ELON, N.C. – Head coach Elisabeth Beirne and the IUPUI softball team kicks off the season with a trip to North Carolina to face Elon and Saint Francis. The Jags will play a total of five games over the course of the weekend with the first on Friday at 12:00 PM against Saint Francis. The Jags finished the 2021 season 14-31 and 12-23 in Horizon League and were voted seventh in the 2022 pre-season conference polls.
 
IUPUI returns two seniors, Jaida Speth and Amber Pagan along with graduate student Hailey Pop. Other returning letterwinners are Carly Metcalf, Maicey Bedrick, Abbey Haas, Rachael Gregory, Victoria Sivert, Kasie Keyes, Jasmin Speth, Lauren Youngblood, Jaylin Calvert, Moragn Gilbert and Jordan Barnes.
 
Barnes led the team in 2021 in batting average with .325 (25-for-77) and RBI with 17. She also knocked four home runs in her sophomore season. Sophomore Gilbert followed closely with a batting average of .320 (49-for-153) with 16 RBI. Pop and Youngblood each added 10 RBI while senior Jaida Speth knocked in eight runs.
 
The Jags add two transfers to the roster, catcher Mackenzie Myars and pitcher Madison Bryant. Bryant is a sophomore from Eastern New Mexico while Myars joins IUPUI after playing her first three seasons with IU South Bend. Freshman Kendal Calvert, Isabelle Wagner and Ashley Shelton round out the roster for IUPUI.
 
Friday will mark the beginning of the season as the Jags face Saint Francis at 12:00 PM then take on Elon at 3:00 PM. On Saturday IUPUI will face Elon again at 12:00 PM, followed by a 5:00 PM matchup with Appalachian State. The Jags round out the weekend on Sunday at 9:30 AM against Saint Francis.