University of Southern Indiana Softball dropped both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader to host Lewis University Saturday afternoon following a near month-long hiatus.
The Screaming Eagles (2-7, 0-2 GLVC) dropped game one, 7-2, before falling, 9-1, in six innings in the nightcap.
Game One: Lewis 7, USI 2
After surrendering a pair of runs in the last half of the first inning, the Eagles responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning to tie the score. Freshman centerfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) pushed across the first run with a bases-loaded walk, while sophomore second baseman Rachel Martinez(Chicago, Illinois) drove in a run with an RBI-single.
Lewis (10-7, 3-3 GLVC), however, scored in the bottom of the second to retake the lead before benefitting from its second two-run home run of the contest in the last half of the third inning to extend its cushion to 5-2. The Flyers tacked on solo tallies in the fifth and sixth innings to complete the victory.
Junior pitcher Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) was pinned with the loss after giving up six runs off nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. Back (1-2) had four strikeouts and three walks in the contest.
Game Two: Lewis 9, USI 1 (6 inn.)
Lewis scored a run in the home half of the first inning and took advantage of a pair of errors in the second inning to score six unearned runs and take a commanding 7-0 lead.
USI answered with a tally in the top of the third frame as Bedrick drove in a run with a bunt-single. However, that would be the only offense the Eagles would be able to muster as Lewis pitcher Sara Serena limited USI to just three hits.
After being forced into the pitcher’s circle for the first time in her collegiate career in the opening game, senior outfielder Jessica Tucker (Georgetown, Kentucky) was charged with the loss in game two after surrendering seven runs, one earned, off seven hits in two innings of work in her first career start in the circle.
Sophomore pitcher Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) came onto pitch for the Eagles in the third, throwing three hitless innings before giving up a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Up Next
USI returns to action Sunday at noon when it visits the University of Illinois Springfield for a GLVC doubleheader at Spartan Sports Park in Chatham, Illinois. The Prairie Stars (7-15, 2-4 GLVC) split a conference doubleheader with McKendree University Saturday afternoon.
Notes
Senior outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) had a hit in both games to extend her career-high hitting streak to 13 games dating back to the end of the 2020 campaign.
