DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake Bulldogs softball team (19-12, 5-2 MVC) hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in its first of four home games this week. Saturday, the Bulldogs welcome the Indiana State Sycamores to Ron Buel Field for a doubleheader, with first pitch set for noon. The teams conclude the series the following day with a single game beginning at noon. Live stats for all the games will be available at www.godrakebulldogs.com.
ABOUT THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Iowa (20-13, 1-5 Big Ten)
The Hawkeyes have won just three out of their last 10 contests coming into Wednesday's game. Drake scratched out a 1-0 win last year over Iowa in Iowa City. Sophomore infielder Megan Blank paces the offensive attack for the Hawkeyes leading the team in batting average at .390, home runs (5) and RBI (38). Junior Kayla Massey logs the most time in the circle for the Hawkeyes and is 10-7 overall with a 2.07 ERA in 118.1 innings of work.
Indiana State (11-20, 2-7 MVC)
The Sycamores were swept this past weekend by Bradley in Peoria, Ill. Indiana State is the top base stealing team in the conference just ahead of the Bulldogs with 62 stolen bases this year. Junior Morgan Allee sits atop the MVC with 25 stolen bases. Megan Stone is hitting .378 with five home runs and 21 RBI with a .695 slugging percentage.
CYCLE
Junior Jordan Gronewold (Carlisle, Iowa) hit for the cycle in the Bulldogs 13-5 win over Missouri State last Saturday. The junior completed it in order hitting a single in the second inning, a leadoff double in the fourth inning, a leadoff triple in the fifth frame and topped it off with her first career grand slam in the sixth inning. She finished the series 4-for-7 with four runs scored and four RBI. In conference play, she is hitting a team-leading .529 along with five runs scored, four doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI with an outstanding 1.235 slugging percentage.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN PART II
Senior outfielder Macie Silliman (Winterset, Iowa) has 15 stolen bases, which is second on the team. She ranks second all-time at Drake in the category with 65 career stolen bases, trailing only Lindsay Larry, who had 70 between 2004 and 2007. Silliman (15-for-15) and junior shortstop Amy Pierce (Olathe, Kan.) (17-for-17) haven't been caught stealing this year. The Bulldogs are second in the conference with 53 stolen bases and 32nd in the country in stolen bases per game at 1.71. Drake recorded a conference-leading 96 stolen bases in 2012.
POWER SURGE
The Bulldogs have slugged 26 home runs this season led by sophomore Hayley Nybo (Minnetonka, Minn.) and junior Amy Pierce (Olathe, Kan.) who have each hit six. Drake ranks second in the conference behind Creighton (28) in home runs. Nine different Bulldogs have hit at least one home run this year.
STEADY
Gronewold had an outstanding sophomore season in the circle and is off to another great start in her junior campaign. Gronewold is 10-6 overall with a 2.69 earned run average in 28 starts and 30 appearances. In 101.1 innings tossed, she has allowed 39 earned runs, while striking out 65 and holding opponents to a .247 average. Gronewold's name is found in numerous MVC pitching statistical categories. She leads the Valley in starts and appearances, while ranking tied for fourth in wins, sixth in opponent batting average and strikeouts and seventh in innings pitched and earned run average.
SECOND YEAR SUCCESS
Sophomore pitcher Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) is off to a strong start in her second year in the circle having already won MVC Softball Pitcher of the Week twice. The Minnesota native is 9-6 overall with an NCAA-leading five saves and owns a team-low 2.64 earned run average in 98.0 innings pitched. Schmidt has struck out 93 hitters, while walking 35 and limiting opponents to a .218 batting average in 28 appearances. She ranks tied for second in the Valley in appearances, second in opponent batting average, third in strikeouts and sixth in earned run average and wins.
PIERCING
Pierce is off to a fast start in her junior season. The shortstop is blistering the ball with a .356 batting average with 33 hits, an MVC-leading 31 runs scored, eight doubles, six home runs, 16 RBI and a .606 slugging percentage. She is tied for the team lead in batting average, and leads the team in hits, runs scored, doubles, stolen bases and slugging percentage. She has recorded at least one hit in 23 of 31 games this season and has 12 multi-hit games.
