OMAHA, Neb. – The Drake Bulldogs softball team swept the Creighton Bluejays in a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 29) evening at CU Sports Complex as the Bulldogs won by scores of 1-0 and 5-1, respectively.
The opening game was a pitchers duel between Drake (30-19) and Creighton (21-19) as the team's combined for just five hits. Senior Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) smashed a solo home run in the seventh inning for the deciding run in the contest.
Drake freshman Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) was dominant in the circle striking out 17 Bluejays while allowing just two hits and walking three to improve to 12-4. The 17 strikeouts by Newman are the most by a Bulldog pitcher since former great Jenna DeLong had two 16-strikeout games during the 2011 season. Creighton starter Sydnee Eck struck out 10 Bulldogs in the defeat.
Game two was another pitchers duel early as the score was 1-1 heading into the seventh inning before the Drake bats broke out for four runs in the final frame.
Three of those runs came courtesy of senior Hayley Nybo (Minnetonka, Minn.), who blasted her team-leading 11th home run of the season. The home run is historic as it's the 34th in Nybo's career as she is the new all-time leader in program history in career home runs. She moves past Elena Leon (2007-10) who had 33.
Freshman Kailee Smith (Murietta, Calif.) made her third career start and pitched well in 3.1 innings of work. She allowed just one run on four hits before being relieved by Schmidt.
Schmidt tossed 3.2 innings and allowed just three hits while striking out two. The win improved Schmidt's record to 18-13 this year. She now has 55 career wins, which ranks fourth all-time in program history.
Drake returns home to Ron Buel Field to host the Illinois State Redbirds, May 2-3, in a key league series with title implications on the line. The Bulldogs have a one game lead in the league standings as they look to claim their first MVC regular season title since the 1993 season. The Bulldogs and Redbirds will play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 2 with first pitch of game one scheduled for noon.
