PEORIA, Ill. – The Drake University softball team swept another Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader Saturday with two road wins over Bradley.
Drake (16-13, 4-1 MVC) won the first game by a score of 6-1 and then held off Bradley (14-13, 2-3 MVC) for a 7-6 victory in the second contest.
The first game was a pitcher's duel until the final inning when the Bulldogs broke open a 1-1 game with five runs in their final at-bat.
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.), who drove in Drake's first run with a fourth-inning RBI single, had a perfect game going into the fifth. Newman, who struck out 14 Braves, allowed a two-out solo home run on a full count to Habryle that tied the game at 1-1.
The Bulldogs erupted for five runs on four hits with one error as they sent nine batters to the plate.
Libby Ryan (Mount Vernon, Iowa) drove in the first run in the frame with a bases loaded fielder's choice. Next
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) loaded the bases again with a single to the pitcher and
Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) followed with a single through the left side that scored
Abby Buie (Gardner, Kan.).
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) lined a ball down the right field line that scored three as Johnson scored on the throw in. After the solo home run, Newman allowed just one more hit, as she earned the win.
It looked like Drake would cruise to another victory in the second game as it led 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. But in the sixth, Bradley tied it with four runs as starting pitcher
Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) left the game with a 5-3 lead. Newman came on in relief but allowed a two-run, two-out double that tied the game at 5-5.
Drake started the seventh with three-straight hits, but it wasn't until
Gabbie Jonas (Omaha, Neb.) singled up the middle with two outs as Frank and
Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) scored to break the tie.
Bradley loaded the bases in the seventh but scored just one run as Newman struck out the final Brave hitter. Newman earned her second win of the day and improved to 9-6 with 1.1 innings of relief work.
Drake and Bradley close the series Sunday with a single game at 11 a.m.
