Aces host Drake in MVC opener
The University of Evansville softball team is finally set to play at home as the Purple Aces welcome Drake to Cooper Stadium for Saturday’s Missouri Valley Conference opener.
Action on Saturday gets underway with a 12 p.m. doubleheader while Sunday’s series finale will also begin at noon.
Evansville is coming off of a doubleheader on Thursday at Murray State. The Racers took a 3-1 win in the first game before the Aces earned the split with a 5-4 win in game two. Chandra Parr had a great day at the plate, hitting a solo shot in game one before her bases-clearing triple pushed the Aces to the win in the second game.
In the circle, Amanda Blankenship got the job done in seven innings of work over the course of the doubleheader. She gave up just one unearned run while striking out five batters. She was credited with the win in the finale.
Drake begins conference play with a 9-10 mark. The Bulldogs went 32-21 last season and won the MVC regular season championship. Leading the way is pitcher Nicole Newman, who has a 2.68 ERA over her 78 1/3 innings of work. She has won seven of their nine games while striking out 91 batters. Newman is the reigning MVC Freshman of the Year.
Kailee Smith is their top hitter, checking in at .341. Kelsey Wright has hit .318 and leads the Bulldogs with 66 at-bats and 21 hits.
