Freshmen Take Lead for Mastodons on Senior Day

Sunday, May 8

Fort Wayne, Ind.

12:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

27-13-1, 15-8

IUPUI

14-32, 9-13

IUPUI

IPFW

Ashleigh Bousquet went 4-for-6 at the plate for IPFW, including hitting two home runs in the opener

Freshmen Take Lead for Mastodons on Senior Day

5/8/2011 6:32:05 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

Fort Wayne, IN - On senior day at the IPFW Softball Field it was a pair of freshmen, Ashleigh Bousquet and Megan Flenniken, that helped lead IPFW to a 2-1 series win over the Jaguars of IUPUI. The Mastodons fell 8-7 in the opener before coming back to win the nightcap 2-1.

Three players, Ashleigh Bousquet, Sara Hopwood, and Alex Bousquet each went 4-for-6 on the Mother's Day doubleheader, with Ashleigh scoring four times and driving in four. Amber Pierce went 2-for-4 on the day, as Cassie Wolfe and Kristina Karpun each had two hits in seven at-bats. Flenniken pitched eight innings on the day, allowing just one run while striking out five total batters.

With the win in the finale, IPFW improves to 28-13-1 on the season, a win away from tying the school's single-season win record from a season ago, while going to 16-8 in league play. The Mastodons will be the third seed in the upcoming Summit League Tournament, hosted by Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. IPFW will face off against North Dakota State in the tournament opener for both teams, while UMKC will face off against the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah.

Sunday's game started as a pitcher's duel, with neither team able to reach the scoreboard over the first two innings, despite the Jaguars loading the bases with one out in the second inning only to see a strikeout and groundout end the threat.

In the third inning, IUPUI leadoff hitter Jessica Lam led off the frame with an infield single, before Kelsey Rupert reached base when the throw from her leadoff bunt went awry, with each of the runners advancing a base. Chelsie Hale then attempted a sacrifice squeeze, only to see the ball bounce away on the fielding attempt for IPFW's second error of the inning, scoring Rupert and Lam, setting the table for Leah Prewitt, who took a two-ball, two-strike count and put it over the fence, giving the visitors a 4-0 lead.

As starting pitcher Courtney Cronin was meeting with her teammates after the home run, a foul ball from the baseball game going on at the same time hit the defending Summit League Pitcher of the Year on her head, and forced her to leave the pitching circle, and two innings later, the contest. Senior Amanda Olender came in on relief, and held the Jaguars off of the scoreboard for the next six batters.

IPFW reached the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ashleigh Bousquet hit a one-out home run to right-center field, her third homer of the season, cutting the deficit to one. Cronin followed with a double to center field, before being lifted for pinch-runner Kaylee Faurote, who scored on a Hopwood single two batters later.

The Jaguars tacked on an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning, taking the score to 5-2, before Ashleigh Bousquet played the hero role with a three-run bomb to left-center field, scoring herself, her twin Alex, and Pierce.

Olender held IUPUI scoreless in the sixth inning, as the Mastodons loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch, with the lead-changing run coming in when Alex Bousquet hit a bases-loaded single to left field, chasing home Hopwood and giving IPFW a narrow 6-5 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning IUPUI strung together a hit-by-pitch and an infield bunt single before Alicia Brewer gave the Jaguars the lead again with a three-run home run that narrowly flew inside of the left-field foul pole. IPFW got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Ashleigh Bousquet doubled to lead off the inning, and eventually scored on a single by Hopwood, but that would be all the Mastodons could muster, as the Jaguars held on for a 8-7 victory.

IPFW had a dozen hits in the opener, led by Ashleigh Bousquet and Hopwood, who each went 3-for-4, Bousquet scoring three times while also driving in four, as Hopwood drove home a pair. Alex Bousquet went 2-for-3 at the plate in the losing effort.

Olender picked up the loss, pitching four innings and giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits while walking one. Nikki Thomas picked up the win in relief, going the final inning and two-thirds, giving up three hits and one run while striking out one.

The teams used up the majority of their scoring in the first game, as the teams combined for just three runs in the nightcap, a 2-1 IPFW win.

IUPUI scored first in the game, its only run of the contest coming in the top of the second inning. With runners at first and second, Amy Raker reached on a fielder's choice, as Prewitt was forced out at third base. Brewer, who was on first base when the at-bat started, advanced to second on the forceout, and moved to third when IPFW third baseman Ashleigh Bousquet caught Raker off first base. As the tag-out was being applied at second base on Raker, Brewer caught the Mastodons napping, beating out the throw to the plate and scoring the team's lone run of the contest.

IPFW evened the score with an RBI single from Wolfe that scored Ashleigh Bousquet in the bottom of the fourth inning, before Hopwood hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, the eventual game-winning run and RBI.

After the second-inning run, IUPUI put a runner on third base just once the rest of the way, as Flenniken cruised in her first collegiate win, striking out four while giving up four hits and walking one in the win. Thomas, who earned the decision in all three games of the series, picked up the loss, going the first five and a third inning, striking out six and walking three while scattering eight hits.

Alex Bousquet went 2-for-3 to lead IPFW in the nightcap, as Hopwood and Ashleigh Bousquet had the team's two runs scored.

The Mastodons return to action on Thursday, May 12 when the 'Dons will face off against the Bison in the opening round of the league tournament.

~Dons~