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FARGO, N.D. – For the first time since the 2005 season, the IUPUI softball team will participate in postseason play when it travels to Fargo, N.D., for the 2014 Summit League Softball Tournament.

The tournament takes place May 7-10 at the Ellig Sports Complex on the campus of North Dakota State University. By finishing the Summit League schedule with a record of 7-10, the Jaguars are the No. 4 seed in the tournament, and they will be the designated home team in their 6:30 p.m. ET match-up against the No. 5 seed Western Illinois Leathernecks on Wednesday, May 7.

WIU and IUPUI opened the Summit League portion of the schedule against each other back in March at the IUPUI Softball Complex, and the Leathernecks took two of three games in the series against the Jags. Western Illinois would have swept the series if it wasn't for the Jaguars rallying to score 10 runs in the fifth to erase an eight-run deficit and win by a run, 13-12, in the finale.

"We are excited to be playing in the tournament as this will be the first time for all of our players that they have participated in postseason play," head coach Amanda Rivera said. "With that said, we just need to play our brand of softball if we want to advance. Western Illinois is a good team and they have a talented team led by Sammy Marshall, so we are going to have to be focused from the start."

Despite struggling down the stretch, the Jaguars still boast one of the top offenses in The Summit League and they are led by freshman Roni Patterson, who leads the team with a .374 average. Patterson is also the team's top home run threat with nine homers on the season and her 33 RBI rank second on the team behind Ali Mosier's 35 RBI. Patterson is one of five Jags hitting over .300 on the season, with the others being Taylor Chitwood (.341), Mosier (.329), Sarah Lawrence (.326) and Angela Bartucci (.306).

Specifically against the Leathernecks this season, Mosier led the way with a .700 batting average (7-10) and four of her seven hits went for extra bases. Mosier also drove in four runs, but it was Bartucci who drove in a team-best six runs against WIU this year.

While Mosier experienced success against the Leathernecks this season, Western Illinois' Marshall caused a lot of problems for the IUPUI pitching staff this season as she went 11-for-11 in the three-game series between the two teams with two doubles, one homer, four RBI and seven stolen bases. She wasn't the only one to have success against the Jags as five of her teammates also hit above .333 against the Jags.

In the circle, Jocelyn Oppenhuis leads the squad with a 3.87 ERA, and she has been extremely effective in her last four outings giving up just four runs in 15.1 innings of work resulting in a 1.82 ERA, while striking out 18 batters. Cassie Vodde leads the team in wins with 10.

Fans can watch live streaming or listen to live audio of the game by checking out The Summit League's Softball Championship Central page (click here for the championship page). Live stats will also be provided.

The winner of the IUPUI/Western Illinois game will take on the top-seeded North Dakota State Bison on Thursday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m. ET, while the loser will play at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday against the loser of the South Dakota State/South Dakota match-up that will be played prior to the IUPUI/Western Illinois game on Wednesday.