulty is hitting .368 with one home run and five RBI.  Jenny Esparza was tabbed the 2012 preseason conference Pitcher of the Year and is 1-2 this season.  Butler was picked to finish second in the Horizon League after a second place finish last season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Drake Bulldogs blasted the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 15-0 in the consolation game of the UTA tournament. Drake  scored five runs in the first inning, three in the second, two in the third and four in the fourth to end the game early with the 15-run rule.  The Bulldogs finished the tournament, 3-2, with both losses by a single run.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Hayley Nybo (Minnetonka, Minn.) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the period of February 20-26, the league announced on Monday morning.  Nybo went 9-17 with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI in the five games at the UTA tournament in Arlington, Texas this past weekend. In her 17 at- bats, Nybo did not strike out. Her contributions helped Drake finished 3-2 in the tournament and an overall third-place. Nybo finished 3-4 with three runs, two doubles, a home run and eight RBI in the consolation game against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Sunday morning.  Nybo is second in the MVC in RBI and fifth in slugging percentage at .629

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
The Bulldogs have started out running the bases this season with 28 stolen bases and have had just six baserunners caught stealing.  Amy Pierce (Olathe, Kan.) led the Missouri Valley last seaon with 21 stolen bases last season and this season the speedster has seven stolen bases, which is tied for the most in the MVC.  Macie Silliman (Winterest, Iowa) and Lindsay Vande Wall (Prairie City, Iowa) each have six stolen bases.

THREE STRIKES
Jordan Gronewold (Carlisle, Iowa) and Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) recorded two of the first double digit strikeout games in the MVC this season.  Gronewold had 10 strikeouts against Western Illinois and Schmidt had 10 strikeouts against Green Bay.

SLICK GLOVES
Drake is second in the Missouri Valley in fielding percentage at .977 trailing Missouri State (.979) and the Bulldogs have committed just eight errors this season.

BULLDOGS PICKED SIXTH IN MVC IN 2012
The Drake University softball team was picked sixth in the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll, the league announced Jan. 26. The Bulldogs garnered 54 points in a vote by the league's head softball coaches.

BACK IN BLUE
Drake, which finished the 2011 season 34-21 overall and 19-6 in the MVC, finished in second place behind Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Drake advanced to the MVC tournament championship game before being defeated by Missouri State on their home field in a wild 7-4 affair. 

The Bulldogs are coached by Rich Calvert, who is in his tenth season as head coach.  Calvert has seven starters returning in 2012 and will have a roster of ten freshmen and sophomores. 

Returning MVC All-Conference second-team member, Torrey Craddock, will provide leadership for the Bulldogs along with seniors Rose Magaddino (Tucson, Ariz.) and Jaimie Duffek (Brookfield, Ill.). Craddock was tied for the most doubles in the Valley with 14 last season. In Division I, Drake ranked No. 18 in stolen bases per game with Sam West (Kearney, Mo.) leading the team and the Valley with 21 stolen bases.

Sophomore Jordan Gronewald and freshman Rebekah Schmidt will spend a lot of time on the mound  this season after the graduation of aces Jenna DeLong and Brynne Dordel.

FALL BALL
Drake finished its 2011 Fall schedule with a 3-2 record. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Iowa at the Big Four Classic at Ron Buel Field.  The Bulldogs dropped their next contest to UNI but rebounded with a 9-0 win over Iowa State.  Drake closed the fall season as they hosted the Paul Morrison Invitational.  The Bulldogs defeated Indian Hills and Kirkwood.

SOFTBALL SIGNS THREE TO 2012 CLASS
The Drake University softball team added three high school standouts to its 2012-13 roster in November of 2011. The team signed utility player Chelsea Blaylock (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln), Outfielder Seyerra DuBois (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle), and pitcher/outfielder Mariah McKinnon (Oxford, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana) to National Letters of Intent.