The Basics
The Drake softball team is heading to Fort Collins, Colo. for their fourth invitational event of the season. The Bulldogs are participating in the Colorado State Rams Invitational where they'll face Idaho State, Colorado State and Maine from Mar. 9-11.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs are 8-7 on the season but suffered back-to-back losses in their most recent contests. Drake competed in the Oklahoma State/Tulsa Invite and went 2-3. Both wins came against Kansas City and of the Bulldogs' losses came to national No. 3 Oklahoma State.
Emma Dighton has led the Bulldogs' offense this season with a team-high .347 batting average and two home runs.
Destiny Lewis has also been a slugger so far for the Bulldogs with a team-best 1.066 OPS and three home runs. Lewis had two hits and one RBI in the most recent Bulldog win.
Molly Hoekstra was the starting pitcher for Drake in their most recent win, and she improved her record to 2-0. The redshirt junior hurled 5.1 innings and allowed one earned run over their Oklahoma trip.
Scouting the Competition
Drake's first game of the invitational will be against Idaho State on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will also face the Bengals in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 12:30 p.m. Idaho State is off to a successful 12-9 start, but they most recently dropped three out of four games in the CBU Tournament in Riverside, Calif. Drake is 3-0 against Idaho State all-time, but the two teams haven't faced each other since 2014.
After playing Idaho State, the Bulldogs will compete against the host Colorado State Rams on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 5:30 p.m. to complete the doubleheader. Drake will also play Colorado State in the final game of the Invite on Monday, Mar. 11 at 12:30 p.m. The Rams are off to a strong 12-8 start in 2024. Colorado State is looking to defend a perfect 5-0 record at home this weekend in their invitational. The Rams' most recent action came at home in the Colorado Classic where they won five games. Drake has a historical 1-2 versus the Rams.
In its third game of the invite, Drake will play Maine on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 10 a.m. Maine is 1-10 this season and they are on a two-game losing streak. The Black Bears notched their first win of the year in the Blue Hen Invitational in Newark, Del. With a 5-4 victory against Delaware State. Saturday's matchup is the first-ever between Drake and Maine on the softball diamond.
Up Next
Drake will begin conference play in a three-game set against Southern Illinois ranging from Mar. 15-17 in Carbondale, Illinois.
