ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Two Drake players earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, the league announced this morning. Utility players Emma Dighton and Emily Valtman were both named to the All-MVC Second Team while Dighton also collected the league's Newcomer of the Year Award.
 
Drake welcomed DMACC transfer and Boone, Iowa native Dighton into the program after an impressive year at the junior college ranks. Dighton continued her offensive prowess while also becoming a key factor in the pitching circle for the Bulldogs this season. She has started in all 50 contests for the Bulldogs and is one of two players hitting north of the .300 mark with a .306 batting average. Dighton leads the team with eight homers and 42 RBI while predominantly filling the designated player role for Drake. She has also picked up six wins in the circle with 47 K's and leads the entire MVC with just 17 walks allowed in 76.2 innings pitched.
 
Valtman, who spent some time playing first base for the Bulldogs this season, earned Second Team recognition as an outfielder as Drake's primary player in right field. The Newton, Iowa native has hit .297 this season with a .763 OPS and a .430 slugging percentage. She has started all 50 games for the Bulldogs this season and leads the lead in extra-base hits with 10 doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Valtman has also driven in 22 runs, scored 21 of her own, and is a perfect 6-for-6 in steals. Valtman adds this year's Second Team honors to back-to-back First Team campaigns in 2021 and 2022.
 
Dighton, Valtman, and the rest of the Bulldog softball team will start their postseason schedule this morning with their first-round game against Evansville. The Bulldogs and Purple Aces will play the first game of the 2023 MVC Tournament starting at 10 a.m.