DETROIT – IUPUI softball closes out its regular season with a three-game set on the road, taking on Detroit Mercy on Friday (May 3) and Saturday (May 4). All three games of the series with the Titans will be aired on ESPN3.
The two teams will meet for one game on Friday, beginning at 3 p.m., before closing out the series with a double header on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
IUPUI (16-34, 10-9 Horizon) currently sits in a tie for third place in the Horizon League heading in to the final weekend of play. The Jags are coming off a bye week not having played since April 23 at Eastern Illinois.
The Jags offense is led by freshman
Jaida Speth with a .311 average and
Delaney Thompson is hitting .308 and
Mandy Dallas is hitting .301. As a team, the Jags are hitting just .262. Dallas is the leader on the team with eight home runs and 31 RBI while Thompson leads the squad with 11 doubles.
In conference play, redshirt sophomore
McKenzie Loge is fourth in the conference with a .439 batting average and is getting on base at a .534 clip.
The long ball has been the Achilles' heel for IUPUI as the Jaguars have given up 63 and have only hit 27. 17 of IUPUI's 27 home runs have come in conference play but the Jaguars have also allowed a league-high 26 in conference play.
The Jaguars will now go up against the best pitching staff in the Horizon League this season. For the entire season, Detroit Mercy's pitching staff has a 2.84 ERA and has allowed a league-low 18 home runs. Opposing teams are hitting just .248 against the Titans staff. Detroit Mercy is even stingier in conference play as the Titans pitching staff is allowing teams to hit just .199 and hold a staff ERA of 2.06.
These pitching numbers are thanks to Liz Murphy and Ashley Mauser. Murphy leads the Horizon League with a 1.55 ERA in conference play and Mauser is third at 2.14. Both pitchers are allowing opposing teams to hit under .200 during the conference season.
On offense, Detroit Mercy is fifth in batting average at .262, just behind the fourth-place Jaguars (.287). Jordan Manno is the top hitter for the Titans and is the only player hitting over .300 for the season with a .348 average. Manno also leads the team with 28 RBI and has six home runs, which is second on the team behind Courtney Gilbert, who leads the team with seven.
The Titans have run more on the bases than any other team in the conference with 94 steal attempts. Detroit Mercy has been successful on 77 of those attempts with Sydney Pollock leading the way with 14.
