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Softball Drake Athletic Communications

Softball Sweeps MVC Pitcher and Player of the Week Awards

The duo helped Drake go 5-0 on the week with a doubleheader sweep of Big Ten foe, Nebraska and a three-game MVC series sweep of Indiana State.

ST. LOUISNicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) of the Drake University softball team is the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the fifth time this season while sophomore Libby Ryan (Mount Vernon, Iowa) is MVC Player of the Week for the first time in her career, the MVC office announced Monday, April 1. The duo helped Drake go 5-0 on the week with a doubleheader sweep of Big Ten foe, Nebraska and a three-game MVC series sweep of Indiana State.
 
In the circle, Newman dominated going 3-0 with a 0.37 earned run average in three complete games, including her first career perfect game in a 2-0 win over Indiana State Saturday, with 42 strikeouts and zero walks in 17.0 innings of work. She threw the first seven-inning perfect game in Drake history since Jessica Hicks, who also did it against Indiana State, in 2005. Newman matched her season-high with 15 strikeouts. She started the week with a two-hit complete game over Nebraska, where she allowed her only run of the week to go with 14 strikeouts. In her last start Sunday, Newman allowed just one hit and one hit batter with 13 strikeouts in a 10-0 five-inning win over the Sycamores. At the plate, she added four RBI in the five victories.
 
Newman, who leads the nation in strikeouts this season with 197, needs just three more for 1,000 in her career. This season, she holds a 12-6 record and a 1.36 ERA, and earlier this season became the program's all-time wins leader. This is the 14th MVC Pitcher of the Week award for Newman.
 
Ryan batted a blistering .750 (9-of-12) in five starts in right field for the Bulldogs. Ryan hit two doubles, drew three walks, drove in five runs, scored seven runs and collected nine hits with an .800 on-base percentage and a .917 slugging percentage. She had three multi-hit games, including her first career 3-hit game in the series finale win over the Sycamores, and didn't strike out once. Ryan's hot week raised her average from .268 to .337, and she leads the team in stolen bases with 14. Her award is the first player of the week honor for a Bulldog this season.
 
Drake plays a midweek in-state contest at Iowa State on Wednesday before it returns to league play at Valparaiso April 6-7.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Nicole Newman

#4 Nicole Newman

P
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Libby Ryan

#5 Libby Ryan

IF
5' 5"
Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Nicole Newman

#4 Nicole Newman

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
P
Libby Ryan

#5 Libby Ryan

5' 5"
Sophomore
R/R
IF