Defending champs begin 2019 season Friday

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Defending NCAA Division II champion University of Southern Indiana Softball begins the 2019 season Friday when it travels to Huntsville, Alabama, compete at the Charger Chillout 2.0.

The Screaming Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the nation, begin the six-game weekend slate Friday at noon when they battle No. 13 Young Harris College. USI also takes on No. 11 University of Alabama-Huntsville Saturday at 1 p.m.

Weekend Slate
The Eagles face two nationally-ranked teams and three teams that advanced to the 2018 NCAA II Tournament this weekend. USI’s six opponents began their seasons last weekend, posting a combined record of 14-9. All six games will be played at the Metro Kiwanis Sportsplex in Huntsville, Alabama.

-No. 13 Young Harris College (Friday, Noon): The Mountain Lions are 2-2 on the year after a 2018 season that saw them go 35-21 overall and 13-7 in Peach Belt Conference play. Young Harris advanced to the NCAA II Southeast Super Regional, where it lost to No. 1-ranked University of North Georgia in two games.

-Delta State University (Friday, 2 p.m.): The Lady Statesmen (4-1) bring a four-game winning streak to the Chillout after going 26-25 overall and 17-16 in Gulf South Conference play in 2018.

-No. 11 Alabama-Huntsville (Saturday, 1 p.m.): The Chargers are 3-3 to begin the year after posting a 39-18 overall record and a 22-10 mark in Gulf South Conference play in 2018. UAH advanced to the NCAA II South Super Regional, where they fell to Saint Leo University, 6-3, in the decisive third game.

-Mississippi College (Saturday, 3 p.m.): The Lady Choctaws enter the weekend with a 2-2 record this season after going 29-16 overall and 19-12 in Gulf South Conference play a year ago.

-University of Montevallo (Sunday, 9 a.m.): The Falcons are off to a 3-1 start on the year after posting a 32-16 overall record and a 19-13 mark in the Gulf South Conference in 2018.

-Georgia College (Sunday, 11 a.m.): The Bobcats are 2-2 on the year after going 36-16 overall and 16-4 in the Peach Belt a year ago. GC advanced to the NCAA II Southeast Regional in 2018.

Defending Champs
USI Softball captured its first-ever national championship in 2018 after going 14-1 during the post-season. The Eagles capped off the post-season with a dominating 5-0 run through the NCAA II Softball Championship, including a 1-0, one-hit shutout over North Georgia and a 3-0 no-hitter against Angelo State University.

Returning leaders
USI returns five position starters and all but one pitcher from last year’s national championship team. Headlining that group is junior All-American pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) and junior All-Region outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky). Leonhardt was named the NCAA II Softball Championship Most Outstanding Player a year ago after going 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA, a .091 opponent batting average and 40 strikeouts in 34 innings of work.

Schubert posted a team-best .340 batting average with 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 51 RBIs en route to earning All-GLVC and All-Region accolades.

Senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) and senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) joined Leonhardt on the NCAA II Softball Championship All-Tournament team last year. Johnson hit .313 with two home runs and four RBIs in the NCAA II Softball Championship; and posted a team-best .356 batting average with nine RBIs and 17 runs scored throughout the postseason.

Bradley hit .375 with a double, home run and seven RBIs during the Eagles’ five-game championship run a year ago after posting a 7-4 record with three saves, a 1.87 ERA and a .241 opponent batting average in the circle as a sophomore in 2017.

Unsung hero
Senior pitcher Haylee Smith (Florence, Kentucky) was arguably the unsung hero of the Eagles’ postseason run a year ago. She posted a 1-0 record with a 0.43 ERA in four appearances and 16.1 innings of work.

Battling injury, Smith came in against Grand Valley State University in the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 championship to throw five-and-a-third innings of relief ball in the Eagles’ 5-3 loss to the Lakers. She came back 30 minutes later to hold the No. 9 and top-seeded Lakers to just one run in USI’s 2-1 win in the “if necessary game”, allowing USI to advance to Super Regionals.

In the NCAA II Softball Championship, USI needed a change-of-pace to Leonhardt late in the game-one win over Saint Anselm. Smith, once again, delivered for the Eagles, holding the Hawks off the scoreboard and setting up the Eagles for the game-two win that followed.

Kunkle begins season with 500 wins
USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle begins her 18th year at the helm of the Screaming Eagles with a 513-361-1 (.587). She earned her 500th career win with USI’s 4-0 GLVC Tournament victory over the University of Indianapolis last year.

Historic senior class
The Eagles have some big shoes to fill following the loss of last year’s senior class, which consisted of outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson, first baseman Marleah Fossett, third baseman Mena Fulton and infielder Alex Logan. Last year’s seniors were the first class in program history to advance to the NCAA II Tournament four times and was the winningest senior class in program history, compiling a 161-69 overall record and a 77-35 mark in GLVC play.

Schubert joined elite club
Last season, Schubert became the seventh player in program history to hit 10 or more home runs in a single season and was the fifth player in program history to reach 50 RBIs in a single campaign.

Hitting streaks
Five different players carry hitting streaks from the previous season into 2019. Leonhardt ended 2018 on a team-best five-game hitting streak, while Bradley and Schubert each carry four-game hitting streaks into 2019. Johnson and junior shortstop Taylor Ricketts (Georgetown, Kentucky) ended last year with respective streaks of three and two.