INDIANAPOLIS – Summit League play started on Saturday at the IUPUI Softball Complex and while the IUPUI softball team didn't get off to the start it had expected, the Jaguars were able to bounce back from an extra-inning loss in the opener of a doubleheader by winning Game 2 to earn a split against South Dakota State.
Both IUPUI and South Dakota State are 1-1 in Summit League play after Saturday's action, and the Jags sit at 15-7 overall.
The Jaguars were just three outs away from a doubleheader sweep as they led 5-2 heading into the seventh inning of Game 1, but a three-run home run from SDSU's Devan Larsen evened things at 5-5, and an inning later two more runs from the Jackrabbits propelled them to the victory.
In the loss, IUPUI stranded 11 runners on base and struggled scoring with runners in scoring position, but the Jags scored five runs in the fifth inning in Game 2 to break open a tie ball game as they eventually finished off a 7-1 win.
Eryn Dillon led the way with three hits in the opener and totaled five hits for the day, and
Roni Patterson combined for two homers and drove in three runs in the doubleheader. In the first start of her career in Game 2,
Delilah Wright had two hits and drove in two runs.
In Game 1, both teams went scoreless in the first two innings before each scored in their halves of the third inning. South Dakota State scored two runs on an Elyse Eitel double in the top of the frame, but a solo home run from Patterson and a two-run home run from
Taylor Chitwood later in the inning catapulted IUPUI in front, 3-2.
A two-run home run from
Megan Cory in the fifth gave the Jags what looked to be a comfortable three-run cushion at 5-2, but Larsen's three-run shot in the seventh tied the game up in an instant.
After IUPUI failed to score in its half of the seventh, SDSU tacked on two more runs in the eighth to seize a 7-5 cushion. Needing to score two runs to extend the game in its half of the eighth, the Jaguars were able to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a diving catch in foul territory in right field by the Jackrabbits right fielder secured the two-run win for the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State finished Game 1 scoring in each of the last two innings, and it continued that trend into Game 2 scoring a run in the first to seize a 1-0 lead.
The IUPUI offense struggled in the first three innings failing to get a hit, but a solo home run from Patterson on the first pitch of her at-bat in the fourth evened the score at 1-1.
An inning later, the Jaguars finally broke through scoring five runs on four hits to open a 6-1 lead. During the inning, Wright and Patterson each brought home runs on RBI walks, before Dillon and Chitwood each singled home a combined three runs to move the lead to five.
Emili Escamilla retired the Jackrabbits in order in the sixth, and just for good measure the Jags added a run to its lead on a two-out Wright single moving the margin to 7-1.
SDSU led off the seventh with a single, but Escamilla finished off her complete game by getting the next three batters out to preserve the win.
Escamilla gave up six hits and one earned run while striking out seven to pick up her fourth win of the season.
The series finale between the two teams begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, at the IUPUI Softball Complex.
