Eagles Finish Regular Season On The Road
The 20th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team finishes the 2017 regular season on the road when it makes its final trip to Saint Joseph’s College for a four-game series May 5-7 in Rensselaer, Indiana. The first pitches for USI (29-16, 19-5 GLVC) and Saint Joseph’s (31-15, 13-11 GLVC) are 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday before the squads conclude the regular season Sunday with a noon doubleheader.
Game coverage for the final weekend of the 2017 regular season can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
USI climbs national poll. The Screaming Eagles climbed two spots in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25, rising to 20th nationally. USI appeared in the national poll for the first time since February last week, entering the NCBWA poll at number 22.
USI on five-game winning streak. The Eagles have won their last five games, winning a road game at Kentucky Wesleyan College and sweeping a four-game series from the University of Indianapolis. Senior designated hitter Jaylen Quarles led the USI hitters with a .500 batting average (14-28), while junior outfielder Drake McNamara hit a pair of home runs and junior shortstop Sam Griggs drove in 12 RBIs.
Eagles lead GLVC East. The four-game sweep of the University of Indianapolis put USI in sole possession of first place in the GLVC East Division with four games to play. USI has a one-game lead over Bellarmine University and a two-game lead over the University of Illinois Springfield.
USI perfect at home in the GLVC with third sweep. The Eagles were a perfect 12-0 at home this season in the GLVC and recorded its third conference sweep of the year after taking all four from UIndy Saturday and Monday.
Leading the way in the GLVC, NCAA II. USI ranks first in the GLVC and 10th in the NCAA Division II with a 3.17 ERA. The hurlers also lead the GLVC and are eighth nationally with a 3.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The difference of a month. The Eagles went 18-4 in April with the team hitting .288 and posting a 2.10 ERA, compared to 9-12 in February and March with a team batting average of .259 and a nearly double 4.02 ERA. Senior designated hitter Jaylen Quarles has seen the biggest turn arounds amongst the players, going from hitless (0-11) in seven games during February/March to .415 (22-53) in 18 of the 22 games during April. On the mound, junior right-hander Kyle Griffin went from 1-3 with a 5.90 ERA to start the year to 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in April.
Season hitting leaders. Junior designated hitter/leftfielder Drake McNamara (.353), senior designated hitter Jaylen Quarles (.343), and sophomore infielder Jacob Fleming (.319) are the Eagles hitting over .300  this season. McNamara leads USI with a team-best eight home runs and 38 RBIs.
Season pitching leaders. Senior right-handers Lucas Barnett has the Eagles’ best ERA among the starting pitchers with a 2.42 in 11 games, 10 starts, and 63.1 innings of work. Senior right-hander Kyle Nowak leads the Eagles with six victories (6-3), while junior right-hander Kyle Griffin has recorded a team-high 74 strikeouts in 11 games.
GLVC Pitcher of the Week. Junior right-hander Kyle Griffin was named the GLVC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. Griffin threw a complete game shutout of UIndy, striking out nine, in his only outing of the week.
Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta is USI’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 407-208 (.662) in nine-plus seasons and is 555-332 (.626) in 14-plus seasons all-time as a head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships and the ABCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading USI to the regional crown in 2016. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.
USI vs. Saint Joseph’s. USI enters this week’s action with a 42-41 all-time series lead over Saint Joseph’s College and is looking to end the series in with a winning record versus the Pumas. The Eagles swept last year’s four-game series at the USI Baseball Field and are 17-13 since 2007. USI also will be looking to get back on track at Rensselaer, going 3-7 in its last 10 road games versus Saint Joseph’s.
NCBWA Top 25 Poll
1. Mercyhurst (Pa.) -13-
2. Chico State (Calif.) -1-
3. North Georgia -2-
4. Southern New Hampshire
5. Tampa (Fla.) -1-
Emporia State (Kan.)
7. Mount Olive (N.C.)
8. Colorado Mesa
9. Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
10. Delta State (Miss.)
11. Minnesota State
12. Northwood (Mich.)
13. West Chester (Pa.)
14. Angelo State (Texas)
15. USC Aiken
16. Felician (N.J.)
17. Dixie State (Utah)
18. Southern Arkansas
19. Lubbock Christian (Texas)
20. Southern Indiana
21. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)
22. Millersville (Pa.)
23. Catawba College (N.C.)
24. California Baptist
25. St. Cloud State (Minn.)
Also receiving votes:Â Texas A&M-Kingsville; St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y.; West Alabama (32-17); Walsh,; UNC Pembroke; Valdosta State, Ga.; Cal. Poly-Pomona; West Texas A&M.
