COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Drake University softball team looks to continue its strong start to the season this weekend, March 2-4, at the Mizzou Tournament.
 
Drake (10-4) will open against Missouri Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will continue play Saturday with a 9 a.m. matchup against Southeastern Louisiana followed by a 5:30 p.m. game against Creighton. Drake closes out the tournament Sunday with rematches against Creighton and Missouri at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.  
 
The Bulldogs swept the weekly Missouri Valley Conference Softball awards after a 4-1 performance at the USF Tournament last weekend. Senior Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) was named MVC Player of the Week while freshman pitcher Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) was selected MVC Newcomer and Pitcher of the Week honors.
 
Smith batted .462 (6-for-13) last weekend with one home run, three doubles, three runs scored, four walks, eight runs batted in and slugged .923 while compiling a .588 on-base percentage. In the circle, she went 0-1 with a 0.60 earned run averaged but recorded two key saves.
 
Timmons earned her first career MVC awards after a dominant 3-0 weekend in the circle with a 0.86 ERA. In three starts, Timmons pitched 16.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on nine hits with 27 strikeouts.
 
Missouri (10-7) was 4-2 last weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic picking up wins against BYU, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Bethune-Cookman. The Tigers dropped a pair of games against then No. 3 UCLA and No. 12 Arizona. Five of Missouri's seven losses this season have come against Top 25 teams. This will be Drake's 27^th all-time matchup against Missouri with the last meeting coming in 2014.
 
Southeastern Louisiana (9-5) faced off at the Ragin' Cajun Classic last weekend earning two wins over UMBC while dropping games to then No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette, North Florida and Memphis. The Lady Lions are led by senior Maddie Edmonston who is batting .394 with 11 runs and 13 hits this season. Southeastern Louisiana plays Missouri Friday afternoon before Drake plays the Tigers.
 
Creighton (7-2) travels to Columbia following a 4-0 weekend at the Schutt Invitational where it picked up wins of Prairie View A&M and Grambling State. The team's scheduled tournament in Boiling Springs, N.C. was cancelled. The Bluejays' Ashley Cantu and Bryana Clark nabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively. Creighton took a 4-3 win over Drake last season in the sole meeting of former MVC opponents.
 
Following the Mizzou Tournament, Drake will travel to Tulsa, Okla. for a matchup against the Golden Hurricane on March 8 before concluding its non-conference tournament slate, March 9-11, at the Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Bulldogs will play UConn, Oklahoma State, Pacific, St. Francis and Purdue in Oklahoma City.