Box Score  | Box Score (pdf) | Box Score (html)

FARGO, N.D. – Entering the week, the IUPUI softball team had just one postseason win in the last 15 years, but the Jags earned their second straight postseason victory in as many days on Thursday when IUPUI defeated the top-seeded North Dakota State Bison, 15-8, in Summit League Tournament action at the Ellig Sports Complex.

IUPUI owned a five-run lead through three and a half innings only to see that lead evaporate entering the sixth. Despite trailing for the first time in the tournament, the Jags remained poised and touched home plate nine times in the final two innings to advance to play in-state rival IPFW on Friday.

"Today you saw our grittiness and our approach. We faced some adversity against a really good North Dakota State team and for us to fall behind and still stay focused was really impressive," head coach Amanda Rivera said. "As a coach, one of the best things to see out there is your players take ownership of what's going on out there. Late in the game our players took ownership of what was happening in all facets of the game and for them to do that in the postseason is special."

Offensively, Taylor Chitwood led the way going a perfect 5-for-5, including a home run, and she drove in six runs. The five hits and six RBI were career-highs for the first-team all-conference performer, and her hit and RBI total both set Summit League Championship single-game records.

"Taylor's been steady all year and she has stepped up for us in big moments and today was no exception."

IUPUI quickly jumped in front scoring twice in the first thanks in part to being patient at the plate and making NDSU starter Krista Menke work. Six of the seven batters that came to the plate in the first inning worked at least three-ball counts, but the threat began when Morgan Schlobohm and Roni Patterson drew consecutive walks with one out. Then on a 3-2 pitch, Chitwood drove a pitch on the outside corner into the opposite field gap allowing Schlobohm and Patterson to score to put the Jaguars up 2-0. In total, the Jags forced Menke to throw 38 pitches in the opening frame.

Jocelyn Oppenhuis worked around a lead-off single in the bottom of the first to keep NDSU off the scoreboard, and after the Jags were set down in the top of the second, the game went into a rain delay that lasted more than two and a half hours.

When play resumed around 5:30 p.m. ET, the Jags committed a fielding error immediately following the delay and the runner who reached base via the error eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to get NDSU on the board and cut the IUPUI lead in half, 2-1.

The Jaguars got that run back in the third when Alyssa Matson scored a sacrifice fly from Maggie Good, before tacking on three more runs in the fourth. IUPUI scored on a passed ball, a Chitwood RBI single, and a sacrifice fly from Sarah Lawrence to move the lead to 6-1 in the fourth.

However, just as the lead reached its largest of the day, the Bison responded with three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take their first lead of the day, 7-6.
The see-saw affair continued as the Jags retaliated in the top of the sixth to regain the lead. Ali Mosier started the inning with a single, and two batters later she advanced to second on a walk to Patterson. During the next at-bat, Chitwood plated Mosier on a RBI single to knot the score at 7-7. Following a strikeout, Good delivered a three-run homer to left field to catapult the Jags back in front, 10-7.

NDSU scored one in the sixth, but it could have been worse as Oppenhuis returned to the game and got out of a bases loaded jam to keep the Jags in front, 10-8. Oppenhuis got some insurance in the top of the seventh when Mosier doubled home Dillon to move the lead back to three, 11-8. That wasn't all the run support she would get. IUPUI scored four more runs in the inning highlighted by a two-run homer from Chitwood and a solo homer from Lawrence as the advantage escalated to 15-8.

In the bottom of the seventh, Oppenhuis forced a line out and a double play to finish off the Jags win.

IUPUI advances to play IPFW, who won in its last at-bat earlier in the day. The Jags and Mastodons are set to meet at 4 p.m. ET on Friday.