Softball Welcome Drake for Weekend Series at Rose Park

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University Softball team (24–9, 11–3 MVC) will host Drake in a Missouri Valley Conference series at E.S. Rose Park, with schedule adjustments due to weather. The Bruins will now play a doubleheader against the Bulldogs Thursday, April 2 at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by a single game Friday, April 3 at 1 p.m. CT. 

Between games on Thursday, Belmont will honor Team IMPACT player Carolina Taylor in her final year with the program. 

All games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available on belmontbruins.com. 

What's Bruin 

• Belmont enters the weekend 24–9 overall and 11–3 in MVC play following a 2–1 series win at Southern Illinois — marking the program's first road series victory over the Salukis. 
• The Bruins currently sit first in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. 
• In the Circle Maya Johnson continues to lead Belmont in the circle. The redshirt senior is 17–1 with 236 strikeouts across 119 innings pitched and recently surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts, becoming the 101st NCAA Division I player to reach the milestone and the only active player currently at that mark. 
• Johnson leads the NCAA in total strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings (13.9), strikeout-to-walk ratio (13.88), and ERA (0.53). 
• She has earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors seven of eight weeks this season. 
• Johnson has also been named D1 Softball Pitcher of the Week twice and NFCA Pitcher of the Week four times — becoming the first Division I athlete to earn the NFCA honor four times in a single season. 
• She was recently named the No. 1 overall pitcher in Softball America's April positional rankings after earning preseason Second Team All-America honors from D1 Softball and Softball America and being tabbed the preseason No. 1 Mid-Major Player by D1 Softball. 
• Belmont returns five All-MVC honorees from last season, including Johnson (First Team, Pitcher of the Year), Rylee Spindler (First Team, Freshman of the Year), Nicole Hughes and Maddy Balsiger (Second Team), and Brenna Blume (All-Defensive Team). 
• Rylee Spindler leads the MVC in batting average (.465). 
• The Bruins were picked first in the 2026 MVC Preseason Poll and have appeared in D1 Softball's Mid-Major Top 25 for eight consecutive weeks, most recently ranking No. 3. 
• Johnson and Hughes were named Preseason First Team All-MVC selections, while Spindler, Balsiger, and Blume earned honorable mention honors. 
• Belmont recently faced No. 1 Tennessee, holding the Lady Vols to a 1–0 decision — their smallest margin of victory this season. 
• The Bruins have also secured two ranked SEC wins, defeating No. 15 Georgia and No. 18 Mississippi State — the first in program history. 
• Belmont is coming off a historic 2025 campaign, finishing 41–16 overall and 20–7 in MVC play while capturing the MVC Tournament Championship for the first time in program history. 
• The Bruins are led by head coach Laura Matthews, now in her sixth season at the helm. 

Against The Field

• Belmont holds a 5–4 all-time record against Drake. The Bruins won the most recent matchup against the Bulldogs in March 2025 at home. 
• Drake enters the weekend 2–9 in MVC play. 

Follow Belmont softball on social media - @BelmontSoftball on Twitter, @belmontsoftball on Instagram and Belmont Bruins Softball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.