The Basics
Drake softball will begin their 2024 MVC schedule this weekend with a trip to the current MVC leaders at Southern Illinois from Mar. 15-17. The Bulldogs will then turn around for a mid-week matchup against Western Illinois for the 2024 home opener. Drake will face off against the Leathernecks on Mar. 19 at 3 p.m.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake enters the weekend with an even .500 record after playing in four non-conference invitationals. Most recently, Drake competed at the Colorado State Rams Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo. where they picked up two wins over Idaho State and Maine.
Individually,
Emma Dighton has been a leader for the Bulldogs with a team-high .379 batting average. Dighton has recorded 25 hits in 66 at bats, 10 of which have been of the extra-base variety. Her three home runs are tied with newcomer
Destiny Lewis for the most on the roster.
Elsewhere, another newcomer in
Abby Martin has had a great start to her first season as a Bulldog with a .354 average. Martin and
Carey Koenig lead the team with 14 runs scored.
MaKayla Rice and
Addie Lightner round out the Bulldogs' offensive leaders with two more .300+ batting averages. Lightner's 13 RBI are the most by any Bulldog player and Rice's four triples are tops for Drake.
Jayme Scheck has led an up-and-down pitching staff for Drake with 10 appearances and seven starts. Scheck leads the team with a 1.94 WHIP and 15 strikeouts over 26.1 innings pitched. Dighton has thrown the most frames for Drake with 36.1 under her belt this season.
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis of Southern Illinois currently own a 15-4 record and are riding an eight-game winning streak. SIU has performed well against some high-level opposition to start the year. Most recently, Southern Illinois went 4-0 at the Coach B Classic in Carbondale.
Sidney Jones leads the SIU offense with an even .400 batting average this season. Other key threats include Bailey Caylor with a .379 average and Elizabeth Warwick at .321. Jones and Warwick are knotted atop the Salukis' stat sheet with 18 runs scored while Rylie Hamilton and Jones lead the team with 15 RBI.
SIU is anchored by a stellar pitching staff including freshman Maddia Groff, who threw a perfect game in her first career start this season against Creighton. Groff is 10-0 this season with an impressive 0.45 earned run average over 62.1 innings of work.
SIU is led by third-year head coach Jen Sewell who has guided the Salukis to a 72-37-1 record over her tenure.
Southern Illinois narrowly owns the advantage in the all-time series with Drake, 25-23. The Bulldogs have won just one of the last five meetings with SIU.
Scouting Western Illinois
Drake's first mid-week matchup of the season will come against new head coach Lindsay Diehl's alma mater, the Leathernecks of Western Illinois. The Leathernecks enter the week with 10-12 record have dropped two of their last three contests as they started Ohio Valley Conference play. WIU will face off against Kansas City, Saint Louis, and Tennessee Tech in OVC action before visiting Des Moines next week.
Rylee Boone leads a foursome of .300+ hitters with a .324 average. Preseason All-OVC selection Bella Alvarez has been incredibly productive with a .323 average and team highs in RBI with 16 and home runs with three. Sophia Sanchez leads WIU with 21 total hits while Gabriela Drager also hits above .300 for the Leathernecks.
Emily Price and Raven Morrison have both earned four wins in the circle for WIU. Price has logged the most time with 54.1 innings pitched and leads the staff with 56 K's.
Up Next
Drake will continue their first homestand of the season with another weekend series against Valpo from Mar. 22-24 before a mid-week back-to-back vs. St. Thomas and Creighton.
