MINNEAPOLIS - Coming off its sweep of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament, the Drake University softball team will play Georgia Friday, May 17 at 6 p.m. in the 2019 NCAA Tournament in the Minneapolis Regional. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
In the Minneapolis, Drake (42-14) and Georgia (40-17) are joined by the tournament's No. 7 overall seed and regional host Minnesota (41-12) and North Dakota State (42-14). The four teams will battle in a double-elimination format with the regional winner advancing to next weekend's Super Regionals.
Minneapolis Regional Schedule
Friday, May 17
Game 1: Georgia vs. Drake – 6 p.m. – ESPN2
Game 2: North Dakota State at Minnesota – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN3
Saturday, May 18 (ESPN details TBA)
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 3 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 19 (ESPN details TBA)
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 3 p.m. (Elimination)
Game 7: Repeat Game 6 (If Necessary) – 5:30 p.m. (Elimination)
Head to Head
Drake and Georgia have previously played twice with the Georgia Bulldogs winning both games. The two games took place in Athens, Ga., with Georgia winning 2-0 and 1-0 in a doubleheader.
Season Recap
Drake is the first-ever MVC team to sweep back-to-back MVC regular season and tournament titles. The Bulldogs' MVC tournament championship earned them the Valley's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament as the program in the NCAA postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time ever. Drake has previously made the NCAA Tournament in 1993, 2008 and 2018.
Drake reached 40 wins for the second-straight year with its regular season finale victory over Evansville on May 4. It is the first time the program has recorded consecutive 40 wins seasons. The Bulldogs also matched their league-record for MVC wins with 24 (24-2). They matched last season's team that went 45-12 overall with a 24-1 mark in league action.
The Bulldogs earned national recognition with the program's first-ever rankings coming after the final week of the regular season. Drake, which had received votes throughout the season, ranked No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 on May 7. In Tuesday's (May 14) newest poll, the Bulldogs moved up to No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and stayed at No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
Quick Hits
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) is just the second MVC athlete to be selected the MVC Pitcher of the Year three times. Newman is 28-6 overall with a 0.88 earned run average (second in nation) and a nation-leading 393 strikeouts. She also leads the country in strikeouts per seven innings at 13.4, hits allowed per seven innings at 2.55 and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.14. Her 13 shutouts rank second in the nation. Her 28 wins are the most by a Drake pitcher since Laurie Bowden won a program-record 28 games in 1990. This season, Newman has five perfect games and two no-hitters. She won 10 MVC Pitcher of the Week awards this season and a league-record 23 overall and was tabbed to the All-MVC First Team four times in her outstanding career. She is the Drake and the MVC all-time career strikeouts leader with 1,193, a total that is tops among active NCAA player. She is also Drake's all-time wins leader with 92, a total that ranks second all-time in the Valley.
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) earned all-conference honors for the third time in her career with her 2019 All-MVC First Team selection. As a senior this season, she has started all 56 games at second base while batting .327 with one triple, two home runs, 10 doubles, 27 runs scored and a career-high 40 runs batted in. Frank is Drake's career leader in walks with 113 and ranks eighth in career runs with 107.
Macy Johnson (West Des Moines, Iowa) was an All-MVC selection for the second-consecutive season with a 2019 All-MVC First Team choice and 2018 All-MVC Second Team selection. She is batting .333 with three triples, nine doubles, career-best 24 RBI and a career-high 40 runs scored. Johnson, who has started 55 of 56 games in centerfield, has drawn a program-record and league-leading 44 walks and tallied 23 stolen bases.
Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.), a three-time first team All-MVC talent, has started all 56 games at third base while batting .250 with career bests in home runs (7), doubles (14) and 39 RBI. At Drake, Pena is second all-time in career RBI with 116 and third in doubles with 42 and walks with 110.
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) is a three-time All-MVC honoree after a first-team selection in 2018 and second-team selections in 2017 and this season. Roemmich, who started all 56 games at shortstop, is batting a team-high .385 behind an MVC-best 70 hits, had the league lead in doubles with 15 and scored 50 runs, the most in single-season history at Drake.
Libby Ryan (Mount Vernon, Iowa), who has started every game, is having an outstanding sophomore season helping her earn an All-MVC Second Team honor. She is hitting a career-best .326 with one triple, three home runs, four doubles, team-high 25 stolen bases, has a career-high 29 RBI and career-best 39 runs scored.
Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) recently earned her second-straight All-MVC Second Team award after a great second season in the circle. She is 14-8 with a 2.83 earned run average and career-high 152 strikeouts during the regular season. Timmons tossed two no-hitters this year, including one against Evansville, when she struck out a career-high 17 batters, including the first nine Purple Aces.
Abby Buie (Gardner, Kan.) is batting a career-best .268 with three doubles and nine RBI and has scored 32 runs. Buie has anchored left field all season starting 55 of 56 games and has committed an error.
