The University of Southern Indiana baseball team concludes its weather-shortened five-game road swing this weekend when it travels to play a pair of doubleheaders at McKendree University Friday and Saturday in Lebanon, Illinois. The GLVC four-game series is scheduled for a noon first pitch each day. Live coverage of the Screaming Eagles and the Bearcats can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
Eagles have rough start to the week. USI lost the first game of the five-game road swing, dropping a 13-7 contest at Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Panther took control early, scoring seven times in the first two innings.
USI took three of four from UW-Parkside. USI took three of four from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside over the weekend in a four game series that was moved from Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Evansville due to the weather. Senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr (Evansville, Indiana) led the Eagles by hitting .500 (8-16), while junior right-hander Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana) had USI’s best start on the mound when he shutout the Rangers in a seven-inning complete shutout.
Record setting Game 4 versus UW-Parkside. USI set a single-game school record by stealing 12 bases in the 10-8 win over UW-Parkside, while sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) tied a single-game mark with four thefts.
USI season leaders. Senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) leads the Eagles with a .346 batting average, while senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana) is second at .343. Senior catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) and sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs are tied for the team lead with 25 RBIs, while Griggs has a team-high three round trippers.
Leaders in the last 10 games. Senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier has led the way over the last 10 games, posting a .417 average with a team-best eight-game hitting streak. Senior third baseman Trent Gunn(Tell City, Indiana), who has raised his 2016 batting average 75 points over the last two weeks, has driven in a team-high 11 RBIs in the last 10 contests. Junior right-hander Devin Williams has been the Eagles top hurler, going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts.
Leading the GLVC in pitching. USI leads the GLVC and ranks 12th nationally in pitching with a 3.52 ERA.
Kempf chasing records. USI senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) is chasing several school records this spring. Kempf, currently, is third all-time with 258 hits (record 270); tied for fourth with 50 doubles (record 63); eighth with 150 runs scored (record 183); and 11th with 189 games played (record 213).
Carr hoping to steal a record. USI senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr is closing on the Eagles’ stolen base record with 70 career thefts (record 86).
Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta reached 500 all-time victories and became the Eagles’ all-time winningest coach in program history. Archuleta has a USI record of 359-184 (.661) in eight-plus seasons and is 507-308 (.622) in 13-plus seasons as the head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.
USI vs. McKendree. USI leads the all-time series with McKendree, 26-11, after sweeping a four-game series last year at the USI Baseball Field.
McKendree in 2016. The Bearcats are 12-20 in 2016, 4-8 in the GLVC. McKendree has lost its last two games and seven of the last nine games.
