PEORIA, Ill. – The Drake University softball team completed a series sweep of the Bradley Braves with a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference action at Peterson Hotels Field in Peoria.
 
Drake (23-24, 6-14 MVC) once again seized early control of the game with two runs in the second inning. Sophomore Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) roped a double to right center with two outs that brought in sophomore Gabbie Jonas and senior Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.). Finneran drew a walk and Jonas moved her to second with a single to left center.
 
In the fifth inning, Frank led off the frame with a triple down the right field line and two batters later came in to score on a RBI single by senior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.) to push Drake's lead to 3-0.
 
Bradley (19-28, 5-15 MVC) scored its only run in the bottom of the fifth inning as freshman Allison Apke smacked a leadoff home run off Drake starter Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.). The solo home run was the only damage as Smith retired the next three hitters as Bulldogs led 3-1 after five.
 
Drake added an insurance fun in the top of the sixth to take a 4-1 lead.  With junior Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa) on first after a one-out walk, Finneran hit a single to right field and Alexander came all the way around from first after a Bradley error on the play. Bradley escaped out of the inning without any further damage as Drake stranded two base runners in scoring position.
 
Smith, who picked up both wins Saturday in the doubleheader sweep, allowed just a two-out hit in the sixth and then worked around a leadoff triple by Apke in the seventh inning to earn her third win of the weekend. Smith pitched seven innings and allowed one run on six hits with one wild pitch and two strikeouts. She improved her record to 14-15 overall.
 
Frank finished the game 2-for-3 with one run scored and two RBI while Alexander, Finneran, Jonas and Sowa each had one hit as the Bulldogs tallied six hits as a team.
 
Following Sunday's game, Drake will play at UNI on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The in-state game versus the Panthers will not be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3 but live stats will be available.