University of Southern Indiana Softball erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as the No. 4 seeded Screaming Eagles earned a 4-0 win over No. 5 seed Wayne State University in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region #1 Tournament Thursday evening.
After playing to a scoreless tie through five innings of play, USI broke through with a five-hit inning that saw the first four batters in the frame score runs.
Senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) began the inning with a lead-off single. She reached second base on a fielder’s choice, sacrifice bunt by junior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky).
Sophomore outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) followed with an RBI-double to break the scoreless tie, while an RBI-single by senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) in the next at-bat put USI up, 2-0.
Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Haley Shouse (Borden, Indiana) roped a shot down the leftfield line to score two more runs and extend USI’s advantage to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Leonhardt (20-8) was in typical post-season form as she recorded her 12th complete-game shutout of the year. She held the Warriors to just three hits and did not issue a walk, while striking out four batters en route to her 20th win of the year.
Leonhardt breaks school record for wins
Leonhardt, with the win, becomes USI’s all-time leader in career victories (75). She surpassed USI’s career strikeout record earlier in the year and is just eight away from 700 in her career.
