DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University softball team welcomed three incoming student-athletes last week, head coach Rich Calvert announced. The program received letters of intent from future Bulldogs Allie Bishoff, Lydia Olejniczak, and Frankie Rita.

Aliie Bishoff a versatile athlete hailing from Roca, Neb., has experience behind the plate as a catcher and in various defensive positions as a utility player. The future Norris High School graduate has put together a remarkable career for the Titans. She is currently littered throughout the school's record boards in doubles (29), batting average, put outs (476), hits (134), single (92), runs scored (88), and homeruns (12). She also holds the Norris single-season record with 38 runs scored in a year.
 
Bishoff has been a productive student-athlete on the diamond and in the classroom. She is a four-time varsity letter winner, three-time All-State and All-Eastern Midlands Conference performer, two-time Academic All-Conference student-athlete, three-time winner of the Norris Heart and Hustle Award, winner of her team's Most Passionate Player award as a senior and Rookie of the Year award as a freshman.
 
Bishoff was also a member of the Nebraska Gold 18 National AAU program. She has been a class officer, named to multiple honor rolls, and a member of the National Honor Society at Norris High School. Allie plans to study kinesiology or athletic training at Drake and hopes to work for a professional sports team in the future.
 
Lydia Olejniczak is a local product with an illustrious career from Perry, Iowa. The shortstop earned three 4A All-State honors, three. 4A All-District honors, and four All-Conference honors in both the Heart of Iowa Conference and Raccoon River Conference.
 
As a junior, Olejniczak hit at a blistering.506 clip with a .585 on-base percentag, .910 slugging percentage, and .941 fielding percentage. So far in her Jayette career, she has crushed 12 home runs, 134 hits, and 74 stolen bases. The athletic infielder also hit for the cycle during her junior season and was a member of the Iowa Premier AAU program.
 
In the classroom, Olejniczak has earned Academic All-Conference recognition in three different sports while also collecting three academic letters and being named to the National Honor Society. She plans to major in health sciences and pursue a postgraduate education after softball with a future career in either pharmacy or physician's assistant school.
 
Drake's third signee is Illinois native Frankie Rita. The second catcher and utility player of the Bulldogs' class, Rita attends Lemont High School in Lemont, Ill. where she has had an exceptional career on the diamond. Rita led Lemont High to back-to-back regional, sectional, and conference championships while celebrating a state title and state runner-up finish in that same two-year stretch. She was also voted as her team's captain, MVP, Best Offensive Player, and Best Defensive Player.
 
Rita is also a member of the New Lenox Lightning club softball program and the Lemont competitive cheer team. She has been named to the High Honor Roll every year since junior high and planes to major in education with hopes of being a teacher after graduation.
 
"The most important aspect we feel in the recruiting process is finding quality student-athletes that represent Drake softball, both on and off the field," Drake head softball coach Rich Calvert said. "As we were looking down the road at the future of our program, we wanted to bring in players that have the ability to play different positions, and these three do just that. They each have outstanding characteristics, a great passion for the game, and excel in the classroom. Time will tell the impact they have on the softball field…but they have achieved great success during their time [at the high school level]. We look forward to seeing them develop over the next couple years"
 
 
 
QUOTES FROM THE NEWCOMERS
 
"I chose Drake because it feels like home; Des Moines is so similar to Lincoln. I gained a very strong connection with all the coaches right off the bat. Drake is also very competitive within the Missouri Valley Conference." – Allie Bishoff
 
"I chose Drake because of its outstanding academics, phenomenal coaching staff, and winning culture." – Lydia Olejniczak
 
"[Drake] give me the opportunity to further my athletic career while simultaneously achieving my academic goals. I loved the campus and the teacher-to-student ratio, too." – Frankie Rite