CHICAGO - IUPUI softball's season came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League Softball Championship on Friday (May 10).
Delaney Thompson led the Jaguars going 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in IUPUI's only run.
The Jaguar offense again started the game cold, not collecting its first hit until Thompson singled in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to turn it in to a double.
IUPUI would finally get on the board, trying to erase a 3-0 deficit with a Thompson single in the sixth.
Delainey Turner led off the inning with a single and
McKenzie Loge followed that up with a single of her own to put two runners on. After a wild pitch moved the runners up 60 feet, Thompson singled to left to bring home Turner and put runners on the corners with no outs.
During
Mandy Dallas's at bat, Thompson looked to steal second and when the throw went down, Loge broke for home but was caught in a run down and tagged out. Dallas ended her at bat with a lineout to third and
Sabrina Trevino was called out on strikes to end the inning.
IUPUI would not threated the Norse in the seventh, going down in order to see its season come to a close.
The Jaguars were kept in the game by
Amanda Melzoni who threw four shutout innings after relieving starter
Dezirae Leonard in the third inning. Melzoni allowed three hits and struck out one batter in the three innings.
Leonard was under pressure from the first inning as NKU put two runners on with just one out but the junior managed to get out of the inning unscathed. Things changed in the second as the Norse used three singles to load the bases and a two-out single to bring home two runs and break the scoreless tie.
The Norse would add another run after Leonard allowed the first three runners of the inning to reach and was relieved by Melzoni. Melzoni got the first batter to fly out to shallow left field but the next batter would reach on an error by Dallas at second that allowed the third run to cross the plate. Melzoni limited the damage getting the next two batters while leaving the bases loaded.
