NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After weather gave the Drake softball team the day off on Saturday, the Bulldogs returned to the diamond at E.S. Rose Park on Sunday afternoon for the series finale against the Belmont Bruins. In another low scoring affair, Drake came up short against the Bruins, 4-2.
Sundays matinee between the Bulldogs and the Bruins began similarly to how game two of Fridays doubleheader went as ace pitchers
Molly Hoekstra and Maya Johnson were back in the circle for the two squads. Once again, the scoring came at a premium as the pair of arms matched each other frame-for-frame keeping both sides off the scoreboard.
Hoekstra and Johnson kept the bats in check through the early stages of the game, but did it in different styles. Hoekstra mainly pitched to contact and relied on the strong defense behind her recording just one strikeout after four innings. Johnson, meanwhile, took matters into her own hands and had racked up 12 punchouts on the afternoon over that span.
The Bulldogs were able to make a dent in Johnson's pitching performance in the fourth inning, however. With one out,
Tatum Aragon put herself on the bases with a single to center field giving Drake its fourth hit of the contest. Drake's fifth hit of the day proved to be key as
Frankie Rita laced and double to right field, which brought Aragon in to score and broke the scoreless tie.
The game ultimately took a turn in Belmont's favor in the fifth inning, however. The Bruins offense used a pair of extra base hits, a double from Emma Barnes and a home run by Nicole Hughes, to jump in front. The two blows each brought in two runs for the Bruins making it a 4-1 ballgame.
Drake got one run back in the sixth with a solo shot from
Emma Dighton, but went three-up-three-down in the seventh to end the game.
Ava Curry had the lone multi-hit outing for the Bulldogs going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Dighton, Rita, and Hoekstra each recorded an extra-base hit.
Hoekstra was credited with the loss going 4.2 innings with six hits, four runs, and one strikeout. Her counterpart, Johnson, went the distance and finished with 17 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend with a road series against the Bradley Braves from Peoria, Illinois, March 21-23.
