INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI Softball team concludes its tournament play this weekend when it heads down to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the Woo Pig Classic hosted by the University of Arkansas.
 
While in Fayetteville, the Jaguars will take on local rival Butler in the tournament opener at 11 a.m. ET, before taking on Drake at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 3. IUPUI will then square off with tournament host Arkansas at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 4, before closing the tournament against one of those three opponents at either 2:00 p.m. ET of 4:30 p.m. ET.
 
The Jags are coming off a 1-3 weekend at the Gold Pub & Grill Classic hosted by Southern Mississippi University. IUPUI started the tournament with three losses by a combined four runs, before concluding the event with a 5-0 win over Nicholls State.
 
In the finale, Nikki Thomas threw a complete-game three-hitter, posting her second career shutout. The win moved her season record to 2-3.
 
Offensively, Jenny Royse led the squad with a .455 average last weekend and drove in three runs, upping her team-leading total to nine. Six players are currently hitting over .300 for the Jaguars, which includes three true freshmen in Nicole Checkie, Eryn Dillon, and Royse. Kelsey Rupert is pacing the group hitting at a .438 clip through 11 games.
 
Arkansas comes into the weekend just outside the Top 25 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll owning an 11-2 record through three weeks of action. The Razorbacks possess a potent lineup that has already belted 13 home runs through 13 games this season. They have outscored their opponents 87-33, and are collectively hitting .324.
 
Butler owns a 2-4 record heading into March. The Bulldogs pitching staff has yielded just eight earned runs through six game resulting in a team ERA of 1.77. Offensively, Butler has a team batting average of .236.
 
Finally, Drake is 5-7 and averages nearly 4.7 runs per game. Drake has two pitchers who have logged all 80.2 innings of work this season and the duo has combined for a 3.79 ERA.