LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—University of Southern Indiana Softball matched its season-high winning streak of seven games Thursday afternoon as the No. 16 Screaming Eagles earned an 11-2, five-inning victory over Le Moyne College before grabbing a 2-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State University on the fifth day of The Spring Games.
USI (15-3) concludes The Spring Games Friday when it takes on the University of Sioux Falls at 5 p.m. (CST) and Northern State University at 7:30 p.m.
Southern Indiana (15-3) 11, Le Moyne (10-5) 2
USI Softball used a three-run second inning and an eight-run fourth inning to breeze past Le Moyne, 11-2, in five innings to begin its fifth day of competition at The Spring Games.
Junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) had an RBI-single in the second inning as the Eagles took advantage of a pair of walks, a hit batter and two errors to score their first three runs.
Sophomore utility player Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs in the fourth inning alone as USI broke the game wide open. Bradley began the inning with a solo shot over the centerfield fence and went back to the plate to record an RBI-single.
A double by sophomore second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) followed by an error in the next at-bat put the Eagles up, 5-0, while senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) gave the Eagles an 8-0 cushion with a three-run bomb over the centerfield fence.
The Eagles tacked on another tally on a pair of wild pitches, while Bradley’s RBI-single put USI up, 10-0. Clark-Kittleson drove in Bradley in the next at-bat with an RBI-single to centerfield to complete USI’s eight-run inning.
Le Moyne, which is receiving votes in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll, got a two-run home run off freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt(Louisville, Kentucky) in the bottom of the fourth inning to break-up the shutout; but that is all Leonhardt would give up as she picked-up the complete-game victory.
Leonhardt (7-1) scattered five hits throughout five innings, while striking out three batters to earn her fourth straight decision.
Southern Indiana 2, Southwest Minnesota State (5-7)Â
The Eagles scored a run on a wild pitch in the second inning and got a solo home run from senior shortstop Lexi Reese (Lebanon, Indiana) in the third en route to a 2-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State.
Sophomore pitcher Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana) recorded her second complete-game shutout of the season as she scattered four hits throughout seven innings to improve to 5-2 on the year.
Southwest Minnesota State had runners at first and second with one out in the seventh inning, but Atkisson induced a fly out and a groundout in consecutive at-bats to end the threat and preserve the Eagles’ seventh straight win.
Southern Indiana 11, Le Moyne 2 (Mar 09, 2017 at Lake County, FL)
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Southern Indiana…. 030 80 – 11Â 8Â 1Â Â Â Â Â (14-3)
Le Moyne………… 000 20 -Â 2Â 5Â 3Â Â Â Â Â (10-5)
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Pitchers: Southern Indiana – Leonhardt, Jennifer and Hodges, Haley. Le Moyne – Marisa DuVal;
Taylor Artley(5) and Emily Bagley.
Win-Leonhardt, Jennifer(7-1)Â Loss-Marisa DuVal(0-1)Â T-1:35Â A-77
HR USI – Hodges, Haley (4); Bradley, Caitlyn (2).
HR LEM – Peyton Bellrose.
Game: 17-TSG
Southern Indiana 2, SW Minnesota State 0 (Mar 09, 2017 at Lake County, FL)
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Southern Indiana…. 011 000 0 -Â 2Â 5Â 2Â Â Â Â Â (15-3)
SW Minnesota State.. 000 000 0 -Â 0Â 4Â 0Â Â Â Â Â (5-7)
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Pitchers: Southern Indiana – Atkisson,Courtney and Hodges, Haley. SW Minnesota State –
Crank, Shelby and Lark, Madison.
Win-Atkisson,Courtney(5-2)Â Loss-Crank, Shelby(1-2)Â T-1:35Â A-64
HR USI – Reese, Lexi (2).
Game: 18-TSG
