DES MOINES, Iowa – Senior Laura Brewer (Waukee, Iowa) and sophomore Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) blasted back-to-back home runs and senior pitcher Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) allowed just two hits while punching out nine to lift the Drake Bulldogs softball team past the Indiana State Sycamores, 2-0, on Sunday at Ron Buel Field.
Schmidt improved to 16-10 with the complete game victory as Drake moved to 27-14 and 16-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State fell to 18-24 and 10-10 in the MVC with the loss.
The home runs by Brewer and Sowa came in the third inning for the only runs the Bulldogs needed. Brewer leads the team in home runs with eight on the season while Sowa is tied with senior Hayley Nybo (Minnetonka, Minn.) for second with seven.
Freshman Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) recorded a team-high two hits and had a strong series with four total hits.
Nybo and freshman Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.) each had one hit as Drake finished with six in the contest. Wright added a walk as she leads the MVC with 33 on the year.
Schmidt was dominant in the circle allowing just two singles while walking just one batter. She bounced back with consecutive wins to close the series after taking tough losses to UNI and Indiana State to start the week. Schmidt struck out 29 batters in 22.2 innings of work this week.
Drake will host the Iowa State Cyclones at Ron Buel Field on April 21 at 6 p.m. The following day the Bulldogs visit UNI with first pitch set for 6 p.m. in Cedar Falls.
