University of Southern Indiana Softball hit a combined five doubles and six home runs as it rolled past Southwest Baptist University for a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon at the USI Softball Field.
The Screaming Eagles (9-15, 7-10 GLVC), who have won five straight games, had a pair of doubles and two home runs in a 6-0 win in the opener. They racked up three doubles and four home runs in a 19-0, five-inning victory in the nightcap.
Senior outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) went a combined 4-of-6 with a double, two home runs and eight RBI to lead the Eagles, who finished the day with a combined 24 hits.
Game 1: USI 6, SBU 0
Junior catcher Courtney Schoolcraft (Crest Hill, Illinois) went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run, while sophomore pitcher Allie Goodin(Evansville, Indiana) tossed seven scoreless innings as USI cruised to the 6-0 win in the opener.
Goodin got the scoring started in the home half of the second inning as her double to left-center field sent sophomore catcher/designated player Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) home. Kihega got hung up at third base and eventually found herself in an old-fashioned pickle before out-running SBU third baseman Emma Ezzell to home plate for the first score of the contest.
Schoolcraft followed later in the frame with an RBI-double to give the Eagles their second run and a 2-0 advantage.
USI tacked on three more tallies to their total in the fifth inning as Schoolcraft hit a lead-off home run to put USI up 3-0. Sophomore shortstop Jordan Rager (Fishers, Indiana) and Webb had back-to-back sacrifice flies later in the frame to put USI up 5-0.
Freshman first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) had a solo shot in the sixth inning to finish the Eagles’ game-one scoring.
Goodin (5-5) earned the win in the circle after scattering six hits and six strikeouts throughout seven innings of work.
Game 2: USI 19, SBU 0 (5 inn.)
USI scored nine runs in the second, four in the third and six more in the fourth to earn a 19-0 win over the Bearcats (2-30, 1-17 GLVC) in the nightcap.
The Eagles sent 13 batters to the plate and racked up seven hits in their nine-run second inning, including a two-run triple by junior third baseman Mary Bean (Schaumburg, Illinois), a two-run home run by Webb and a three-run home run by Goodin. Junior pitcher Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) started the action with a run-scoring single, while Rager also had an RBI-single.
Six of the nine runs scored in the second inning came with two outs on the scoreboard.
In the third, Webb hit her first-career grand slam to give USI a 13-0 advantage, while her RBI-double in the fourth inning put USI up 17-0.
USI sent 12 more batters to the plate in the fourth inning as USI had six more hits, including an RBI-double by junior pitcher Maddie Duncan(Lynnville, Illinois). Bean put USI up 15-0 with a sacrifice fly, while freshman centerfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) gave the Eagles a 16-0 advantage.
Kihega capped off USI’s scoring with a two-run blast over the centerfield fence.
Back (4-7) got the win in the circle for USI after allowing just one hit in three innings of work. Duncan finished the game, allowing two hits in two innings to complete the shutout.
Up Next
USI returns to action Sunday at noon when it hosts Drury University in a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. The Panthers (20-9, 14-4 GLVC) split a GLVC-doubleheader at McKendree University Saturday after splitting a conference twinbill with Maryville University Thursday.
