EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa) drew a bases loaded, two-out, sixth-inning walk that scored the go-ahead run for the Drake University softball team in a 3-2 comeback win over BYU Thursday in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at Jane Sanders Stadium in the Eugene Regional.
Redshirt junior pitcher Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) pitched 2.1 innings in relief with six strikeouts for Drake (44-10), which won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game with the victory over the Cougars. Newman improved to an impressive 22-3 in the circle on the season and is now tied for second in all-time in wins at Drake with 64.