Summit League Championship Game
IUPUI 9, Western Illinois 4 (Box Score).pdf
North Dakota State 6, Western Illinois 3 (Box Score).pdf
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The Basics
Score: No. 2 North Dakota State 6, No. 3 Western Illinois 3
Records: North Dakota State (26-31), Western Illinois (22-32)
Location: Ellig Sports Complex – Fargo, N.D.

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State's Vanessa Anderson hit her third home run of the tournament to help lead the Bison to a 6-3 victory over No. 3 Western Illinois in The Summit League tournament loser's bracket Friday at the Ellig Sports Complex.

Western Illinois (22-32), was led by Hailey Duwa with a home run and a sacrifice fly for her second RBI of the game. The Leathernecks scored three runs, two from Duwa and one on a Marlow home run.

Anderson and DeCamp went back-to-back with solo shots to right and center field. The Bison pushed these two runs across with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

North Dakota State advances to play host and top-seeded IUPUI in Saturday's championship round. It is NDSU's ninth appearance in the championship game.

Turning Point
The Bison wasted no time with Stavrou leading them off with a single. Soriano, Beatty, DeCamp, Luciano each had a single in the first inning. NDSU took an early 4-0 lead.

Inside The Box Score

• Kelsey Marlow, Vanessa Anderson and Montana DeCamp had a game high of two RBI.
• Marlow had the best batting average of the game going 2-of-3 (.347)
• Six of North Dakota State's nine starters registered a base hit in the ball game.
• Jacquelyn Sertic gets her 17^th win on the season.

News & Notes

• Anderson has hit a home-run in each of North Dakota States games of this tournament.
• North Dakota State has qualified for the championship game for the ninth straight season.
• Hailey Duwa and Marlow have hit a home run in three-of-four games for Western Illinois in the tournament.
• Sertic continues to lead the league in strikeouts increasing her total to 318, earning five today.

Up Next
North Dakota State moves on to face No. 1 IUPUI in Saturday's championship round at 1 p.m. CT

The Basics
Score:  No. 1 IUPUI 9, No.  Western Illinois 4
Records: IUPUI (23-27), Western Illinois (22-31)
Location: Ellig Sports Complex – Fargo, N.D.

FARGO, N.D. – For the second day in a row, top-seed IUPUI came from behind to win in it, defeating No. 3 Western Illinois 9-4 at the 2017 Summit League Championship at the Ellig Sports Complex. The Jaguars earn a trip to the tournament's championship game for the second straight season and will play for the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

Trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth, IUPUI (23-27) got a rally going giving Maggie Good her first hit of the tournament. The Jaguars pushed four runs across in the sixth and seventh inning.

IUPUI jumped ahead early with Taylor Chitwood hitting a solo shot to right. Western Illinois rallied back in the bottom of the first with Hailey Duwa driving in Rachel Beatty.

Western Illinois (22-31) took a 3-1 lead in the third with a two-run shot to center from Kelsey Marlow. Pitcher of the Year, Emily Ira pitched seven full innings, getting five of her seven strike outs in the first three innings.

The Jaguars hit three home runs between the sixth and the seventh. Thompson with a three-run homer in the sixth, Patterson with another IUPUI three-run homer that was followed up with a solo shot from Good.

Turning Point
With one out in the top of the sixth, IUPUI went on a hitting spree. Patterson reached on a single to left, driving her in was Good on a double down the left field line. Armstrong singled to right, putting two runners on for Thompson, who hits a three-run homer. The Jaguars took a 5-3 lead.  

Inside The Box Score

• IUPUI cater Roni Patterson and short stop Delaney Thompson drove in a game-high three runs.
• The Jaguar's lefty pitcher Nickole Finch, held the Leathernecks to five hits.
• IUPUI starter Ira struck out seven batters, allowed only 1 walk and five earned runs.
• Marlow drove in a team-best two runs for Western Illinois and scored once.
• IUPUI left five runners on base while the Leathernecks left six runners on.

News & Notes

• Player of the Year, Maggie Good got her first hits of the tournament, with a double in the sixth and a solo home run in the seventh.
• The No. 1 seed is now 51-27 in The Summit League Softball Championship.
• WIU's Marlow has hit a home run in 2-of-3 games.

Up Next
No. 1 IUPUI advances to in Saturday's championship game at 1 p.m. CT.