Story by Ashley Beall
For the Bulldogs, the 2013 season has been one of canceled games due to advserse weather. The Bulldogs played the fewest Missouri Valley Conference games in Drake University history at 21.
However, the Bulldogs didn’t let that stop them from having a strong showing, and they finished second behind Creighton with a 14-7 MVC record.
The MVC Championship will be held in Omaha, Neb., and the Bulldogs will play tomorrow at 2:35 p.m. The Bulldogs earned a bye into the semifinals because of their No. 2 seed.
Junior Nicole Randel has been a key player for the Bulldogs this past season. Randel has a batting average of .467 against MVC pitching and has had 24 RBIs in the Missouri Valley.
Her total batting average throughout the past season is a .359, and she is currently tied with sophomore Hayley Nybo for the most RBIs hit. Both are tied for fifth amongst all the other teams in the Valley.
Drake is currently ranked third in the Missouri Valley Conference for its season batting average, which is .258, and is also the only MVC team to be ranked in the Top-3 for team earned run average and team batting average.
The Bulldogs will face stiff competition in the tournament, but if their pitchers continue staying tough, the Bulldogs have nothing to lose.
Junior Jordan Gronewold has had a standout season and is currently eighth in career strikeouts with 315 total strikeouts.
Top-seeded Creighton will be a tough match for the Bulldogs, but if they continue to play as they have this past season, they will be more than ready to take on any team.
