DES MOINES, Iowa – The top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference softball standings are set to play this weekend when Drake hosts Southern Illinois in a three-game series starting Saturday with a single game at 2 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Sunday with game one scheduled for a 11 a.m. first pitch.Free live stats and video stream for the games will be available in the team's schedule page at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
 
First-place Drake is 16-11 overall and 6-0 in MVC games while second-place SIU is 20-8 and 5-0 in MVC games. In conference play, the Bulldogs won three games each over Evansville and Indiana State while the Salukis won three over Illinois State and then took two over Loyola with the final game against the Ramblers rained out.
 
Last week, Drake pounded out 52 hits and scored 52 runs in a non-conference doubleheader split against South Dakota State and the sweep of Indiana State as the team went 4-1. All three games against the Sycamores lasted just five innings courtesy of the Bulldogs' blistering offense and solid pitching.
 
Junior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) was outstanding at the plate in the five games, batting .556 (10-of-18) with two doubles, four home runs, 10 runs scored, 14 five runs batted in along with a 1.333 slugging and a .579 on-base percentage on her way to being named MVC Player of the Week on Monday. Sowa had a career day in the second game of the series with three home runs, including a grand slam, along with four runs scored and a career-high seven RBI. On the season, Sowa is batting .322 and is second on the team in home runs with five along with a team-leading 26 RBI.
 
Freshman Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) blistered the softball last week with a .692 batting average (9-of-13) with two home runs, six RBI, six walks and 10 runs scored. Frank added a 1.154 slugging and a .789 on-base percentage as she was named MVC Newcomer of the Week for the third time already this season. On the season, Frank is hitting a team-leading .368 along with a team-high seven home runs and is second on the team in RBI with 20.
 
The series between Drake and SIU will feature two of the best pitchers in the league. For Drake, sophomore Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.), the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2015, is having a great second season with a 12-5 overall record and a 2.45 earned run average with a league-leading 121 strikeouts. SIU counters with freshman Brianna Jones who leads the MVC in wins with 15 and ERA at 1.41. Jones has already been named MVC Pitcher of the Week three times.
 
Following the MVC series against SIU, Drake will host in-state foe Iowa State on April 5 for a single game at 5 p.m.