DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University softball team hosts Loyola Saturday and Sunday at Buel Field in its final homestand of the 2021 season. All three games are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN3.
Drake (14-27, 8-12 MVC) is looking to improve its place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings for the MVC Tournament to be held on May 12-15 in Evansville, Ind. The MVC announced on April 8 that all 10 league teams will qualify for the three-day tournament in 2021. The Bulldogs are currently tied for seventh with the host Purple Aces and are vying to move into the top six of the league standings, which would earn a bye to the second day of the tournament.
Drake has won seven of its past nine games with its only losses to UNI, the second-place team, in the MVC. The Bulldogs welcome Loyola (10-24, 6-12 MVC) for a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon and a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. Prior to Sunday's game, Drake will honor catcher
Laura Anderson for Senior Day. Anderson, a three-year letterwinner from Boone, Iowa, has played in 80 career games going into the weekend, helped win four MVC Championships and played in two NCAA Tournaments. Earlier this season, Anderson helped the Bulldogs complete a huge comeback at Iowa State, launching a three-run home run, the deciding runs, in a 7-6 victory. It was her first career home run and she has a career-high nine runs batted in.
Drake's other three seniors on the 2021 roster,
Macy Johnson,
Libby Ryan and
Nicole Timmons, will return for the 2022 season. The trio will utilize the NCAA's decision to grant an additional year of eligibility due to the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson is having an outstanding season, batting a career-high .477, which is currently a program record. Her average leads the league as does her 61 hits, which are tied for seventh most in a single season in school history and she swiped a school-record 27 stolen bases. Ryan, who battled injury issues early in the year, is batting a career-best .352 with a career-high five home runs and eight doubles. Timmons recently moved to No. 10 all-time at Drake in career wins with 40 and ranks sixth in the MVC in strikeouts this season with 117 and tied for seventh all-time at Drake with 456.
Following this weekend, Drake will close the regular season at Bradley on May 8-9. The Braves are one of the teams, the Bulldogs are looking to catch in the standings.
