WICHITA, Kan. – The Drake University softball team is the No. 1 seed for the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship this week at Wilkins Stadium. Drake claimed the top seed by winning the MVC regular season title. The Bulldogs received a double bye and will play their first game in the tournament semifinals on Friday, May 8 at 12 p.m. Drake will play the winner of No. 4 Wichita State versus No. 5 Southern Illinois/No. 8 Indiana State, which will be played Thursday at 4 p.m. Every game of the tournament will be shown online on ESPN3.com and live stats will be available as well. Visit the softball schedule of www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com for links to both.
TITLE TOWN
Drake (32-20, 19-8 MVC) clinched its first MVC regular season title since the 1993 season with two wins over Illinois State during the final weekend of the regular season. The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish sixth in the 2015 MVC preseason coaches poll, went 19-8 in league games this season to claim the title. Drake is vying to win its first MVC tournament title since 2008 and fourth in school history as it also won the 1993 and 1994 MVC tournament titles.
CONSISTENCY
The top eight teams in the final league standings qualify for the annual MVC Tournament. The winner of the tournament earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, where Drake has been twice in school history (1994 & 2008). The Bulldogs have qualified for the Valley tournament under head coach Rich Calvert 11 times out of the 13 seasons he has been head coach.
DRAKE IN THE MVC TOURNAMENT
The Bulldogs have captured three MVC Tournament titles in school history (1993, 1994, 2008) and have finished tournament runner-up twice (1997, 2011). Drake is 28-38 all-time in the conference tournament, including 7-10 overall under Calvert. Loyola eliminated Drake in the quarterfinals in 2014.
SCOUTING POTENTIAL OPPONENTS
Eighth-seeded Indiana State (22-29, 13-13 MVC) is heading to the MVC Tournament for the first time since the 2009 season. The Sycamores have been led this season by senior Megan Stone, who is hitting .400, which ranks second in the league along with 11 home runs and 48 runs batted in. Indiana State will play SIU on Thursday at 12:04 p.m. with the winner advancing to face fourth-seeded Wichita State. Drake took two out of three games against Indiana State earlier this season.
Fifth-seeded SIU (21-25-1, 15-11 MVC) have been led this season by Kalyn Harker who is hitting .355 and is one of two players hitting over .300 on the season. As a team, the Salukis are hitting .256 with a .961 fielding percentage. In the circle, Katie Bertelsen leads the pitching staff with a 4.21 ERA and 17-15 record with 22 complete games over 189.2 innings pitched with 89 strikeouts and 82 walks. Drake swept SIU earlier this season.
No. 4 seeded Wichita State (34-22, 16-11 MVC) is hosting the MVC Tournament for the first time since the 2005 season. The Shockers bounced back from a 2-8 start in league play to qualify for the MVC Tournament for the second consecutive season. WSU has been led this season by junior Brittany Fortner who is hitting a league-best .417 with nine home runs and 45 runs batted in. Drake won two out of three games at Wichita State earlier this season.
SENIOR EXPERIENCE
The Bulldogs have been lead this season by an outstanding senior class in Laura Brewer (Waukee, Iowa), Hayley Nybo (Minnetonka, Minn.), Sarah Ryan (Mount Vernon, Iowa) and Rebekah Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.). The four have helped Drake win 109 games in their four seasons.
Brewer shifted to first base from second base this season and started every game. She is hitting .273 and is second on the team in home runs with eight and has driven in 22 runs. Brewer had just one home run entering her junior year, but has connected for 17 since. She is tied with former standout Susan Slycord for ninth all-time in career home runs with 18. Brewer was named to the All-MVC second team as a junior.
Nybo, who suffered a serious knee injury in the fall prior to her junior season, is having an outstanding senior season leading the team in home runs with 11 and RBI with 37 and is second in batting average at .333. She is the school's all-time home runs (34) and RBI leader (134) and is sixth all-time in career hits with 186. Nybo is a two-time All-MVC selection.
Ryan, the Bulldogs' defensive anchor in centerfield, is producing at the plate as well in her final season. A career .153 hitter coming into 2015, she is batting .267 with one home run (first in her career), five doubles, 10 stolen bases, 11 runs batted in and has drawn 20 walks. Ryan has started every game in centerfield this year and has not committed an error.
