The Basics 
The Drake softball team hits the road for a series against the current Missouri Valley Conference leaders, Belmont, April 2-3. The original series between Drake and Belmont was scheduled for Friday-Saturday, but was bumped up with forecasted showers in the Nashville area on Saturday.
  
Bulldogs by the Numbers 
The Bulldogs make the trip down to the Music City with an overall record of 8-23 and are 2-9 in league play. Drake is coming off a split doubleheader on Monday against the Bradley Braves. The Bulldogs took game one, 10-7, and launched four homers en route to their first home victory of the season, but fell in the second game by a score of 5-2.
 
A top producer for the Bulldog lineup this season has been freshman Kiley Kindelspire. The infielder tallied two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 10-7 victory over Bradley earlier in the week and she is currently hitting .299 with four homers, seven doubles, and 20 RBI. She also leads Drake with four stolen bases in seven attempts.
 
Junior transfer Ashlynn Sheets has made 19 appearances from the pitching circle for Drake, which is the most on the team. She also leads the Drake pitching staff in ERA (4.44) and wins (4) over her 41.0 innings of work.
 
Scouting Belmont
The Bulldogs will have their hands full this weekend when they go up against the No. 3 ranked Mid-Major, according to D1 Softball, in the Belmont Bruins. Belmont boasts an overall record of 24-9 and comes into April with a record of 11-3 in MVC games. The Bruins also have two wins against top-25 teams this season.
 
Belmont's ace pitcher Maya Johnson is arguably the best in the country and leads the nation in a multitude of statistical categories. Johnson is 17-1 on the season and ranks first in the NCAA in strikeouts (236), complete games (18), ERA (0.53), shutouts (9), and WHIP (0.58).
 
At the plate, Rylee Spindler provides the pop for the Bruins with a .465 batting average, which leads the team and ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference. Spindler has 47 hits on the year, the second most in the MVC, with 10 doubles, three triples, and two home runs to go along with 21 RBI.
 
The all-time series between Drake and Belmont has been brief with just nine total games played between the two programs. Belmont leads the series, 5-4. Belmont swept the season series last year from the Music City and the Bulldogs own an all-time record of 2-4 in games played from Nashville.
 
Up Next 
The Bulldogs will return home to host Creighton in a midweek contest on Wednesday, April 8. First pitch from Buel Field against the Bluejays is scheduled for 5 p.m.