University of Southern Indiana Softball is heading back to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Tournament after clinching its second straight Midwest Region title with a 3-0 win over No. 19 University of Illinois Springfield in game two of the Midwest Super Regional Friday.
The Screaming Eagles (36-23) used a two-out, RBI-single by sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) in the bottom of the third inning to break a scoreless tie and build a 1-0 lead.
Schubert’s double in the fifth inning put a pair of runners in scoring position for senior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana), who roped a two-run single to right-centerfield to extend the Eagles’ advantage to 3-0.
Sophomore second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) got the Eagles’ started offensively as she drew lead-off walks in the first and third innings before singling to begin the fifth frame. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Springfield, Illinois) had sacrifice bunts in both the first and third innings.
Leonhardt (21-12) was stellar, once again, inside the circle. After blanking the Prairie Stars (40-19) on three hits in game one on Thursday, she returned to the circle to scatter five hits throughout seven innings to notch her second straight complete-game shutout and fourth of the post-season.
The Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year as a freshman in 2017, Leonhardt finished the contest with eight strikeouts. She also broke USI Hall of Famer Karianne Osowski’s single-season school record for strikeouts (230) with her second strikeout of the day.
USI opens the 2018 NCAA II Softball Championship Thursday against an opponent to be determined. First pitch is also TBA.