In her senior year Schmidt has steadily climbed the top-10 chart in career wins in program history for the Blue and White. Entering 2015, Schmidt had 37 career wins, which fell just outside of the top-10 in program leaders. Her 19 wins in 2015 have propelled her all the way to the No. 3 spot with 56 career victories and she is tied with former standout Bryne Dordel. Schmidt is No. 1 all-time in career appearances with 173, No. 3 in career innings pitched with 717.0 and No. 5 in career strikeouts with 640. At the plate this year, she is batting .317 with seven home runs, 11 doubles and 30 runs batted in. She is a two-time All-MVC second team selection.
SO CLOSE
Of the eight MVC losses this season for Drake, five of those losses came by one run while two of the other three defeats were each by two runs.
1-2 COMBO IN THE CIRCLE
Schmidt and freshman Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) are a tough duo in the circle for the Bulldogs' opponents this season and rank in the top five of several categories (rank in MVC).
Schmidt is 19-14 (T-1st in wins) with a .228 opponent batting (No. 2), a 2.52 ERA (No. 2), 194 strikeouts (No. 1) in 197.0 innings pitched (T-1st). She has 21 complete games, including nine shutouts (T-7th in NCAA) and struck out six or more batters in 19 games this year, including equaling a career high with 11 in two games. Schmidt was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 9, April 6 and April 13.
Newman is 13-4 (No. 9 in wins) with a league-low 1.89 ERA and .187 opponent batting with 172 strikeouts (No. 3). She also has two saves (T-3rd). Newman struck out eight or more batters in nine games, including punching out a career-high 17 against Creighton, including striking out the first 11 batters. The Madison, Wis., native garnered MVC Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 16 and May 3 and MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades on March 23 and May 3.
The duo is the reason Drake ranks No. 1 in the league in team ERA (2.43), shutouts (15), complete games (33), strikeouts (369), earned runs allowed (118) and opponent batting average (.224).
YOUTH IS SERVED
Along with its four seniors the Bulldogs' freshmen and sophomore classes are contributing at the plate and on the field. Drake has four sophomores, led by Megan Sowa (Gurnee, Ill.), Ashlie Chambers (Ankeny, Iowa), Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.) and Maddie Hooyman (Trenton, Mo.).
Sowa, who earned All-MVC first team and NFCA All-Region third team honors her freshman season, is batting a team-high .344 behind a team-high 54 hits along with eight home runs and doubles and 26 runs batted in in her second season. Sowa has scored a team-high 34 times.
Chambers, who played sparingly as a freshman, has started all 52 games at catcher for the Bulldogs in her second season. She has one home run and 11 runs batted in. Finneran has settled in at third base in her second year starting every game. She has a .938 fielding percentage and has two home runs and 15 runs batted in. Hooyman is the team's primary pinch runner and has three stolen bases and 14 runs scored.
Newman is joined by fellow freshmen Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa), Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) and Kelsey Wright (Olathe, Kan.).
Alexander is hitting .257 with two home runs and is second on the team in stolen bases with nine. She has played in 51 games at shortstop for the Bulldogs.
Smith has played in 42 games, mainly at the designated player position and has driven in 11 runs in her first season.
Wright, who settled into the leadoff spot in the batting order and at second base, is batting .245 with six home runs and 20 runs batted in. She has drawn a league-high 36 walks and is tied for the league lead in triples with three.
MILESTONE WIN
The 2-0 win over Indiana State on May 19 gave Drake head coach Rich Calvert a milestone victory. Calvert, who is the winningest coach in school history, earned career win No. 350 with the victory. Calvert is in his 13th year as head coach.
FOUR FUTURE BULLDOGS FOR 2016
Drake signed Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.), Gabbie Jonas (Omaha, Neb.), Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.) and Melissa Schlotzhauer (Pilot Grove, Mo.) to National Letters of Intent for the 2016 season, head coach Rich Calvert announced in November 2014. Frank, a shortstop for Parkway West High School, was named the Suburban Southwestern Conference Player of the Year as a senior after batting .571 along with swiping 23 bases. Jonas, a catcher and outfielder for Marian High School, led the Crusaders to a runner-up finish at the 2014 Nebraska Class A Softball State Tournament. Pena is a versatile three-sport athlete for Columbia High School, where she plays basketball, softball and volleyball. She has earned varsity letters in all three sports in her first three seasons. The final member of the 2016 class is Schlotzhauer from Pilot Grove C-4 High School who as a senior batted .681 with 41 stolen bases and zero strikeouts, which tied a Missouri Class 1A record for fewest strikeouts.
