CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University softball team swept UNI Tuesday night in a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader played in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Drake (32-9, 15-0 MVC) won by scores of 4-0 and 4-3 as the Bulldogs have won 18 consecutive games.
In the first game, Drake scored its first two runs with two outs in the second inning, courtesy of
Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa). Alexander's team-leading fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot was hit over the center field wall.
Drake added two insurance runs in its final at bat. The first run came after
Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) drilled a ball off the wall for a double as
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa), who led off the inning with a walk, scored. One batter later,
Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) lined a ball to right center as Pena scored, but Smith was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) pitched her sixth shutout of the season and improved to 14-2 with the win. Newman allowed six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Six Bulldogs finished with one hit each as the team had six total. Drake's patience at the plate paid off with six walks, including three by Roemmich.
The Bulldogs' patience paid off again, this time in the first inning of game two. Drake drew three consecutive one-out walks and with Smith up to bat, UNI's pitcher Emma Olejniczak, threw a wild pitch as
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) scored. Two batters later, Maddox legged out an infield single as Johnson scored to give Drake a 2-0 advantage. In the second inning, Pena drew a bases loaded walk with two outs as Alexander scored to make it 3-0.
Drake added to its lead in the fourth inning with back-to-back singles to start the frame followed by a sacrifice bunt by
Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) and a walk to Pena, her third of the game, to load the bases for Smith. Smith caught UNI off guard with a sac bunt of her own down the third base line as Roemmich scored for a 4-0 advantage.
UNI trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning. The Panthers scored their first run on a bases loaded infield single and then added two more runs on a two-run single by Brittney Roby. Smith, who entered in relief with the bases loaded, escaped further damage after Roby's hit by getting a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) pitched 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and four walks. Timmons improved to 11-4 with the win. Smith pitched 1.2 innings and allowed four hits with three strikeouts. She earned her sixth save.
Roemmich and
Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.) each had two hits. Frank and Johnson each drew two walks and the team drew eight in the second game.
Following Tuesday's games, Drake stays on the road as it visits Illinois State for a three-game series, April 21-22. A doubleheader against the Redbirds is scheduled for Saturday with first pitch of game one set for 12 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
