OWENSBORO, Ky.—University of Southern Indiana Softball racked up a combined 20 hits en route to a pair of wins Saturday at the Blue Bridge Battle. The Screaming Eagles opened the day with a 10-2, five-inning win over Ohio Dominican University before defeating Notre Dame College (Ohio), 7-3, in their nightcap.
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USI 10, Ohio Dominican 2 (5 inn.)
USI (10-4) scored five times in the bottom of the first inning to build a commanding five-run cushion.
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The Eagles got RBI-singles from freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana), sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana), sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) and senior designated player Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) in the first inning, while senior third baseman Mary Bean (Schaumburg, Illinois) had a sacrifice fly to push across USI’s fifth run.
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Back had another RBI-single in the third inning, while freshman pitcher Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) helped her cause with an RBI-single to put USI up, 7-0.
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Ohio Dominican (4-6) cut into USI’s advantage with tallies in the fourth and fifth frames, but USI drew four straight free passes, including an RBI-walk by sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana). Nalley pushed across another run on a fielder’s choice, while junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois) ended the game with a walk-off, RBI-single.
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Gotshall (4-0) earned the win in the circle after allowing two runs off four hits and a walk.
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USI 7, Notre Dame (OH) 3
The Eagles broke a scoreless tie when Back hit a pinch-hit, RBI-single in the top of the fourth inning to give USI a 1-0 lead. Nalley had a 2-run home run in the fifth inning and USI led 3-0 before the Falcons could get on the scoreboard.
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Notre Dame (0-4) scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, but USI answered with four runs in the sixth to extend its advantage to 7-1.
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Bean started the scoring with an RBI-triple, then scored on a passed ball to put USI up 5-1. Martinez put USI up 6-1 with an RBI-groundout, while junior shortstop Jordan Rager (Fishers, Indiana) pushed USI’s seventh run of the game across the plate thanks to a two-out error.
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The Falcons capitalized on a pair of USI errors in the bottom of the seventh to score a pair of runs, but it was too-little, too-late for Notre Dame as the Eagles held on for their sixth straight win.
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Freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) earned the win in the circle after giving up just one run off three hits and a walk. Newman (2-2) racked up five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work before giving way to senior Maddie Duncan (Lynnville, Indiana), who continued her strong start in the circle.
