CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University softball team rallied twice in an 11-10 win over Toledo Saturday at the UNI-Dome Classic. The huge comeback win for Drake (2-1) gave it a split on the second day of the tournament after the Bulldogs lost their first game to South Dakota State, 6-4.
Against Toledo,
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) blasted her first home run of the season, a three-run homer, in the sixth inning that pushed Drake in front 11-10. Newman then pitched the final inning in the circle and earned the save to complete the rally. She allowed a leadoff hit, but then got the next three outs, the last two on a strikeout and throwout of the baserunner trying to steal second, to finish the comeback. Sophomore
Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) (1-1) earned the win after she pitched 3.2 innings in relief.
The Rockets took a three-run lead in the second inning, but freshman
Alexia Lara (Bettendorf, Iowa) cut the lead to 3-2 with her first career home run. Toledo tacked on five more runs in the third inning to lead 8-2, but the Bulldogs tied the game with six runs in the bottom of the inning.
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) started the rally with a leadoff double, but later Drake used patience at the plate by drawing five walks and getting one more hit to tie the game at 8-8. Toledo went back in front, 10-8, with two runs in the fourth inning.
The sixth inning started with
Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) lining a single and
Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) followed with a walk before Newman's blast over the left field fence.
In its first game Saturday, Drake couldn't overcome an early 5-0 deficit to South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits jumped on Timmons, who battled control problems, as Timmons allowed a two-run first inning home run. One inning later, SDSU drew four walks paired with two hits to score three more runs.
In the third frame, Pena and Roemmich each drove in one run in the third inning to cut the Jackrabbits lead to 5-2, but they added their final run in the bottom of the inning. In the fourth inning the Bulldogs stranded a pair of runners but in the next inning Pena launched Drake's first home run, a two-run blast to left center that pulled the Bulldogs closer at 6-4. It would be as close as Drake would get as it stranded a runner in the fifth after Pena's homer, later in the sixth
Libby Ryan (Mount Vernon, Iowa) was thrown out at home on a close play as Ryan tried to steal home when Roemmich took second. In the final inning, Pena had a one double but was left at second as Newman and
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) were retired in order to end the game.
Timmons took the loss after she allowed six runs on four hits and a career-high nine walks with seven strikeouts. Newman pitched 1.1 innings in relief. Pena led the offense going 3-for-4 with three RBI while Ryan had two hits and Roemmich scored two runs.
Drake concludes the UNI Dome Classic Sunday against Saint Louis at 11:45 a.m. and versus SEMO at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN3.
