TRACY ARCHULETA’S COMMENTS VIA GOUSIEAGLES.COM
 The nationally ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team concludes its six-game road swing Friday at 6 p.m. when it travels across town to play the University of Evansville before starting a six-game homestand Saturday at the USI Baseball Field. The six-game homestand begins with a two-game set with Quincy University Saturday at 6 p.m.
Live coverage of the game at Evansville and the two-game series with Quincy can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
Next Up: 500 Wins. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta is one win shy of 500 all-time victories with 499 wins combined between his seasons at USI and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Archuleta has a USI record of 351-175 (.667) in eight-plus seasons and is 499-299 (.625) in 13-plus seasons as the 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. He also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014).
USI in the national polls. USI is ranked 26th in the latest Collegiate Baseball/ABCA Top 30 poll, jumping four spot from last week. The Eagles also are ranked 17th in NCBWA Top 25, rising one spot in the poll.
Eagles off to good start in 2016. USI is 11-4 after going 4-1 in the first five games of the six-game road swing. The Eagles were 1-1 in the Perfect Pitch Spring Swing, defeating Augusta University and falling to Georgia College, before sweeping a three-game set with Drury University. USI, as a team, is hitting .287 on the trip while the Eagle hurlers are holding the opposition to a .214 average.
Best at the plate; mound last week. Sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) had USI’s best week at the plate, hitting .579 (11-19) with eight runs scored, two home runs, and five RBIs. Senior catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) drove in a team-high seven RBI, while sophomore designated hitter/leftfielder Drake McNamara (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) tied Griggs with two round trippers. Junior right-handers Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana), Lucas Barnett (Princeton, Indiana), and Colin Nowak (Carol Stream, Illinois) all posted wins in each of their starts.
Hitting streak for Kempf ends at 26. USI senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) saw his USI record 26-game hitting streak ended on Saturday at Drury University. The streak began with final 12 games of the 2015 season and ended with the first 14 games of this season. The 26-game streak broke the record of 21 set by Josh Perkins in 2001 (last two games of 2000; first 19 games of 2001).
Leading the GLVC. USI has four of the GLVC’s top 10 leaders in hits — sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs (second); senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (4th); senior catcher Ryan Bertram (6th); sophomore DH/leftfielder Drake McNamara (8th). Griggs also ranks first in runs and eighth in RBIs, while Bertram is 7th in RBIs. On the mound, junior right-hander Devin Williams is second in ERA, while junior right-hander Lucas Barnett is tied for second in wins and fourth in strikeouts. USI, as a team, leads the GLVC is first in hits and runs scored.
USI vs. Evansville. USI trails Evansville in the all-time series, 31-19, after falling to the Aces last year, 7-4.
USI vs. Quincy. USI trails Quincy in the all-time series, 36-33, and will be meeting for the first times since the 2014 season when the Hawks took two of three from the Eagles during the GLVC Tournament at Bosse Field. The last time USI hosted Quincy at the USI Baseball Field was 2008 when the Eagles took three of four from the Hawks. Quincy is currently ranked 18th in the Collegiate Baseball/ABCA Top 30 poll and eighth in the NCBWA Top 25.
Collegiate Baseball Div. 2 Poll 3-14-16 (As of March 14, 2016)
Rank Team (Record)
1. Tampa (19-1)
2. St. Cloud St. (11-0)
3. Millersville (15-1)
4. Franklin Pierce (12-1)
5. Colorado Mesa (16-3)
6. West Alabama (18-4)
7. Columbus St. (20-4)
8. Cal. St. Monterey Bay (15-3)
9. S. New Hampshire (12-0)
10. Belmont Abbey (20-3-1)
S.C.-Aiken (18-5)
12. Florida Southern (14-6)
13. Lubbock Christian (15-5)
14 Missouri-St. Louis (10-1)
15. Indianapolis (11-3)
16. Cal. Baptist (17-5)
17. East Stroudsburg (14-2)
18. Quincy (9-3)
19. Emporia St. (14-4)
20. Alabama-Huntsville (17-7)
21. Missouri Southern (12-4)
22. West Texas A&M (15-5)
23. U.C. San Diego (17-7)
24. Cal. Poly Pomona (15-6)
25. Lander (20-5)
26. Southern Indiana (11-4)
27. Seton Hill (11-4)
28. Mercyhurst (10-5)
29. West Florida (14-8)
30. Texas A&M-Kingsville (12-6)
Receiving Votes:Â Lynn (14-8), Chico St. (14-6), St. Edward’s (16-7), Dixie St. (13-5), North Greenville (17-8), Point Loma Nazarene (15-5).
NCBWA DII Poll 3-15-16
Rank Team (First Place Votes)
1. Tampa (Fla.) (12)
2. St. Cloud St. (Minn.) (3)
3. Colorado Mesa
4. Millersville (Pa.)
5. Columbus State (Ga.)
6. Southern New Hampshire
7. Cal. St.-Monterey Bay
8. Quincy (Ill.)
9. Franklin Pierce (N.H.)
10. West Alabama
11. Lander (S.C.)
12. California Baptist
13. Lubbock Christian (Texas)
14. Emporia State (Kan.)
15. East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
16. Belmont-Abbey (N.C.)
17. Southern Indiana
18. West Texas A&M
UC San Diego (Calif.)
20. Lynn (Fla.)
21. USC Aiken
22. Missouri Southern
23. Alabama-Huntsville
24. Indianapolis (Ind.)
25. Seton Hill (Pa.)
Also receiving votes: Rogers State, Okla.; Cal. Poly-Pomona; St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y.; Minnesota State; Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.; Florida Southern; Mercyhurst, Pa.; Molloy, N.Y.
