THIS WEEK IN DRAKE SOFTBALL
The Drake softball team travels to Clearwater Fla., to participate in the USF Under Armour Invitational hosted by the University of South Florida. The Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 9-5 record after going 3-2 at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. last weekend. Drake meets Pittsburgh at 9:30 a.m. and Boston College at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The Bulldogs will face Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. and Quinnipiac at 6 p.m. Saturday. Drake wraps up the tournament with a 9:30 a.m. matchup with James Madison on Sunday.

WHO HAS WHOSE NUMBER
Drake has only previously faced one opponent heading into this weekend of play. Drake defeated Pittsburgh 4-2 on Feb. 27, 1999. The Bulldogs have never faced Boston College, Kennesaw State, Quinnipiac or James Madison.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Pittsburgh enters the Under Armour Invitational on a five game win streak.  The Panther roster consists of 10 freshmen and sophomores and just two seniors. Pittsburgh is led by outfielder Ashley Amistade, who is hitting .350 this season and has 14 hits to her credit.
    Boston College enters the weekend on a three game losing streak.  The Eagles rely on their strong pitching staff as they are 7-1 when opponents score two or fewer runs against them. Allison Gage, Nicole D'Argento and Taylor Peyton have combined to register a 1.87 era this year. Leading the offense for Boston College is Second Basemen Renee Ramos who has belted four home runs this season and has driven in ten runs.
    Kennesaw State enters the weekend having won six of its last seven contests.  During the run they have outscored opponents 36 to 18. The Owls endured their first losing season last year under head coach Scott Whitlock, who has been at the helm of the program for more than two decades. Kennesaw State is led by pitcher Jessica Cross who has a 1.14 era this season and has 43 strikeouts.
    Quinnipiac is hoping to find success during its second week in Florida as the Bobcats participated lost five straight during the USF Under Armour Invitational last weekend. Quinnipaic was able to end its five game skid on Tuesday with a doubleheader split against Toledo. The Bobcats defeated Toledo 2-1 in the first game but dropped the second game 12-8.  Second Baseman Alex Murray leads the Bobcats with 13 hits on the season.
    James Madison's matchup with Drake will be its seventh contest played in the state of Florida. The Dukes have faced tough competition this year with two losses to No. 25 North Carolina,  and another to No. 12 Georgia. James Madison is led by Outfielder Jasmine Butler who has 14 hits and six steals on the season.

RECORD WATCH
With her walk against Iowa State on March 6, Senior Elena Leon became Drake all-time walks leader with her 81st walk of her career. She passed Susan Slycord, who logged 80 walks between 2005-08. Leon also needs just one home run to become Drake's all-time career leader with 26. Leon is tied with Katie Shimon who hit 25 home runs between 2001-04.

EARLY LEADS
Drake owns an 8-1 record in games where it leads first. If the Bulldogs fail to score first they are 1-4 on the season. The Bulldogs also have a 4-1 record when they tally a run in the first inning.

PITCHING DOMINANCE
Out of the nine wins the Bulldogs have amassed this season, five have been shutouts. Drake is 3-0 when allowing when allowing opponents to score one run. Drake is 0-4 when allowing three or more runs.

FEELING OFFENSIVE
Drake has outscored opponents 49-29 heading into the USF Under Armour Invitational this weekend. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in every inning but the third, where the opposition has outscored Drake by an 11-2 margin.

USELESS NOTE OF THE WEEK
This weekend marks the first time that the Drake softball program will play a school whose name starts with a J or a Q.

DELONG EARNS DUAL MVC HONORS
Junior pitcher Jenna DeLong earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for Feb. 16-21 after a dominant performance at the Sleep Inn Classic in Denton, Texas. The Junior struck out 33 batters in 17 scoreless innings of work and compiled a 2-0 record. She also tied a career-high with 14 strikeouts in Drake's 2-0 victory over Sam Houston State on Feb. 20. The honor was her second-career Pitcher of the Week accolade.
    Additionally, DeLong was named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week during the same timeframe. The Junior carries a 3.54 GPA with a Journalism/Broadcast News major.

DELONG, VANDE WALL NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Pitcher Jenna DeLong and freshman outfielder Lindsey Vande Wall were named to the Sleep Inn Classic all-Tournament Team, as voted by participating coaches. DeLong earned MVC Player of the Week Honors for her efforts (see above). Vande Wall hit .444 (4-9) on the weekend with three runs scored and a fourth-inning grand slam against Colorado State that transformed Drake's slim 2-1 lead into a comfortable 6-1 advantage. The freshman also was three-for-three on the basepaths and played mistake-free defense in centerfield.

ONE MORE ON DELONG
Jenna DeLong threw 21 straight scoreless innings over five games. DeLong closed the Iowa game with two scoreless innings before tossing seven against Buffalo for a complete game shutout. The junior entered in relief to log three shutout innings against North Texas before tossing her second straight complete-game shutout against Sam Houston State DeLong opened the Southern Miss. contests with two scoreless innings before allowing a third-inning home run to end the streak.

FREQUENT FLYERS
The Bulldogs will not play a home game until March 27 when they face Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley in a doubleheader. Before then, Drake will have played 25 games and traveled 5,508 miles before playing in front of a home crowd at Buel Field.

FAMILIAR FOES
Drake will meet six familiar non-conference opponents in 2010, having played Arkansas, Minnesota, Iowa State, Iowa, Eastern Illinois and Kansas in 2009. The Bulldogs earned victories over each of the above teams last season and went 6-2 overall. Drake's two losses were to Arkansas March 3 and Eastern Illinois March 17. Iowa was ranked No. 25 when the Bulldogs earned a 1-0 win in Iowa City on April 29 of last year.

DORDEL'S WEEK
Junior pitcher Brynne Dordel was brilliant in three appearances at the Razorback Invitational last weekend, going 2-1 with wins over No. 22 Louisiana-Lafayette and Eastern Illinois. Dordel fanned five and allowed just one run on five hits in Drake's 2-1 victory over 22nd-ranked Louisiana Lafayette. After allowing two of her five hits to start the fifth inning, the junior sat down the next three batters to end the threat and exit the game with the lead. Dordel was excellent again the next day against Iowa State, allowing just two runs on two hits while striking out eight in six innings of work. She saved her best performance for last, striking out 12 and throwing a complete game shutout against Eastern Illinois to end the tournament. All told, Dordel went 2-1 and tallied 25 strikeouts while allowing just three runs on nine hits in 18 innings of work on the weekend.

RANK GAMES
Drake has won three of its last five contests against ranked opponents, including a 2-1 victory over No. 22 Louisiana Lafayette last Friday. The Bulldogs previously defeated No. 25 Iowa, 1-0, on April 29, 2009, and topped No. 19 Southern Illinois, 3-0, on March 13, 2009.

DRAKE VS RANKED OPPONENTS
DATE      TEAM                               RESULT
3/14/09    No. 19 Southern Illinois       W, 3-0
3/14/09    No. 19 Southern Illinois       L, 1-2
3/15/09    No. 19 Southern Illinois       L, 0-3
4/29/09    No. 25 Iowa                        W, 1-0
3/5/10      No. 22 Louisiana-Lafayette   W, 2-1