GREENVILLE, S.C. – In the final game of the Furman Invitational, the IUPUI softball team rallied back from a six-run deficit before losing in heartbreaking fashion to Towson on Sunday (Feb. 18) morning.
Towson (3-5) was in position to take an early lead, opening the contest with back-to-back singles in their portion of the first. Kaylen Garland struck out Towson's third batter for the opening out of the inning and then forced a pop up and a fly out to get out of the inning unharmed.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, with Kristin Toland, who led off with a single, reaching home plate on a wild pitch. In the following inning they stretched their lead, adding two more runs. The Tigers continued the pattern in the bottom of the fifth, doubling their lead after a three-run frame, including a two-run home run by Isabella Canesi.
After registering just two hits in the previous six innings, IUPUI (1-8) finally got the bats rolling. Following a lead-off single by Paige McPhearson, Kinsey Pfeiffer crushed one out of the park to get the team on the board—the home run marked her third of the season. Another single, this time by Garland, forced a Towson pitching change. Morgan Wagner's first batter faced was a walk followed by an Alexa Holman single to load the bases. In the next at-bat, Emma Wheatley reached the plate on a passed ball, cutting the deficit to three. Towson got its first out on a Victoria Sivert groundout, but the runners advanced to again chip away at the lead. IUPUI would score on its third straight play on a Kelli Riordan single, seeing Kennedy Cowan home to make it a one-run game. Gilbert tallied another single for the team, forcing the second pitching change of the inning for Towson. Alyssa Bostley inched her team closer to a victory with a pop up against her first batter faced. IUPUI, however, wouldn't go down without a fight, tying the contest on the following at-bat on McPhearson's second single of the inning that scored Riordan and forced play to continue into the bottom of the seventh. A Pfeiffer pop up ended the top of the inning.
The Tigers made quick work of the final frame, closing out the contest with a walk-off two-run homer by Cori Jones—the second time this weekend the Jags were beaten in walk-off fashion.
IUPUI returns to action next weekend at the Murray State Invitational where it will play five games over a three-day span beginning on Friday (Feb. 23).
