Story by Ashley Beall
The Drake Bulldogs were able to take down No. 1 Creighton in both games on Tuesday evening at Ron Buel Field. The Bulldogs swept Creighton 5-4 and 9-1 in the doubleheader. The Bulldogs are now 14-7 in conference while the Bluejays are 13-6.
During the first game at Ron Buel Field, the Bulldogs quickly jumped to a 1-0 lead at the top of the first inning.
Creighton quickly responded and scored two runs off freshman Mariah McKinnon, who made her season debut. McKinnon struggled early on in the game and allowed five batters to reach base. McKinnon was then relieved by sophomore Rebekah Schmidt.
Drake quickly regained the lead at 3-2, thanks to junior Courtney Wood’s homerun, which brought junior Jordan Gronewold home as well. The Bluejays rallied back and tied the score at 3-3.
Junior Nicole Randel brought the Bulldogs up with her seventh homerun of the season to give Drake a 5-3 edge.
Schmidt was able to stay strong in the fifth inning and not allow any of the runners on base to score.
The Bluejays were able to score another run off an error by sophomore Hayley Nybo to narrow the gap at 5-4.
The Bulldogs were able to pull off the win and end game one on a high note.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bulldogs surged ahead of the Bluejays for a 9-1 victory.
Nybo had a relatively quiet first game, but her bat came alive during her first at bat with a deep homerun. Overall, Nybo was 2-for-3 on the day.
Thanks to Nybo’s homerun, she moved up in Drake’s record books and is now sixth and tied with Erin Mollohan, who hit 19 homeruns in her career.
Gronewold also contributed to the game with a homerun that brought in three runs total. During the sixth inning, the Bulldogs took advantage of the Bluejays and brought home six more runs and brought the score to 9-1.
With both of their wins this past Tuesday, the Bulldogs are now second in the Missouri Valley Conference right behind the Bluejays.
The Bulldogs face in-state rival Northern Iowa on Saturday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Ron Buel Field.
