HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – IUPUI softball begins conference play with a three-game set at Northern Kentucky over the weekend. The Jags will play one game against the Norse on Friday (Mar. 22) and finish the series with a double header on Saturday (Mar. 23).

Friday's game will begin at 4 p.m. and the double header will start at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN3.

The Jags (6-21) last played on Tuesday (Mar. 19) falling to Illinois and had their home opener against Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday (Mar. 20) postponed due to inclement weather.

Delainey Turner returned to the lineup against Illinois and continues to lead the Jaguars lineup with a.341 batting average. Jaida Speth and Haley Ginger are also both hitting over .300 with a .311 and .307 average, respectively.

Mandy Dallas holds the RBI lead with 15. Ginger is second on the team with 14 and four other Jaguars have driven in at least 10 runs. Both Ginger and Kristin London have shown great patience at the plate with Ginger leading the team with 15 walks and London having walked 10 times.

Lexi Lucas, who threw three shutout innings against Illinois, leads the team with a 6.25 ERA and has a 4-8 record. Lucas has thrown a team-high 93.2 innings and has only walked 11 batters.

SCOUTING REPORT
IUPUI now turns its attention to a Northern Kentucky Norse team that is 7-15 on the season. Northern Kentucky lost its last two games, each by one run, but had won three-straight before that.

The Norse will play their first game at home when taking on the Jags, a place where NKU went 7-6 a season ago.

Zahrya McFarland is the leading hitter in the Norse lineup with a .349 average and a team-high 22 hits. Madi Mulder leads the team with 14 RBI while hitting .317. As a team the Norse are only hitting .243 and have only hit five home runs.

In the circle, Taylor Ginther leads the pitching staff with a 3.01 ERA and is 5-7 on the season. Ginther has started 13 games and appeared in 17, throwing 80.2 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Last season IUPUI took two of three games from NKU. In both of IUPUI's wins, the Jags shutout the Norse, 2-0 and 4-0. Northern Kentucky got the offense going in an 8-5 win in game two of the series.