CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - The IUPUI softball team is traveling to the Frost Classic hosted by University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The tournament will begin on Friday, February 25 and run through Sunday, February 27.
IUPUI will play five games during the stretch.
IUPUI will open the tournament against Tennessee Tech on Friday at 2 pm and play Northwestern State at 4:30 pm.
Saturday’s slate features games against Tennessee-Chattanooga (noon) and Tennessee Martin (2:30 pm),
The Jaguars will finish the tournament on Sunday against Northern Iowa (11 am).
Live stats will be available all weekend through the link at the bottom of the story and at IUPUIjags.com
The squad looks to improve upon the last two weekends. They went 2-2 at both the Belmont/Hampton Inn and the Lancer Lead-Off.
At 4-4, the Jaguars have made great strides offensively averaging over 4 runs per game. Freshman Brandi Lawson has led the charge batting .421 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Jessica Lam is coming off a solid weekend going 6-for-13.
Freshman Nikki Thomas has carried a bulk of the pitching load. She's posted a 2.58 ERA in 21.2 innings. Thomas has 27 strikeouts in 21 innings.
In order to be successful this weekend, the Jaguars will need to improve defensively. They’ve committed 21 errors in eight games this season.
Breaking down the opponents
Tennessee Tech
Most Recent – Tennessee Tech comes in to the Frost Classic at 1-6 with its only win coming against Summit League foe Centenary. The Golden Eagles are losers of four straight games.
Top Pitcher- Holly Thomas leads the squad with a 2.66 ERA. She has a complete game shutout against Centenary and has struck out 16 in 20 innings.
Top Hitter – Chanelle Spaulding is the team’s leading hitter at .421. No other Golden Eagle is batting above .300.
Northwestern State
Most Recent – The Demons blasted Prairie view A & M in a doubleheader on Wednesday. The two wins have NSU sitting at 8-5 on the year.
Top Pitcher – Kylie Roos has sparkled in the circle with an ERA of 1.93 and a 3-1 record. She averages over a strikeout an inning.
Top Hitter- She also leads the team in hitting (.400), home runs (3) and RBIs (13).
Tennessee-Chattanooga
Most Recent – UTC comes in to the tournament 7-3 and riding a six-game winning streak. The team swept all five games this past weekend in Mobile.
Top Pitcher – Michelle Fuzzard has won four of the seven games for UTC. She has a 2.49 era and has struck out 14 hitters in just over 25 innings of work.
Top Hitter – Lauren Flores leads the team batting .421 while Fuzzard has two home runs and ten RBIs.
Tennessee-Martin
Most Recent – Tennessee-Martin comes in to the tournament at 4-4. Last weekend, the squad defeated Ohio State and Evansville while losing to host Chattanooga and Southeastern Louisiana.
Top Pitcher – Chelsea Jones is 1-1 on the season with a 1.35 ERA. Amanda Brandenburg is 2-0 thus far.
Top Hitter -- Offensively, UTM is led by Jenny Bain. She already has four home runs and is hitting .440.
Northern Iowa
Most Recent – The Panthers defeated South Dakota 8-0 in their last contest nearly two weeks ago. The win upped the team’s winning streak to five to start the season. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 39-10 and gave up seven of those runs in one game against Green Bay.
Top Pitcher – Jamie Fisher and Melissa Tillet each won two games for the Panthers. Fisher has one complete game and has struck out over a hitter per inning (11 Ks, 6 IP). Tillet has worked 11 innings and struck out nine.
Top Hitter – Courtney Dunker is hitting .700 (7-for-10) on the young season. She had three doubles, a home run and three RBIs. Three other Panthers are hitting over .500 (Gina Brown, Whitney Plein, Mackenzie Daigh)
Live stats will be available throughout the tournament at IUPUIjags.com
