FORT MYERS, Fla. – In what is shaping up to be the finest showing for the Jags so far this season, the IUPUI softball team (9-17) improved to 3-1 in their trip to Florida with a pair of wins Friday (March 17), defeating Cleveland State 6-4 before battling Drexel in a 2-1 victory. The Jags have now tied their season-high with three-straight wins, and will look to close out the weekend Saturday with a single game against the Vikings.
Pitching continues to thrive this weekend for the Jags, as both
Nickole Finch and
Erica Tharp pitched complete games for the second day, both giving up just six hits in seven innings of work. Tharp gave up just one earned run while striking out seven batters with no walks, helping the Jags tight-rope their way to victory. Finch was stellar for six innings before getting hit for two runs in the final frame, but still managed to secure the win while striking out five.
Maggie Good rebounded from the previous day, going 3-for-6 with two doubles and a homerun. She added two RBIs and came around to score four times.
Roni Patterson went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, while
Maggie Armstrong fared better in the No. 7 spot, going 2-for-5.
The Jags came out swinging to start the first game, as
Taylor Chitwood doubled with two outs. Good followed with a double, bringing Chitwood home on the play. A fielding error kept the inning alive and allowed Good to come home. The Jags would get another baserunner on an error, but a strikeout ended the threat.
A pop up and strikeout got Finch ahead of the Cleveland State lineup in the bottom of the inning, but a single, fielding error and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for the Vikings. Finch, demonstrating the same resiliency she did on Friday, was able to induce a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Back-to-back doubles got the Jags on the board again in the third inning, as Good and Patterson clubbed the extra-base hits. After Good scored, Armstrong came through with a single up the middle, plating Patterson for the Jags second run of the inning. IUPUI ballooned its lead to 4-0.
Both teams broke through in the fifth inning, as the Jags started it in the top half with a leadoff single by
Delilah Wright. After a walk to Chitwood, a fielder's choice put runners at the corners with one away. Patterson singled to bring the runner in from third, followed by a sacrifice fly from Armstrong that scored Good. After the Jags damage in the top half, the Vikings got two runs in the bottom of the frame with three singles and an RBI groundout.
Looking to close the game out, the Jags hit a bit of a rough patch after one hit, an error and three walks scored two runners, but Finch was able to get the final batter swinging to end the game.
There wasn't much offense to speak of in the second game of the day, but the Jags didn't need it thanks in large part to the stellar pitching of Tharp and a strong defensive showing. After giving up a run in the first inning, the Jags wasted no time in evening the score as
Alyssa Matson led off the bottom of the first with a double to left field. A groundout moved the runner to third, as Chitwood knocked a sac fly to center field, scoring the runner from third.
The game remained at a stalemate until at long last Good broke through with a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning to provide a narrow edge. It was all IUPUI needed, as Tharp got a strikeout, double play and three pop ups over the final two innings to end the game.
With the win, Tharp has now thrown 14 innings over two games, giving up just two runs with only one being earned. She's struck out 18 batters in total, as both single game performances broke her previous career-high.
The Jags will take on Cleveland State at 7:15 p.m. EST on Saturday (March 18).
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