INDIANAPOLIS – For the final time this season, the IUPUI softball team will play at home this weekend when it welcomes in-state and Summit League rival Fort Wayne to the IUPUI Softball Complex for a three-game series.
The series is scheduled to begin with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, May 2. The series finale will take place on Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. ET.
Fort Wayne enters the final weekend of conference play with the best overall record in the league at 35-13, but they sit a half game behind North Dakota State for first place in the conference standings at 10-4. With IUPUI's doubleheader win over Wright State on Wednesday, the Jaguars improved to 22-19 overall, while sitting in fifth in the league standings with a 7-7 mark.
"This weekend is big for us as we continue to build towards playing our best softball come Summit League Tournament time," head coach
Amanda Rivera said. "IPFW is a great team and we have to be sharp in all facets of the game if we want to send our seniors out on a positive note in their final home series."
Prior to the start of Saturday's game, the Jaguars will honor their six seniors -
Lauren Cooper,
Nikki Thomas,
Jessica Lam,
Angela Bartucci,
Jocelyn Oppenhuis and
Lindsey Richards - who will be playing their final home game at the IUPUI Softball Complex.
IUPUI's offense ranks atop the Summit League in league-only play in runs scored (91), hits (125), home runs (21), RBI (79) and batting average .331.
In conference-only action, the Jags have three of the top five hitters in the league in
Ali Mosier (.500),
Roni Patterson (.442) and
Taylor Chitwood (.421). That trio has combined for 23 extra-base hits and 35 RBI in Summit League play.
On the contrary, Fort Wayne's strength lies in its pitching staff as it owns the second-best ERA in league-only contests at 1.99, while leading the league with an average of 10 strikeouts per game.
Miranda Kramer leads the pitching staff with a 1.79 ERA in Summit League play, and has managed to strike out 95 batters in 58.2 innings of work.
