LAWRENCE, Kan. - The Drake University softball team looks to bounce back at the Rock Chalk Challenge hosted by Kansas after a difficult trip to Oklahoma last weekend against multiple ranked opponents.
 
Drake (7-12) will begin the invitational on Friday with a game against Kansas City (5-9) at 11 a.m. followed by a matchup with the host Jayhawks (8-11) at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will take on Kansas again at 4 p.m. on Saturday followed by a meeting with Wichita State (8-13) at 6:30 p.m. Drake will finish play at the Rock Chalk Challenge with an 11 a.m. rematch with Kansas City on Sunday.
 
The Bulldogs went 0-5 at last week's OSU/Tulsa Invitational with losses against No. 10 Oregon and No. 14 Oklahoma State. Drake narrowly lost to UIC in extra-innings, 4-3, in a game where pitcher Nicole Timmons held the Flames hitless through the first 5.1 innings.
 
Timmons has been strong this season, and her 0.68 earned run average is seventh in the nation among pitchers with 30 or more innings pitched. The junior has held opposing hitters to just a .126 batting average.
 
Freshman Emily Valtman has continued her early success and recorded five hits in last weekend's invitational. Valtman leads the team in slugging percentage (.633) and is second in on-base percentage (.442). Junior Macy Johnson has recorded at least one hit in 17 of 19 games this season, and has reached base at least once in every game. Johnson is tied for the league lead in walks with 14 and has the Valley's second-best on-base percentage at .556.
 
After the conclusion of the Rock Chalk Challenge, Drake travels to Terre Haute, Ind. on March 14-15 to face Indiana State in the Bulldogs' Missouri Valley Conference opener.