Box Score BROOKINGS, S.D. – Catching fire at just the right time, the IUPUI softball team (15-28, 4-10) secured their second straight Summit League series victory by taking game three of their series against South Dakota State (17-31, 3-9) 6-2 Sunday (April 24), a crucial victory as the team fights to make the Summit League tournament and improve their standing in the regular season.
IUPUI was led by
Ali Mosier, who went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in (RBIs) on a double and a homerun.
Taylor Chitwood was equally as dominant, going 3-for-4 with a double and a solo homerun.
Roni Patterson provided timely hitting out of the five-spot, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
In the circle,
Brooke Boetjer went the distance, tossing seven innings of two-run ball while giving up five hits, one walk and amassing eight strikeouts in a dominant showing for the senior.
The Jaguars were the first to get on the scoreboard, as the backstop Patterson reached on a one-out walk. She'd advance to second on a stolen base and be gifted third on an errant throw by the catcher to put her at the corner with two outs. After a hit-by-pitch to the next batter, Patterson scrambled home on a wild pitch to give the Jags an early edge.
Boetjer was solid to start the game, making it through three and a third innings before surrendering her first hit. She worked 1-2-3 frames in the first and third innings and was clutch when it mattered. She stranded a runner at third on a groundout to end the second and struck out back-to-back batters in the fourth to strand a runner at second base.
In the top of the fifth inning following a strikeout to the leadoff batter, Mosier connected on her team-leading ninth homerun of the season, a shot to left field, to add another run for the Jags.
Morgan Schlobohm would follow suit with a single to left field and eventually move into scoring position on her team-leading 13th stolen base of the season. However, she'd be stranded there as a pop out would end the frame for the Jaguars.
In the bottom half of the inning, Boetjer was once again masterful in a tight situation. After recording a groundout and a strikeout, an infield single was awarded to the next batter. A wild pitch allowed the runner to move up into scoring position, but the senior standout came through in the clutch, inducing a flyout to end the threat.
In the top of the sixth, timely hitting and solid personnel management gave the Jags their most fruitful frame of the contest, as Patterson and
Kristin London led off with back-to-back singles. A sacrifice bunt by
Alyssa Neff moved both runners into scoring position, which prompted Head Coach
Amanda Rivera to call on
Maggie Armstrong to pinch hit. She came through with a one out single, plating both runners and giving IUPUI a four-run edge. Later, Mosier would come through again, knocking a double to right center to plate
Sarah Lawrence who re-entered as the base runner to put the Jags up by five.
The bottom of the sixth was the rockiest showing for an otherwise stellar day for Boetjer, as she was tagged for a pair of runs on three hits. She'd eventually work out of the inning on a fielder's choice, stranding a runner and ending the threat.
Chitwood started the final inning off with a bang, knocking a leadoff solo homerun to left field to extend the Jaguars lead to four runs. The next three batters would go down in order, setting up a crucial final half inning for IUPUI.
Boetjer was once again masterful, as she ended the game quietly on a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts to capture the complete game victory.
The Jaguars will next face Northern Kentucky (10-35, 3-14) in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday (April 26) in Highland Heights, Kentucky, before returning to Indianapolis to host Western Illinois (11-30, 4-7) in the final homestand for the Jags this season.
