University of Southern Indiana Softball had its semifinal game against Saint Leo University in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship halted after five innings due to rain. The game will resume Sunday at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) heading into the top of the sixth with the Screaming Eagles trailing, 4-2.
The Lions, who edged No. 1 University of North Georgia in the elimination bracket Saturday morning, began the game by scoring four runs off three hits and a pair of walks in the top of the first inning.
Sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) got the Eagles on the board in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI-double that nearly went over the leftfield fence. It was Schubert’s 50th RBI of the year, making her the fifth player in program history to reach 50 RBIs in a single season.
USI used back-to-back hits by Schubert and senior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana) to get things going in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sophomore shortstop Taylor Ricketts (Georgetown, Kentucky) pushed a run across two batters later with an RBI-groundout. The Eagles had runners at first and second with one out in the fifth, but could not push across a run.
Meanwhile, sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) has shaken off a rough start to retire the last nine batters she has faced. She has five strikeouts through five innings of work.
If USI fails to rally from the 4-2 deficit in the final two innings Sunday, the Eagles will play Saint Leo once more 30 minutes following the conclusion of the current contest. A win Sunday will put the Eagles into the best-of-three championship series, which has been pushed to Monday with game one set to start at 11 a.m. and game two at 1:30 p.m. Game three of the championship series, if necessary, is slated to start Tuesday at 11 a.m.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 8 Southern Arkansas University defeated No. 6 Angelo State University, 3-0, in the elimination bracket Saturday morning before topping No. 25 Saint Anselm College, 11-5, to force an if necessary game Sunday at 11 a.m.
