BATON ROUGE, La. – The Drake University softball team is set to participate in the LSU Purple and Gold Challenge Feb. 25-27 at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La.
 
Three of the five games will be against teams they have faced only once or twice in program history. The 3-2 Bulldogs will face No. 24 LSU (6-5) on both Friday and Saturday, making it their first nationally ranked opponent this season. 
 
Drake opened its season at the UNI Dome Tournament Feb. 11-13. The Bulldogs went 3-2 on the weekend, defeating South Dakota State, Omaha, and Iowa State.

The Bulldogs smacked two home runs in Cedar Falls – Macy Johnson and Emily Valtman. Valtman, a junior utility player, ended the weekend with a .421 average (8-for-19). 
 
Junior Mackenzie Hupke recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings of work between four games.
 
The Bulldogs defeated Iowa State, who received votes in the USA Today coaches poll, 7-6.
 
Delaney Taylor led Drake with two RBI's. Skylar Rigby and MaKayla Rice each scored two runs to lead the Bulldogs in scoring.
 
Drake will face Purdue (6-4), LSU, and Stephen F. Austin (2-9) in Baton Rouge.
 
The Bulldogs have a head-to-head record of 1-1 with the Boilermakers, including a 1-0 shutout win in 2018 in Oklahoma City.
 
Drake has not played LSU before but have faced SFA once. The Bulldogs defeated the Lumberjacks 8-0 in 2014 when they met in Arkansas.
 
The Bulldogs will start their weekend on Friday Feb. 25 at 12:30 p.m. against Purdue and will then face LSU at 5:30 p.m. that evening.