TULSA, Okla. – The Drake University softball team defeated Tulsa, 7-2, Thursday night in the first of six scheduled games in Oklahoma this week.
Senior pitcher
Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) earned the win in the circle for Drake (13-7). Smith (3-2) pitched five innings and allowed one run on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Freshman
Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) relieved Smith and pitched final two innings and allowed one run on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts.
The Bulldogs' offensive attack was balanced as eight different players had one hit. Sophomore
Sarah Maddox (Henderson, Nev.) slugged her first home run of the season and scored twice. Freshman
Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) continued her debut season with an RBI single and one stolen base. Johnson is batting a team-leading .405.
Drake was held without a hit through the first two innings, but broke out in the third inning with two runs. The first run was courtesy of a Tulsa (12-8) error and the final run came on Johnson's RBI single that scored sophomore
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa). Maddox's home run was the game's third run in the fourth frame while Roemmich lined an RBI single to centerfield for the fourth run in the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, three-straight singles by the Golden Hurricane followed by a sacrifice fly put the home team on the scoreboard with one run, and they added one more run in the seventh. In between those runs in the sixth inning, junior
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) drove in Smith with a sacrifice fly and freshman
Libby Ryan's (Mount Vernon, Iowa) RBI single plated Maddox.
Following Thursday's game, Drake opens action at the Hall of Fame Classic on Friday in Oklahoma City with a 1:30 p.m. game against Connecticut before taking on tournament host and No. 21/RV Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs resume action Saturday with contests against St. Francis and Pacific at 1:30 and 4 p.m., respectively. Drake closes out the tournament Sunday versus Purdue at 12:30 p.m.