ANYBOLATING THE BALL
Nybo has reinforced herself as Drake's power hitter this season. Nybo had an impressive freshman campaign, which saw her place second in the record books with 42 single season RBI and tie for seventh in single season home runs with nine. In her second season, the Minnesota native is hitting .305 and leads the team in triples (2) and RBI (25) and is tied with Pierce in home runs (6). Nybo is riding a 10-game hitting streak and is 13-for-33 (.393) during that span.
STEPPING UP
Junior outfielder Nicole Randel (Alpine, Calif.), one of the top pinch hitters in the Valley in 2012, is hitting .298 with three home runs and trails Nybo with 19 RBI in 28 starts this year. Randel has hit safely in nine straight games with a blistering .416 batting average (10-of-24) and eight RBI during the streak.
HEATING UP
Silliman, Drake's number two hitter in the lineup, is heating up at the plate for the Bulldogs. Her batting average has climbed to .297 with help from multiple hit games in six out of the last 12 contests. She is second on the team in runs scored with 19 and ranks third in hits with 30. In conference action she is batting .435 with six runs scored.
SOMETHING'S BREWERING
After seeing limited playing time in her first season, sophomore Laura Brewer (Waukee, Iowa) has become a player to watch in her second campaign. She is tied for the team-lead in batting average with Pierce at .356 with 26 hits, five runs scored, seven doubles, 12 RBI and one home run in 29 games. Brewer has drawn 12 walks and sports a team-leading .442 on-base percentage.
WEATHER OR NOT
The Bulldogs have battled the elements the last three weeks to get their scheduled games played. The series at Missouri State scheduled in Springfield, Mo. last week had to be moved to Ron Buel Field because Missouri State's field was unplayable. Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs pushed their home non-conference action versus Iowa State to Wednesday, April 10 at 4 p.m. due to poor field conditions. Drake had to move their opening home conference series against Evansville to Evansville, Ind. due to field conditions at Ron Buel Field. The teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader on Monday, March 18 in Evansville but rain forced the doubleheader to be pushed back one day. Drake swept the two games on Tuesday but the third game was cancelled. After taking two from SIU on Saturday, March 16, the finale scheduled for the next day was cancelled due to rain.
ALL-TIME WINNINGEST
Drake's victory over Tennessee Martin earlier this year gave head coach Rich Calvert the most wins by a Drake softball head coach in program history. Calvert in his 11th season at the helm of the program holds a 294-274 overall record. Megan Bryant, who led the Drake program from 1989-1999, finished her tenure with 282 wins.
REWIND TOURNAMENTS
OKLAHOMA SPRING TOURNAMENT PREVIEW (MARCH 8-9)
Drake beat Northern Colorado twice and lost to Oklahoma twice at their final regular season tournament. The Bulldogs opened with a 5-2 win over Northern Colorado before falling 10-2 to No. 2 Oklahoma in six innings on Friday. Drake jumped all over Northern Colorado the following morning, 14-1, in five innings before losing to the Sooners, 13-0, in its final game.
FLORIDA HOME TOURNAMENT (MARCH 1-3)
The Bulldogs finished with victories over Florida A&M, Presbyterian College and Mount St. Mary's and dropped two close contests to No. 4 Florida last weekend. Drake blanked Florida A&M, 1-0, cruised by Presbyterian, 9-1, in five innings and rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Mount St. Mary's, 6-5, in nine innings. Drake trailed, 4-1, going into the top of the seventh inning against the Gators in the first game before Pierce blasted a two-run home run with one out but the rally attempt fell short as the next two batters were retired and Florida won 4-3. In the second game, the Bulldogs scored first on a double steal but the Gators answered with four runs and held the Bulldogs to just one hit in a 4-1 victory.
