Mastodons Face Jackrabbits in Rearranged Weekend

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons look to shrug off its three-game Summit League losing skid against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits this weekend, as the schedule has been rearranged due to snow in Brookings. In what originally was a Friday/Saturday three-game series, has been changed to a Saturday/Sunday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Opponent: South Dakota State Jackrabbits (14-27, 4-14 Summit League)
When: Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST | Sunday, April 28, 1 p.m. EST
Where: Sioux Falls, S.D. | Sherman Park Field B
All-Time Series: IPFW leads 11-4
Live Stats: South Dakota State Live Stats

REACHING BASE
This season sophomore outfielder Larissa Franklin has reached base safely in 33-of-34 games, including 32 straight, which marks the longest such streak in program history. The previous record of 30 straight games succesfully reaching base was held by Rachel Staschuk in the 2010 season. Overall, Franklin has reached base safely in 44 of her last 45 games, failing to reach base just once on February 9 against North Dakota.

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Mastodons come into the three-game series after splitting a doubleheader against the Bowling Green Falcons on Tuesday, winning the opener 6-4 before falling 7-1 in the nightcap.

Defending Summit League Player of the Week Ashleigh Bousquet leads the team in batting average (.405), doubles (10), home runs (7), RBI's (32), slugging percentage (.721), and on-base percentage (.511). Larissa Franklin bats .374, while Dani Pugh and Brittany Kachur bat .310 and .303, respectively. Larissa Franklin has scored 28 runs, while Alex Bousquet and Ashleigh Bousquet each have scored 27 times. Franklin leads the team with 20 stolen bases, while Pugh and Alex Bousquet each have four home runs, while Pugh sits second on the team with 28 RBI's.

Sophomore starting pitcher Miranda Kramer has a league-high 192 strikeouts this season, and is two away from climbing into the Summit League top-20 for the category in a season. She is 17-6 on the year with a 1.85 ERA, and has walked just 29 in 132.1 innings of work. Teammate Megan Flenniken is 6-6 on the season witha 2.90 ERA, striking out 100 batters in 99 innings, walking 31.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS
South Dakota State comes into the weekend looking to snap out of a six-game losing skid with three-game series losses to Western Illinois and North Dakota State.

In the series finale against the Bison, the teams were tied at 1-1 before a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth snapped the deadlock. Devon Reick was 2-for-3 for SDSU, while Sammy Bingham was 1-for-3 with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. Kori Seidlitz picked up the loss, pitching five innings and striking out four.

This season the 'Jacks have four players near or above a .300 batting average, led by Reick's .364 average. Alex Landon (.333), Elyse Eitel .304), and Bingham (.296) are all near the hitting average. Bingham leads the team with 24 runs, while Reick has 22. Bingham and Marlee Petersen each have six home runs, while Bingham and Eitel have 27 and 24 RBI's, with Bingham also pacing the team with nine stolen bases.

Seidlitz has started 23 of the team's 37 games this season and has a 7-17 record with a 4.75 ERA. She also has 115 strikeouts in 146.0 innings of work, while walking 84. Jennifer Sutton has started 15 times for a 5-8 record and a 4.38 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 84.2 innings, while walking 39 batters.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Mastodons hold a comfortable 11-4 lead in the all-time series against the Jackrabbits. SDSU won the first three meetings of the teams, before IPFW took the next three to even the series at 3-3. A 10-9 SDSU win in 2010 put the 'Jacks ahead, but was also their last win in the series, as IPFW has won the last eight, including a 9-1 win in the Summit League Tournament in 2010.

LAST TIME VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
IPFW senior pitcher Courtney Cronin threw her third straight shutout, running her scoreless inning streak to 24, as the Mastodons erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to clinch the series sweep over South Dakota State by a 10-0 score on Sunday afternoon.

The win improves IPFW to 15-4 on the season, and 3-0 in the Summit League, while South Dakota State falls to 4-9, and 0-3 in league play.

Freshman Larissa Franklin was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, as seven others had one hit apiece, as the Mastodons went 10-of-19 at the plate in the win. Alex Bousquet, Kayti Hanson, and Mackenzie Ritsema, IPFW's 1-2-3 batters each scored twice, while Cronin and Stephanie Beuther each drove in two.

Cronin tossed her second straight one-hitter, with SDSU getting their only hit when Devon Reick led off the game with an infield single, and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before Alex Landon was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with just one out.

From that point on, Cronin retired every Jackrabbit batter, 14 total. For the weekend, South Dakota State batted just .054 (2-for-27), dropping her ERA to 0.81 on the season, improving her record to 8-1.

After retiring the last two batters of the first inning, the IPFW offense jumped out quickly to start its half of the first inning, when Alex Bousquet hit a lead-off home run, her third of the season, giving the 'Dons a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Hanson, who reached via a walk, crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Cronin, staking IPFW to a 2-0 lead.

A scoreless second inning followed, before IPFW scored one in the third when Beuther singled home Hanson, giving IPFW a 3-0 lead.

The wheels came off for South Dakota State in the bottom of the fourth inning, as the first seven batters for IPFW reached base, and the team recorded seven total runs on seven hits, all singles.

Jessica Haskins and Franklin reached on back-to-back bunts, before Alex Bousquet loaded the bases when she was hit by a pitch. Hanson followed with a single to shallow left field, scoring Haskins, as Ritsema followed with a hit to the exact same location, scoring Franklin. After a pitching change, Ashleigh Bousquet singled to center field, scoring her sister, as Cronin followed with a walk, pushing home Hanson.

After a line-out to left field in what was the hardest hit ball of the inning, Beuther was hit by a pitch to push around Ritsema. Pinch-hitter Audrey Mintari followed with a single to center field that scored Ashleigh Bousquet, before Franklin, in her second at-bat of the inning, singled up the middle to score Cronin. After the Jackrabbits' second pitching change of the inning, IPFW was forced out on a fly-out and a ground-out.

Two of the three batters for SDSU struck out in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving Cronin four strikeouts for the game in her fourth shutout of the season, and 27th for her career.

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Mastodons Face Jackrabbits in Rearranged Weekend

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