DES MOINES, Iowa – Evansville completed a series sweep over the Drake University softball team with a 13-5 victory Sunday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference play at Buel Field.
 
Evansville (16-20, 7-5 MVC) took an early 1-0 lead before Drake (19-19, 3-9 MVC) answered to tie the game in the bottom of the first with a single by Abby Buie (Gardner, Kan.) who then scored on a pair of errors by the Purple Aces.
 
With two outs in the second inning, Drake took its first lead of the series with a two-run home run by freshman Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.) for a 3-1 lead.
 
Evansville quickly took back the lead with a pair of runs in the third and a solo home run in the fourth to lead 4-3. Freshman pitcher Aryka Knoche (Little Canada, Minn.) worked her way out of a jam with two runners on base to escape the inning without giving up any more runs in the fourth. However, the Purple Aces added six more runs over the next two innings for to build a 10-4 advantage.
 
Drake threatened Evansville in the bottom of the fifth inning that started with a double by senior Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.). Wright followed with a single, Sowa to cut Evansville's lead to only two, 6-4. Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) followed up with a single, but the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on the two base runners. In the bottom of the sixth, Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) and Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) put up singles before Buie's single scored Pena, keeping the game alive with a score of 10-5. Evansville added three runs in the seventh to further seal its victory.  
 
Buie and Pena each tallied three hits while Buie drove in one run and scored once. Pena scored twice while Frank and Sowa each stroked two hits. Maddox has a team-leading nine home runs and 27 runs batted in.
 
Junior pitcher Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) took the loss to fall to 10-13 on the season. Smith pitched three innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits. She struck out two batters and walked one. Knoche had two innings of work giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout. Buie took over the circle in the sixth inning and worked her way out of a bases loaded and zero outs situation without giving up a run. Buie pitched two innings and allowed three runs on four hits with one strikeout and one walk.
 
The Bulldogs will continue their homestand Tuesday with a game against in-state opponent Iowa State at 4 p.m. before returning to MVC play in a three-game series against Illinois State on April 14 and 15.