Chaska Herald - Chaska's Dordel is MVC Softball Newcomer of the Year - Comments

Drake to NCAAS Drake was

HawkEye — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:50:33 -0500

Drake to NCAAS

Drake was picked ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches’ poll, but the Bulldogs were No. 1 when it counts most.

Drake topped Missouri State 7-2 on Saturday afternoon to win the MVC Tournament and nab an automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Tournament.

Brynne Dordel allowed six hits, walked five batters and struck out six, but allowed Missouri State only single runs in the second and fourth innings.

Dordel, now 19-10 in her freshman college season, was awarded as the MVC Tournament MVP.

Drake, 29-24 on the season, awaits the regional selections from the NCAA on Sunday. The Bulldogs will be back in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history, after making their debut in 1994.

Dordel does it again

HawkEye — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:13:17 -0500

Dordel does it again ...

Drake had just one hit against Creighton on Saturday in the MVC semifinals, but they had Brynne Dordel on the mound.

Dordel had a shutout going into the seventh inning, before yielding a home run, a double and an RBI groundout.

But Creighton got no closer as the Bulldogs prevailed 3-2.
Dordel struck out 11 and walked two while tossing 132 pitches (80 for strikes). She struck out the side in the first and third innings.

Dordel moved into third place on the Drake single-season strikeout chart while notching her 18th win of the season.

Drake remained perfect against the Blue Jays in Tournament play (4-0), although the Bulldogs were swept in the regular season by Creighton.

Drake will face No. 7 seeded Missouri State in the championship game at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Midwest with former Drake head coach Laura Leonard and RC McBride calling the action.

The build up to the game could not be any steeper as Drake returns to the MVC Championship game for the first time since losing to Missouri State in the 1997 finals, while the Bears had to knock off No. 6 seeded Evansville, No. 3 seeded Southern Illinois and No. 2 seeded Illinois State over the last two days to reach the finals.

The Bulldogs hold a 1-1 record against Missouri State MVC Championship games, while trailing the Bears 3-5 in overall tournament games.

Drake is in its first MVC championship-game berth since 1997.

Dordel won her 17th game of

HawkEye — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:31:39 -0500

Dordel won her 17th game of the season Thursday as Drake beat Witchita State 8-4 in the MVC Tournament in Carbondale, Ill.

Dordel scattered eight hits over 4-2/3 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) with two walks and a strikeout.

Drake's Jaci Faidley hit a two-run home run in the first inning, a three-run home run in the fourth inning and a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning to set two MVC Tournament records for single-game home runs and RBI.

The Bulldogs (27-24 overall) will next face top-seeded Creighton at noon on Friday.

Chaska's Dordel is MVC Softball Newcomer of the Year

HawkEye — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:35:04 -0500

Chaska High School graduate and current Drake University freshman pitcher Brynne Dordel was named the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Newcomer of the Year at the MVC Awards Banquet on Wednesday night.