FARGO, N.D. – Trailing by five runs heading into the top of the seventh, the IUPUI softball team chipped away at its deficit before using a grand slam from Sarah Lawrence to stun the second-seeded South Dakota Coyotes, 11-9, to remain in the winner's bracket of the Summit League Tournament.
 
The win advanced the Jags (33-16) on to Saturday action where they will take on top-seeded North Dakota State, who defeated South Dakota State 16-0 in five innings earlier on Friday.
 
Lawrence, who had hit one home run on the season entering the day, capped off a miraculous comeback with her homer to deep center off South Dakota starter, Rachel Cue, who had just re-entered the game after Madison Frain had hit a batter and walked Megan Cory on four straight pitches in relief.
 
"I have been really hitting the ball well on the outer half of the plate, and every time I have faced [Cue] she had pitched me inside," Lawrence said. "I knew she was going to keep pitching me inside and I was able to get the barrel on it."
 
Even though Lawrence's blast catapulted IUPUI in front, it still had three more outs to get. Emili Escamilla, a First-Team All-Summit League performer, gave up a lead-off hit, but forced a line out and a pop out to put the Jags an out away from victory. A walk to a pinch-hitter in the nine hole put runners on first and second and turned the lineup over bringing the Coyotes top hitter to the dish in Yvon Minogue. Escamilla settled back in and forced a comebacker, which she easily threw over to first to complete the comeback.
 
"We didn't play our best softball today, but this team fought to the end and I'm so proud of the way they continued to battle," head coach Amanda Rivera said. "Emili came in and really pitched well for us to keep us in the game, and our offense was finally able to string together some hits there in the seventh."
 
Brooke Boetjer got the start for the Jags and IUPUI gave her a one-run lead before she hit the circle thanks in part to a USD error, but the first five Coyotes batters reached base and scored off Boetjer forcing Rivera to bring in Escamilla.  
 
Escamilla retired the first three batters she faced in the first before working out of a jam in the second. IUPUI clawed back into the game in the third when Eryn Dillon blasted a three-run homer to center to inch IUPUI within one, 5-4.
 
Both teams had chances to score in their next at-bats, but it was the Coyotes that scored three unearned runs in the fourth and another run in the sixth to seize what looked to be a comfortable five-run lead.
 
The seventh didn't get off to the best of starts for the Jaguars as Ali Mosier was retired on a ground out, but Morgan Schlobohm singled to left, Roni Patterson was hit by a pitch and Dillon collected a bloop single, her third hit of the day, to load the bases. Maggie Good brought home the first two runs of the inning on a frozen rope double to left center which appeared to have ended the day for Cue. Frain came in and reloaded the bases by hitting Taylor Chitwood on the arm before bringing in a run by walking Cory. That was when Lawrence delivered the grand slam to cap off the scoring spree.
 
Escamilla then did the rest to move to 12-5 on the season, and her 10 strikeouts were one shy of her career high.
 
The Jaguars and Bison will square off at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the 6 p.m. ET game and the loser playing at 3:30 p.m. ET against either South Dakota or South Dakota State.