#23 USI visits #2 Tampa to open season
The 23rd-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team opens the 2017 campaign with a visit to the second-ranked University of Tampa February 17-19 in Tampa, Florida. The first pitch Friday and Saturday is set for 5 p.m. (CST), while the series finale on Sunday is 11 a.m. (CST).
The Screaming Eagles, 38-21 in 2016, follows its trip to play the Spartans with the home opening series February 24-26 with the Dunn Hospitality Invitational at the USI Baseball Field. USI opens the invitational with Wayne State University (Michigan) February 24 at 1 p.m. before concluding its part of the home weekend Saturday against Notre Dame College at 4:30 p.m.
Coverage of all of the Screaming Eagles’ action in 2017 can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
USI finished 2016 at the D-II Baseball Championships. The Screaming Eagles made their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in 2016 and their 12th appearance overall in the NCAA II Tournament. USI finished tied for fifth nationally in 2016, going 1-2 in the championship series.
Eagles won fourth NCAA II Midwest Regional in 2016. USI has won its fourth Midwest Regional in 2016 (2007, 2010, 2014, 2016), sweeping thru with a 4-0 record.
USI won the GLVC East. The Eagles won the GLVC East Division title this spring, marking the fourth time in the last seven seasons, taking the East Division three times (2011, 2014, 2016) and the West Division once (2010). USI has gone on to win an NCAA Division II national title in 2010 and 2014.
Returning at the plate in 2016. USI junior infielder Sam Griggs is the Eagles’ top returning hitter in 2017. Griggs batted .342 with a team-high 51 RBIs and ranked second with seven homeruns. USI junior outfielder/infielder Drake McNamara follows Griggs with a .316 average and a team-high eight home runs, while knocking in 41 RBIs.
Top winners. Senior right-handers Colin Nowak and Lucas Barnett were the top two arms for the Eagles in 2016. Barnett led the team with eight victories (8-5 overall) and a team-high 79 strikeouts. Nowak was second with seven victories (7-3 overall) and is top among the returning starters with a 3.15 ERA.
Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta reached 500 all-time victories last year and became the Eagles’ all-time winningest coach in program history. Archuleta has a USI record of 378-192 (.663) in nine seasons and is 526-316 (.625) in 14 seasons as a 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 and the ABCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading USI to the regional crown in 2016. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.
USI vs. Tampa. USI is 2-4 all-time against the University of Tampa, 1-3 in the regular season. The Eagles lost the first regular season meeting in 1983 and lost a two of three in the 2015 regular season opening series. In the post-season, USI is 1-1 versus Tampa in the Division II Baseball Championship Series (loss in 2007; win in 2014).
Tampa. Tampa, which is 5-1 to start the 2017 campaign, finished last year with a 41-10 overall record, concluding the season in the NCAA Division II South Regional.
