Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Hot off a win against Murray State in Wednesday’s doubleheader, the University of Evansville softball team will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend to take on league-leading Drake. The Aces look to hand the Bulldogs their first conference loss as the two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday before ending the weekend series with a single game Sunday. Both days are set to begin at noon.
The Aces (7-22, 1-4) were able to snap a five game losing streak with an 8-5 win in the nightcap against Murray State. Senior
Jen Stahlhut, junior
Amy Gaertner and freshman
Kacey Rogers all homered in game two as the Aces put up 20 hits on the night to improve their team batting average to .241. Senior
Kelci Alsip finished the night going 4-for-8 at the plate, posting a pair of two-hit games against the Racers. Sophomore pitcher
Kendall Kautz picked up the win in game two, improving to 3-4 on the season. Murray State led 3-1 when Kautz entered the game, but the Greeley, Colo., native allowed just two hits in 3.0 innings of relief as the Aces rallied to secure the win.
Stahlhut leads the team at the plate, batting .345 with 29 hits on the season. Gaertner has posted a team-high four home runs this season and leads the squad with 18 runs batted in. As a team, Evansville leads the Valley with 14 double plays turned this season and ranks 26th among all NCAA Division I teams with an average of .46 twin killings per game.
Scouting Drake:
Drake University Bulldogs (18-12, 5-0)
Drake most recently split a midweek doubleheader with South Dakota State to round out its record to 18-12 going into this weekend. The Bulldogs boast an unbeaten conference record, posting five MVC wins in the first two weekends of Valley play.
As a team, Drake owns the third-best batting average in the league, hitting .266 with 20 home runs this season. Torey Craddock leads the Bulldog offense, batting .347 at the plate with a team-high 34 hits on the year. Craddock is also a threat on the base paths, leading the conference with 12 stolen bases already this season. Hitting .341, Jenna Delong is ranked third in the Valley with seven home runs on the season. Erin Mollohan ranks third on the team in run production, tallying 19 RBI and adding three home runs to the team’s total.
Delong and Brynne Dordel make up the pitching duo that has led the Bulldogs in the circle this season. The pair has compiled an ERA of 2.84 in 177 innings pitched. Delong leads the Valley with 111 total strikeouts on the year while posting a .191 opposing batting average.
