ST. LOUIS – Senior Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) of the Drake University softball team has been named the first Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week of the 2015 season, the league office announced Monday (Feb. 9) afternoon.  

Schmidt went 2-1 with a 0.35 earned run average with 19 strikeouts and five walks in 20.0 innings pitched this past weekend at the UNI Dome Tournament.

A native of Cottage Grove, Minn., she started the season with a complete game shutout in the win over Iowa on Feb. 6., allowing just one hit while striking out six. She took a tough loss in the 2-1 North Dakota State defeat on Feb. 7, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run while punching out eight Bison.

Schmidt followed that strong performance with a big game at the plate and in the circle in the win over UNI on Feb. 8 to close the tournament. Against the Panthers, she allowed one unearned run in seven innings while striking out five. At the plate, she connected for a three-run home run and later added a RBI single to finish 2-for-3 with four runs driven in.

Schmidt and her teammates play next at No. 12/14 Arizona on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.