LAFAYETTE, La. – The Drake University softball team defeated Bowling Green, 4-1 in the opening game of the 2017 Mardi Gras Invitational presented by DoubleTree before falling to host No. 16 Louisiana, 9-3 in the next game of the tournament on Thursday, Feb. 23 at Lamson Park.
 
Junior Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) led Drake (8-5) in the win over Bowling Green. Smith had a strong day behind the plate and in the circle. Smith batted in all four of Drake's runs going 1-2 at the plate and hit a home run for the second-straight game. Smith, now 3-2 on the season, went 6.2 innings and allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks. Smith's home run was the lone hit for the Bulldogs, but they did draw eight walks.
 
Junior Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) earned her second save of the season by recording the final out of the game, leaving runners stranded on first and second.
 
Bowling Green's (6-4) Kendyl Wheeler scored Hannah Giammarino with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning for the first run of the game. Smith quickly answered, scoring senior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) and junior Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.) with her three-run home run in the bottom of the third. Smith helped extend the Bulldogs' lead, 4-1, scoring junior Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa) on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth.
 
In the Louisiana (7-3) game, both teams stranded at least one run in each of the first two innings. The Ragin' Cajuns broke open the scoring with three runs in the third inning and then added three more runs in the fifth inning as they chased Newman from the game.
 
Freshman Aryka Knoche (Little Canada, Minn.) came on in relief and allowed three more runs on two hits in three innings. Newman went four innings and allowed six runs (four earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. She moved to 5-3 with the loss.
 
Drake was led at the plate by freshman Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.) who slammed her team-leading fourth home run in the sixth inning and finished with three RBI. Maddox has a team-high 11 RBI in her first season. Fellow freshman Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) had two hits while Alexander, freshman Abby Buie (Gardner, Kan.) and seniors Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.) and Sowa each had one hit.
 
Drake will continue the Mardi Gras Invitational presented by DoubleTree on Friday with matchups against Dartmouth and Maryland. The game against Dartmouth is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and the Maryland contest will be played at 11:15 a.m.