EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball will host the University of Tennessee at Martin this weekend for an important three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at the USI Baseball Field. The USI-UT Martin series starts Friday with West Side Nut Club Night a 6 p.m. before continuing Saturday at 3 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.
The series also is USI Faculty and Staff Weekend at the USI Baseball Field. USI faculty, staff, and their families will be admitted free with a valid University ID at the baseball field entrance. Sunday also is Family Day at the ballpark with kids 12-and-under running the bases and taking pictures with their favorite player after the game.
Links to follow the Eagles (15-22, 5-7 OVC) during the opening weekend of 2024 can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and on the USI Baseball Schedule.
Following the USI-UTM series, USI will conclude its five-game homestand with Belmont University Tuesday at 6 p.m.
USI Baseball Notes
Eagles suffer tough loss to WKU. The USI Screaming Eagles suffered a tough loss, 2-1, to Western Kentucky University to start the week. USI pitching held WKU to just two runs, one earned, on two hits (one a second inning home run). Senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) drove in the Eagles’ only run of the game with a RBI-double in the eighth.
USI goes 1-3 last week. The USI Eagles were 1-3 last week, falling to Saint Louis University and losing two-of-three in OVC play to Southeast Missouri State University. Sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) led the USI hitters last week by batting .467 (7-15) with four runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and five RBIs. Junior right-hander Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) picked up the only win last week, while freshman right-hander Grant Parson (Owensboro, Kentucky) had the best outing, allowing one run over seven innings in a tough 1-0 loss.
The Long Ball. Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) has hit a team-best and career-high seven home runs this season, while junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) follows with five round trippers.
USI in the OVC. USI is tied for seventh in the OVC standing (5-7) after losing the series to SEMO last weekend. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) leads USI at the plate in conference play, batting .414 (12-29). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis has a team-high three home runs and 14 RBIs in the 12 games.
Leaders at the plate in 2024. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka is hitting a team best .369 (38-103) in 27 of the 37 games, while junior leftfielder Adam Euler (Evansville, Indiana) is second with a .342 mark (13-38). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis has a team best seven home runs, while senior infielder/designated hitter Tucker Ebest has driven in a team-best 31 RBIs.
Multi-hit/Multi-RBI Games. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen leads the Eagles with 18 multi-hit games (16 with 2; 2 with 3), followed by sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus has 16 (12 with 2; 4 with 3). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis and senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest have nine multi-RBI games each. Niehaus has the top RBI game with five versus Southeast Missouri State University last weekend.
Leaders on the mound in 2024. USI junior right-handers Gavin Seebold has recorded a team-best four wins this season. Freshman right-hander Grant Parson and junior right-hander Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) follow with three wins each, while Parson also has a team-high 41 strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit Ferdinand, Indiana) leads USI hurlers with a team-low 3.34 ERA in 29.2 innings this season.
In the OVC. USI as a team is fifth in the OVC in pitching with a team 6.28 ERA and sixth in the league in hitting with a .283 team batting average. Freshman right-hander Grant Parson is fifth with a 3.95 ERA and seventh with 41 strikeouts. Junior right-hander Gavin Morris is eighth in the OVC overall with 38 strikeouts.
In OVC Games Only. USI is third in the league with a .303 team batting average for OVC games only, but seventh with a 6.97 team ERA.
UT Martin in 2024. The Skyhawks of the University of Tennessee at Martin are 13-23 overall and 5-7 in the OVC this season, tied with USI for seventh. UTM lost two of three over the weekend to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has gone 3-7 in the last 10 games.
USI vs. UTM. The Eagles lead the all-time series with UTM, 7-5, despite losing two of three in their first season in the OVC last year.
Belmont in 2024. The Bruins of Belmont University are 20-17 overall in 2024 and has three games left before visiting USI next week. Belmont defeated the University of North Alabama, 15-9, Tuesday and is 6-4 in its last 10 games.
USI vs. Belmont. The Bruins lead the all-time series with USI, 3-0, after winning the only meeting last year, 6-3, in Nashville.
