ELON, N.C. – A two-run walk-off home run by Danielle Lafferty in the bottom of the fifth inning lifted Elon (8-1) to a 9-0, five-inning shutout of IUPUI (3-5) in the final game of the series. Elon also earned the series win after getting one victory in Saturday’s doubleheader.
Lafferty and Erin O’Shea each finished with a team-best four RBI. O’Shea recorded two hits, including a two-run home run in the fifth.
The Phoenix put up four runs in the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Jackie Gonzalez got things started with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tomeka Watson. Following a strikeout, Emerald Graham loaded the bases with a single back to the circle. With two outs, O’Shea laced a single through the right side that allowed Gonzalez and Graham to score Elon’s first two runs. With the bases still loaded, Danielle Lafferty singled to right field, scoring Kaitlyn Piazzolla and O’Shea, prompting a pitching change for the Jaguars. Jocelyn Oppenhuis came on in relief of Nicole Natter and retired the final Phoenix batter.
Elon added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double by Watson. Lafferty drew a walk to open the inning. With two outs, Watson roped a double to left field that scored Lafferty and gave the Phoenix a 5-0 lead.
IUPUI threatened in the top of the fifth. Mia Ettl opened the inning with a single and moved to third following a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball. Alicia Garrison lined a ball to short where Lafferty made a diving catch for the second out of the inning. O’Shea struck out the final batter to end any threat of a run.
The Phoenix tacked on four more runs in the final half-inning of the game. Graham began the hit parade when she sent the first pitch she saw to deep centerfield for a triple. O’Shea followed, with a home run over the center field wall that made it a 7-0 game. Piazzolla added a single to short and later stole second. With no outs, Lafferty belted a no-doubter to left field that scored the final two runs of the game and gave Elon a 9-0 win.
O’Shea remains undefeated on the season with a 3-0 record. She allowed just three hits and struck out four in five innings of work.
IUPUI’s Natter suffered her first loss of the season as she fell to 0-1. She allowed four earned runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning in the circle. Oppenhuis and Samantha Bumbaugh also saw time in the circle. Oppenhuis allowed three runs on three hits and struck out three, while Bumbaugh gave up two earned runs on two hits in a third of an inning of relief.
Elon will travel to Athens, Ga., next weekend for the Bulldog Invitational on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Phoenix will get the weekend started on Friday at 1:15 when it takes on Middle Tennessee State. During the three-day tournament, the Phoenix will also face Georgia, Minnesota and Belmont.
