University of Southern Indiana Softball captured the program’s first-ever national championship Monday with a sweep of Saint Anselm College in the finals of the NCAA Division II Softball Championship.
The Screaming Eagles (41-23) blanked Saint Anselm in game one, 4-0, before routing Hawks, 8-3, in game two of the best-of-three series.
Game 1: USI 4, SAC 0 (Box Score)
In the opener, junior outfielder Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) belted a two-out, three-run home run over the leftfield fence in the top of the third inning to give the Eagles a commanding 3-0 lead. Junior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) padded the Eagles’ lead with a two-out, RBI-single in the sixth, giving sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt(Louisville, Kentucky) more than enough run support to secure the win in the circle.
Leonhardt (26-12) allowed just one hit and one walk in five innings of work to pick up the win in the opener. She had six strikeouts before giving way to junior pitcher Haylee Smith (Florence, Kentucky), who secured the final six outs of the contest.
Game 2: USI 8, SAC 3 (Box Score)
After capturing the win in the opener, the Eagles wasted little time establishing control of the second game as USI scored seven times, all with two outs, in the bottom of the second inning to build an insurmountable 7-0 cushion.
The Eagles sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning and got RBIs hits from six different players as they essentially wrapped up the national title with five innings to play. Senior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) started the rally with an RBI-single when she legged out an infield hit; while Johnson continued the onslaught with an RBI-single that ricocheted off the third baseman’s glove.
Leonhardt followed with a run-scoring hit through the middle of the infield; while Bradley’s two-run double in the ensuing at-bat put USI up 5-0. Sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) gave USI a 6-0 lead with an RBI-single; while senior first baseman Marleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana) finished the scoring with another RBI-single.
A day after blasting a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against No. 25 Saint Leo University on her 21st birthday, Johnson cracked her second home run in as many days over the left-centerfield fence in the third inning to stake USI to a commanding 8-0 advantage.
Saint Anselm (44-13-1), who was playing for its first-ever national title, scored a run in the fourth inning and two in the fifth, but Leonhardt retired the final seven batters she faced after starting the game by retiring the first nine batters she faced.
Leonhardt, once again, picked up the win surrendering three runs off four hits and a walk. She had five strikeouts in the victory.
