WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State completed a sweep over the Drake University softball team as the Shockers defeated the Bulldogs, 8-4, Sunday afternoon, to close the first weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Drake (16-12, 0-3 MVC) was led by freshman Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) who went 3-3 at the plate with one double, one run batted in and one run scored. Senior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) and Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.) each had one hit as the Bulldogs finished with five.
                                                       
Junior pitcher Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) dropped to 7-8 on the season after pitching 6.0 innings in the loss. Smith gave up eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits while striking out one batter.
 
After Wichita State (15-10, 3-0 MVC) took a 3-0 lead to open the game, the Bulldogs tied the game, 4-4, in the fifth inning due to a Wichita State error and wild pitch allowing Roemmich and Sowa to score. The Shockers responded by scoring two runs in the fifth on a pair of Bulldog errors before closing out the sixth inning with an RBI single.
 
The Bulldogs first two runs came on an RBI single by Roemmich and a sacrifice fly by Sowa in the third inning.
 
Drake continues its road trip with a game at Creighton on March 22 at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs continue their road trip returning to MVC play at SIU for a three-game series, March 25-26.