Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3

MACOMB, Ill. – A day after playing just four innings of a scheduled doubleheader due to a rain delay and darkness, the IUPUI softball team prepared to finish three games Tuesday at Western Illinois. After losing the completed game from Monday, 9-1, to start action, the Jaguars rallied for a pair of victories to claim the series.

By finishing the day 2-1, IUPUI moved to 17-23 overall and 7-11 in Summit League play, while Western Illinois fell to 10-19 overall and 4-12 in league action.

Game 1 – Western Illinois 9, IUPUI 1 (5 inn.)
Monday’s game resumed on Tuesday with the Leathernecks leading 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth and WIU picked up right where it left off scoring two runs on four singles to open a 6-1 lead going into the fifth.

IUPUI stranded two runners in the fifth, before the Leathernecks came back in the fifth and scored three more runs on four hits and one Jags error to claim the 9-1 five-inning, run-rule victory.

Kelsey Rupert and Lindsey Richards were the two Jaguars players to register hits, with Rupert driving in the lone run.

Game 2 –IUPUI 5, Western Illinois 2
The Jaguars got off to a slow start offensively in Game 2 as they went down in order in the first, and Western Illinois took advantage in the bottom of the first thanks to a Sammy Marshall lead-off, inside-the-park solo home run. A triple two batters later gave WIU a pair of opportunities to double their lead, but Cassie Vodde avoided further damage by forcing two ground outs to end the threat.

Western Illinois eventually did tack on another run in the third on an RBI ground out, but the Jags got that run back in the fourth on a two-out, solo shot to right field from Alicia Brewer.

Later in the fourth and in the fifth, IUPUI managed to put the tying run on second base, but a line out and a ground out, respectively, ended those innings and kept the Jags behind on the scoreboard, 2-1, entering the bottom of the fifth.

Following a 1-2-3 fifth for the Leathernecks, IUPUI came to the plate and rallied to knot the score in the sixth. With one out and Brewer on first following a fielder’s choice, Richards doubled to center field to put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. Brewer then scored and Richards moved to third on an illegal pitch, but IUPUI could not take the lead failing to bring home Richards by striking out and lining out.

Still tied heading into the seventh, IUPUI was able to strike with two outs to take its first lead of the day. With runners on first and third and two out, Jessica Lam came through with a RBI single through the left side to place the Jags in front, 3-2. During the next at-bat, a RBI single from Brewer plated Eryn Dillon and a throwing error on the play from the catcher allowed Lam to score all the way from first, widening the Jags lead to three runs, 5-2.

In the seventh, Vodde forced three straight fielder’s choices following a lead-off walk to wrap up the three-run win for IUPUI. Vodde went the distance for the Jags and gave up just five hits and two runs – one of which was earned.

Ali Mosier, Brewer and Richards recorded two hits apiece, while Brewer drove in a team-high two runs.

Game 3 – IUPUI 6, Western Illinois 1
Similar to Game 2, the Leathernecks were the first to strike doing so in the bottom of the first on a RBI double from Megg Kelly. However, from that point, Vodde settled down and let the IUPUI offense take over.

After failing to score in the second, the Jags picked up a big two-out hit from Brewer in the third to tie the score. The inning started with Rupert reaching base via a one-out double, but she was eliminated on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Mosier. Mosier replaced Rupert by stealing second base, and then proceeded to score on a triple from Brewer that knotted the score at 1-1.

The score remained tied at 1-1 through the fifth until IUPUI put together a late rally to open up a sizeable lead. The rally in the sixth began when Brewer singled through the left side before moving to second on a walk to Richards. An error on a fielder’s choice loaded the bases for the Jags and Dillon made the Leathernecks pay with a RBI single to left field that scored Brewer and put IUPUI in front, 2-1.

Two more runs scored during the next at bat on an Angela Bartucci two-RBI single, which upped the advantage to 4-1 while keeping runners on first and second. An Aundria Basquez single reloaded the bases, and the inning continued when Megan Cory delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single - IUPUI’s fourth single in a row – scoring Dillon and pushing the cushion to four runs, 5-1. A passed ball allowed one last run to score and capped off a five-run sixth that gave the Jaguars a 6-1 lead.  

Down the stretch, Vodde did her part on the mound retiring the side in the sixth, before escaping the seventh without any damage despite giving up a lead-off double. Vodde pitched another complete game going 7.0 innings, giving up five hits and one walk, as she picked up her seventh win of the season.

Rupert and Brewer paced the offensive attack with two hits apiece, while Bartucci led the team with two RBI.

The Jags return home on Saturday, April 20, when they welcome Kansas City to the IUPUI Softball Complex for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.