TAMPA, Fla. – The Drake University softball team split two games on the second day of the 2018 USF Tournament Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Fordham (1-8) edged Drake (9-4), 5-4, in nine innings but the Bulldogs bounced back with an 8-0 win over Bryant (3-5) in five innings.
 
Drake fell behind Fordham, 3-0, after the Rams scored their first run in the fourth inning with a solo home run by Paige Rauch off Bulldog starting pitcher Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.). Later Fordham, added two runs in the sixth inning capitalizing on a two-out error by Drake. Skylar Johnston doubled in Rauch, who reached on the error by Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.), and later in the frame Kelly Bright drove in Brianna Pinto with a single.
 
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth scoring one run due to a pair of errors as Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.) hit an RBI single to plate Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa). They tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of two-out runs. Maddox started the frame off with a triple before Rauch got two outs. Fordham then committed an error at second followed by a throwing error that brought in Maddox and later another triple by Roemmich plated the second run. Rauch got out of the jam with an infield pop-up by Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa) to send the game to extra innings.
 
The USF Tournament abides by international rules and a runner is placed on second base to start every extra inning. Each team scored one run in the eighth inning, but Drake had bad luck as Smith was called out on interference as she collided with the Rams shortstop on a shot in the infield and with bases loaded. The interference ended the frame. In the ninth inning, Fordahm scored after a throwing error by Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) brought in the eventual winning run.
 
Drake threatened in the bottom of the ninth getting runners on the corners, but Pena's flyout ended the game. Smith fell to 1-2 overall with the loss as she went all nine innings and allowed one earned run on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.  
 
For the second straight day, Drake jumped on Bryant early with three first-inning runs. Roemmich scored on a throwing error and Smith drove in a pair with a double. Smith then hit another RBI double in the second inning, this one bringing in three Bulldogs as Alexander, Pena and Wright all scored. Maddox drove in the final runs, the first with an RBI double in the second that scored Smith and later in the third with a RBI single to bring in Wright.
 
Freshman Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) tossed five innings and allowed three hits with nine strikeouts and she worked around three walks to improve to 3-2 on the season.
 
Drake closes its stint in Tampa with a rematch against Fordham Sunday morning at 7:45 a.m. CST.