Spring sports have hit the bases running at Drake, which means the women’s softball team has a packed schedule just in time for the weather to warm up. The Bulldogs took on two opponents, the Creighton Bluejays and the Illinois State Redbirds, over the past four days.
At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, Drake played Creighton to kick off the week. The Bulldogs hadn’t played in over a week, as their previous slew of scheduled games had been canceled or postponed due to weather.
The Bluejays put up a strong fight through all six innings, but they were no match for the Bulldogs, who finished off their sixth inning with three runs to seal their win. The final score of the game was 8-0 Drake, which helped encourage the team going into its three games against Illinois State from Friday, March 29 through Saturday, March 30.
“A win over Creighton is a great confidence boost,” catcher Allie Bishoff said. “It shows how everyone on our team contributes in many ways. As long as we stick to our role and play our game, we are a scary team to face.”
Winning back-to-back home games gave the Bulldogs a boost of momentum as they made a push to claim their first conference series.
For the first game in the series against the Redbirds, the Bulldogs traveled to Normal, Illinois, for their game at 1 p.m. — the start of a three-game series with a double header Friday and a single game Saturday. The Bulldogs and Redbirds were tied on runs 3-3 up through the sixth inning of the first game, but the tables turned when Drake put up seven runs in the seventh inning to finish the game with a Bulldog win of 10-3.
Following this game, the Bulldogs played their second game of the day at 3:30 p.m. and managed to put two runs on the board in the fifth inning. In the end, however, they were no match for the Redbirds five runs in the first inning alone, resulting in an 8-2 loss for the Bulldogs.
“We wanted to be there and play that game,” catcher Skylar Rigby said.
“It was a cold and windy day, but we didn’t let that affect us. We enjoyed playing together and supported one another. We played every pitch and controlled what we could control.”
In the last game of the series on Saturday, the Bulldogs and Redbirds struggled to bring home any runs. Drake brought home a single run in the sixth inning, which would prove to be the game’s only run on both sides. The Bulldogs took the win of 1-0 over the Redbirds and went 2-1 in the series.
Overall, the Bulldogs went 3-1 over the week and will prepare for their next game against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 in Iowa City, Iowa.
