Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Drake Box Score (html - pdf) | Eastern Illinois Box Score (html - pdf)

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The IUPUI softball team opened its 2014 campaign on Friday at the Total Control Sports Invitational and after earning a come-from-behind 4-3 win in the season-opener over Drake, the Jaguars dropped a 9-7 decision to Eastern Illinois.

Eryn Dillon and Angela Bartucci led IUPUI offensively for the day with both players hitting .500, and collectively the Jags outhit their opposition .382 to .246.

IUPUI 4, Drake 3

The season didn't get off to the best of starts with Drake scoring a run in its first plate appearance of the year courtesy of an Ashley Pierce solo homer, before scoring two more in the top of the second on a RBI ground out and another RBI from Pierce. Despite the early deficit, the Jags were able to strike back in their half of the second.

Maggie Good led off the second inning with a single to center, her first hit as a Jaguar, before quickly moving into scoring position by stealing second base with Bartucci at the dish. Bartucci proceeded to double home Good to close the IUPUI deficit to 3-1, and three batters later, Bartucci scored on a RBI single from Morgan Schlobohm to cut the Drake lead to 3-2.

Despite leaving two runners in scoring position in the second, Cassie Vodde got out of the third in no time and her offense came back and picked up where it left off in the fourth. Lindsey Richards reached base to start the inning after being hit by a pitch, but she was replaced by Alyssa Matson at first. Following a strikeout, Matson stole second and Good doubled her home to knot the score at three. The bases were loaded after Bartucci was hit by a pitch and Megan Cory walked, and Eryn Dillon then delivered a clutch RBI single that scored Good giving IUPUI its first lead of the game at 4-3.

The scoring rate settled as each team only had one of their next 10 batters reach base resulting in IUPUI holding onto its one-run lead with the game heading to the top of the seventh.

In the seventh, the Bulldogs managed to put runners on first and second with two outs, but Vodde forced a ground out to Schlobohm to preserve the season-opening win.

Good led the Jaguars with two hits in her debut, and Vodde went the distance in the circle giving up six hits and two walks while striking out three to earn the win.

Eastern Illinois 9, IUPUI 7

After opening the season with a dramatic 4-3 win, the Jaguars dug themselves a 9-0 hole in their second game on Friday. However, IUPUI made a late charge only to fall by a 9-7 decision to Eastern Illinois.

Mosier and Dillon led the comeback with two hits apiece and drove in two runs each, but four errors resulted in the Panthers scoring five unearned runs which proved to be the difference.

After a scoreless first inning, EIU's bats got hot in the second as it scored four runs on four hits, before scoring three more in the fourth and two in the fifth to seize a comfortable nine-run lead.

Offensively, the Jaguars picked up hits in the second, third and fourth innings, but could not put a run across home plate until the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Jags used five straight hits, highlighted by a RBI triple from Mosier and RBI singles from Schlobohm and Roni Patterson, to get on the board and climb within six runs, before RBI doubles by Dillon and Mosier in the sixth tightened the score to 9-5 in EIU's favor.

Emili Escamilla retired the Panthers in order in the seventh, and IUPUI's offense continued to roll. Back-to-back singles from Alyssa Neff and Sarah Lawrence put runners on the corners with nobody out, and IUPUI then pulled within three runs when Good brought home Neff on a sacrifice fly. Bartucci singled to center, which moved Lawrence to second, bringing the tying run to the plate. A strikeout followed to give IUPUI two outs, but Dillon laced a single to right field that scored Lawrence. Unfortunately for the Jags, Dillon was thrown out at second on the play ending the game in Eastern Illinois' favor.

The Jags return to action for another doubleheader at The Dome at Rosemont on Saturday, where they will meet the Panthers again in their first game, before taking on Illinois in the second game of the day.