BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Finding a way to close out the long weekend with a bang, the IUPUI softball team (4-11) swept day three of the Western Kentucky Spring Fling, defeating Wright State (2-8) 6-1 before downing Austin Peay (4-4) 6-1 in game two.  The pair of victories pushes the Jags to a 4-4 record in their last eight games, a substantial turnaround after starting the year 0-7. 
 
Easily the best day of the season for the Jags pitching, Nickole Finch and Erica Tharp were both strong in their respective performances, as the duo keyed IUPUI's pair of victories by surrendering just two earned runs all day.  Finch proved to be the workhorse, going 10 innings while surrendering just five hits.  Opposing batters managed just one earned run off of her, as she struck out nine while giving up just one extra base hit.  Tharp worked four innings in the first game and nabbed her first victory of the season. 
 
Roni Patterson has come to life with a vengeance, going 4-for-7 with a homerun and four RBIs.  She finished the weekend 6-for-15 with two homers and eight RBIs, negating what had been a slow start to the season.  Maggie Good clubbed a grand slam on the day and finished 2-for-5 with five RBIs.  Alyssa Matson kept it going out of the leadoff spot, finishing 4-for-9 with two runs and an RBI.  Delaney Thompson had a solid outing at 3-for-6 with a double.
 
Game One
The Jaguar offense came roaring to life in the first pair of innings, as Matson continued to be a top-notch catalyst at the top of the lineup with a leadoff single.  A fielder's choice would keep a runner on first, as a wild pitch pushed the runner into scoring position.  Chitwood singled and stole second to put a pair of runners on second and third, as the bases became loaded following a walk by Good.  That brought up Patterson, who knocked a two-run single to center field.  The Jags would get another hit in the inning from Maddy Griffin but wouldn't be able to push across anymore runs in the first.
 
Perhaps the loudest hit of the day for the Jags, Good came through with a big grand slam shot in the second inning after IUPUI loaded the bases, granting the Jags a 6-0 lead through two innings.  That was all they would need, as the pitching staff pieced together one of their most efficient outings of the year.  Tharp went four innings, giving up just five hits and one earned run with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.  Finch came on in relief and threw three nearly perfect innings, giving up just a walk with a strikeout.  It marked the first save of the season for Finch.
 
Game Two
After an RBI double briefly put the Jags behind in the bottom of the first inning, the IUPUI offense went bonkers in a four-run second inning, as the team batted around, bringing 10 batters to the plate.  Four hits in the inning yielded four runs, as a pair of RBI singles from Delilah Wright and Patterson helped put the Jags on top.
 
An RBI single from Matson in the third inning plated Griffin, followed by a solo homerun from Patterson in the fourth.  The offense was more than enough, as the Jags got another strong pitching performance in game two.  Finch went the distance in a seven inning complete game, giving up five hits and just one earned run while striking out eight. 
 
With the weekend now at a close, the Jags will look to the Wooo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Arkansas March 3-5, as the team will face Nebraska, Lamar and Arkansas across five games.
 
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