The Drake University softball team won its fourth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title with a 4-1 victory over Southern Illinois, Saturday afternoon, in the MVC title game at Buel Field.
Drake (43-10) earned the Valley's automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Tournament as it will make its third NCAA appearance in school history and first since 2008. The Bulldogs added to their hardware as they also won the 2018 regular season title after going 24-1 in league play.
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) (21-3) pitched a complete game against SIU (31-22) and allowed one run earned run on two hits with 10 strikeouts.