CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Coming off of an offensive explosion at the tail end of an early season tournament, the softball team (7-11) will play their first non-tournament associated games Tuesday (Mar. 15) on the road as they'll face the University of Illinois (12-7) in a double-header at Eichelberger Field.
The contests mark a quick break from the four-consecutive tournaments the Jaguars have competed in to start the 2016 season. They'll go on to play in the NC State Doubletree RDU Invite (Mar. 18-20) as the final tournament before the start of Summit League play. The Jags' are coming off a 10-1 run-rule victory over Miami (Ohio) in which nine players for IUPUI recorded at least one hit.
Nickole Finch pitched three innings of one-hit ball in relief to pick up her first win of the season.
On the year, the Jags' are led by
Roni Patterson who sports a .389 batting average to go along with a team-high three homeruns, 14 runs and a .630 slugging percentage.
Taylor Chitwood leads the team with 16 runs batted in (RBI) and six doubles, while
Morgan Schlobohm has a .355 hitting clip to go along with a team-best seven stolen bases (7-for-9).
Brooke Boetjer features a 3.16 earned run average (ERA) in the circle on eight starts and 10 appearances, going 5-4 through 55 1/3 innings of works while striking out 32 batters and limiting opposing hitters to a .252 average. The senior righty has already pulled in a Pitcher of the Week award for her efforts at the Total Control Sports Invitational (Feb. 19-20) earlier in the season.
The University of Illinois softball team is coming off a 4-1 record at the Under Armour Invitational in Tampa, Fla. (Mar. 4-6), having most recently taken down East Carolina in an 11-0, five-inning victory. Over five games at the tournament, the Fighting Illini amassed 47 runs, their largest total coming in a 13-7 victory over Sam Houston State. Their season has been highlighted by a 5-1 victory over the 11th ranked Florida State Seminoles (Feb. 13) at the Florida International Invitational.
The Jaguars will make their 2016 home debut Mar. 20th in a single-game matchup with the University of Illinois at Chicago at 3 p.m. in the IUPUI Softball Complex.
