FARGO, N.D. – Making their fifth tournament appearance all-time, and third under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Amanda Rivera, the IUPUI softball team (17-33, 4-12) will head to the Summit League Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, where they'll face Western Illinois (16-31, 9-8) in first-round action Wednesday (May 11).
 
This season, IUPUI has been led by Ali Mosier with a team-best .324 batting average and team-highs in nearly every other relevant hitting category.  She boasts the most starts (50), at-bats (167), runs (35), hits (55), triples (2), homeruns (11), total bases (105), slugging percentage (.629), walks (23), hit-by-pitch (4), and on-base percentage (.423).  She's joined by fellow infielder Taylor Chitwood, who is hitting .305 with eight homeruns and a team-high 37 runs batted in (RBIs).  Morgan Schlobohm leads the team on the base-paths, swiping a team-high 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts.  As a team, the Jaguars are hitting .256.
 
Brooke Boetjer has steadily improved her numbers down the stretch of the season, logging a 2.89 earned run average (ERA) with a 9-13 record over 159.2 innings of work.  She's logged 13 complete games in 26 starts, and has limited opposing hitters to a .240 average against her.  In her last 14 appearances, Boetjer has given up two or fewer earned runs, dropping her ERA from 3.85 (April 9) to 2.89, nearly an entire run difference in just a month's time.  Boetjer has 109 strikeouts to just 44 walks.
 
Against Western Illinois, IUPUI dropped two of its scheduled three games against the Leathernecks (April 29), forgoing the series finale due to weather.  Against WIU, the Jaguars are 4-5 over the past three seasons, last defeating the Leathernecks in the Summit League Tournament in 2014 (May 7) in a 10-2, five-inning game.  Western Illinois is currently riding a five-game winning streak, having most recently swept IPFW at home, outscoring the Mastodons 25-12 over three games.  As a team, the Leathernecks are hitting .261 with a combined 6.59 ERA. 
 
The winner of the single-elimination, first-round matchup will advance to the double-elimination round slated for Thursday (May 12).  If IUPUI wins, they'll face the top-seeded North Dakota State (35-13, 17-0).  If the Leathernecks win, they'll face second-seeded Omaha (29-27, 12-5).
 
Summit League Tournament Rankings
1. North Dakota State (35-13, 17-0)
2. Omaha (29-27, 12-5)
3. Western Illinois (16-31, 9-8)
4. South Dakota (14-36, 8-9)
5. South Dakota State (23-33, 8-10)
6. IUPUI (17-33, 4-12)
 
Round 1
#3 Western Illinois vs. #6 IUPUI (Wednesday, May 11, 6:30 p.m. ET)
#4 South Dakota vs. #5 South Dakota State (Wednesday, May 11, 4:00 p.m. ET)
 
Round 2
#1 North Dakota State vs. lowest remaining seed (Thursday, May 12, 1:00 p.m. ET)
#2 Omaha vs. highest remaining seed (Thursday, May 12, 3:30 p.m. ET)