The Basics 
The Bulldogs have another packed week with six games over six days as the season moves along. Drake begins the week with a single game at home against in-state rival UNI on Tuesday, April 8 followed by a quick turnaround for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 9 against South Dakota from Ron Buel Field. The Bulldogs then head out to Evansville for a weekend conference series, April 11-13 against the Purple Aces.
  
Bulldogs by the Numbers 
Drake picked up its second MVC series win this past weekend taking two of three games at home against Illinois State. The Bulldogs come into the week with an overall record of 13-21 on the year and have gone 5-7 in conference play. Drake, who has won four of its past six, currently sits in ninth place in the MVC standings.
 
Freshman Ava Curry continues to produce at the plate for the Bulldogs in her first collegiate season. This past weekend Curry hit .444 (4-for-9) with three runs scored and a pair of doubles against Illinois State. She leads the squad in hitting with a .372 average to go along with 11 RBI.
 
Emma Dighton provides some serious pop in the Bulldog lineup and is hitting at a clip of .360 so far this season. The senior leads Drake in triples (2), home runs (7), RBI (21), slugging (.685), and on-base percentage (.491).
 
In the pitching circle, Paige Bedsworth leads the team in ERA at 1.96 and wins with five. Molly Hoekstra has also been a main factor in the pitching staff leading the team in appearances (19), starts (10), innings pitched (68.2), and strikeouts (40).
 
Scouting the Competition
The Panthers are coming off a 2-1 weekend at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex against the Missouri State Bears. UNI has gone 7-3 over its last 10 games to improve its overall record to 21-11. In conference play, the Panthers come into the week in third place in the MVC standings with a record of 9-3.
As a team, UNI is hitting .276 while Kylee Sanders posts the best batting average at .470. The senior ranks first on the Panthers in doubles (9), third in RBI (20), and second in stolen bases (11).
 
Anna Wischnowski leads the Panthers pitching staff with 13 starts and 19 appearances on the season to go along with a record of 11-5 and an ERA of 3.66. Wischnowski has tossed nine complete games over her 2025 campaign and has 74 total strikeouts.
 
The South Dakota Coyotes head to Des Moines with an overall record 21-16 and are an even 5-5 in their last 10 contests. In the Summit League preseason poll, South Dakota was picked to finish third.
 
South Dakota boasts a pair of players hitting over the .400 mark on the season in Tatum Villotta (.416) and Delaney White (.412). Villotta leads the team in triples (3) and ranks third in RBI (18). Meanwhile, White paces the Coyotes with 10 doubles and 26 RBI.
 
McKenna Young and Clara Edwards have been the main two arms for the South Dakota pitching staff combining for 33 starts out of a possible 37 games. Young owns a record of 9-6 to go along with an ERA of 2.29 and 108 strikeouts. Edwards has reached the double-digit mark for wins with a record of 11-7 and has a 2.63 ERA.
 
Evansville posts a record of 16-21 on the year, but has struggled during conference play going 2-10 against fellow MVC opponents. The Purple Aces have suffered sweeps at the hands of UNI, Missouri State, and Belmont, who rank second, third, and fourth in the MVC standings. Before hosting the Bulldogs, Evansville will play Indiana State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 8.
 
The top bat in the lineup for the Purple Aces this season has been Niki Bode who leads the team hitting at a clip of .402. She also has tallied seven doubles, two homers, and 17 RBI on the year. As a team, Evansville has racked up 40 long balls, which is tied for the second most in the MVC and is one behind UNI in the top spot.
 
The Purple Aces mainly deploy three arms in their pitching staff with Kate Ridgway, Gracie Hollingsworth, and Elle Jarrett. Ridgway leads Evansville with an ERA of 3.79 over 92.1 innings of work with 68 strikeouts. Hollingsworth and Jarrett aren't far behind with ERA's of 3.92 and 4.03 and 25 strikeouts each.
 
Up Next 
Drake will head to Cedar Falls for two games against UNI on April 15 and 16 followed by a home series against UIC, April 18-20.