EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball swept two games from No. 8-seeded Saginaw Valley State University Saturday to win the NCAA Division II Midwest Region #1 Tournament and clinch a spot in next week’s NCAA II Midwest Super Regional.
The top-seeded Screaming Eagles (47-11), who earned their third trip to the super regionals and first since winning the national championship in 2018, came out of the elimination bracket to defeat the Cardinals, 5-0, in the opener to force an “if necessary” game. They rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 7-2 win in the deciding game.
USI will host No. 3-seeded Grand Valley State University in the best-of-three super regional Thursday-Friday at the USI Softball Field. Game one on Thursday will be 1 p.m., while game two on Friday is a noon start. The third game, if necessary, would be Friday at 2:30 p.m.
USI 5, SVSU 0
USI played small ball to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning of the opening game. Sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) drew a lead-off walk and scored the first run following a sacrifice bunt, base hit and sacrifice fly by junior pitcher/designated player Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana).
Saginaw Valley State (36-20) had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the third, but Goodin was able to get out of the jam to keep the Eagles in front.
Senior third baseman Mary Bean (Chicago, Illinois) led the bottom of the third inning off with a solo home run, while a solo home run by sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) to lead off the sixth inning put the Eagles in front, 3-0. Sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) hit a two-run home run four batters later as USI went up, 5-0.
Goodin (15-3) earned the win after blanking the Cardinals through 4 1/3 innings of work. Freshman pitcher Josie Newman(Indianapolis, Indiana) picked up her third save of the year after holding the Cardinals scoreless through 2 2/3 innings of work.
USI 7, SVSU 2
Despite jumping out to a 1-0 lead with a first-inning tally, the Eagles found themselves playing catchup after the Cardinals struck for two runs in the top of the fourth frame.
USI, however, responded as Goodin drove in sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) for the second time to tie the contest in the fifth inning.
The Eagles took the lead two batters later when Kihega hit a three-run shot over the right-centerfield fence. USI tacked on two more tallies in the sixth inning as freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana) hit an RBI-triple into the gap in right-center, while Fair had a successful suicide squeeze in the next at-bat to give the Eagles a comfortable 7-2 cushion.
Newman (16-3) got the win after allowing two runs off five hits in seven innings of work. She had six strikeouts in the victory.