RED & BLUE CLASSIC (FEB. 22-24)
Drake won three out of five contests last weekend at the Red & Blue Classic hosted by Ole Miss. The Bulldogs beat Middle Tennessee, Mississippi Valley State and Tennessee Martin and lost to McNeese State and Ole Miss. Drake rallied for a 3-2 win over Middle Tennessee. Trailing 2-0 going into the sixth the Bulldogs tied it with two runs and sophomore Zeah Peterson (Baxter, Iowa) drove home the winning run in the seventh. The Bulldogs offense struggled in their next two games scoring just two runs combined against McNeese State and Ole Miss but rebounded in the wins over Miss. Valley State and Tennessee Martin. The Bulldogs scored seven runs in each of the wins. Peterson cracked her first career home run against UT-Martin and junior college transfer Cortney Wood (Alburnett, Iowa) smashed her first against Miss. Valley State.
HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL (FEB. 15-17)
The Bulldogs won two of five games at the Hillenbrand Invitational. Drake beat Southern Utah and Utah State and lost to No. 16 Arizona, Nebraska and Purdue. The Bulldogs led 3-2 before the Wildcats rallied for three runs in the sixth inning for the 5-3 win. Drake nearly rallied from a 6-0 deficit against Purdue before falling, 8-5, while the Cornhuskers limited the Bulldog bats to just four hits in their 2-0 win. Nybo hit a blistering .389 (7-of-12) with two home runs and three doubles and eight runs batted at the tournament while Pierce finished with a .353 average with two doubles and six runs scored and was 4-for-4 in stolen bases.
UNI DOME CLASSIC (FEB. 8-10)
Drake started the 2013 season with four wins in five games at the UNI-Dome Classic. The Bulldogs beat North Dakota State, Illinois, Green Bay and Northern Iowa with their only loss to No. 1 ranked and defending national champions Alabama, 8-2. The Bulldogs had strong pitching during the opening weekend with Gronewold winning three games and finishing with a 1.88 earned run average. Schmidt picked up two saves along with a victory in the tournament. Brewer hit a blistering .556 with a double and five runs batted in while Pierce hit .318 with a double, five runs scored and three stolen bases in Cedar Falls. Nybo finished the tournament with two doubles, two runs scored, two stolen bases and two runs batted in. Nybo drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning in the victory over Illinois.
BULLDOGS PICKED FIFTH
The Drake softball team was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason's coaches poll. The Bulldogs garnered 62 points in a vote by the league's head softball coaches.
BULLDOGS ADD FOUR TO 2013 CLASS
The Drake softball team added four student-athletes to its roster for the 2013-14 season this past November. The Bulldogs signed Ashlie Chambers (Ankeny, Iowa), Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.), Maddie Hooyman (Trenton, Mo.) and Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) to National Letters of Intent.
“Outstanding characteristics, great passion and outstanding work in the classroom would describe the four who make up our 2013 recruiting class,” Drake head coach Rich Calvert said. “Time will tell the impact they will have on the softball field, but they all come from programs, whether high school or club, that have achieved great success during their time.”
Chambers plays for Ankeny High School and helped lead the Hawkettes to the 2012 Iowa Class 5A state softball championship. She has primarily played shortstop for Ankeny but has the versatility to play multiple positions for the Bulldogs. Chambers was named to the 2012 Iowa Class 5A all-tournament team and is a two-time Iowa Girls Coaches Association second team all-state selection. Ankeny was the Iowa Class 4A softball runner-ups in 2011.
Finneran, a shortstop from Morrison High School (Ill.), is a three-time all-conference selection and helped the Fillies win the 2011 Illinois Class 2A state championship. Finneran earned second team all-state honors in 2011 and first team Sauk Valley and Quad Cities all-area awards in 2012.
Hooyman, a multi-sport standout at Trenton High School (Mo.) is a four-time all-district and all-regional selection in softball in addition to winning multiple Missouri Class 3 state relay championships in track and field. A four-year starter, Hooyman led Trenton to an 84-15 overall record and three district championships in her career.
Sowa, an outfielder for Warren Township High School (Ill.), was selected second team Class 4A all-state by the Illinois Coaches Association this past year. The Blue Devils finished 31-5-1 overall and were the North Suburban Conference champions. The 31 wins were the most in school history.
“What is great about this class is that they can play numerous positions, which is a trademark of our program,” said Calvert. “We look forward to seeing them develop over the next couple of years.”
