EVANSVILLE, Ind.-Junior catcher/first baseman Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) went a combined 5-of-5 with two home runs, a double, three runs scored, and eight RBIs to power the No. 24 University of Southern Indiana softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Midwest Region foe Trevecca Nazarene University Tuesday afternoon at the USI Softball Field.
Hodges went 4-of-4 in the opener as USI edged the Trojans, 6-5. She was 1-of-1 with a pair of walks in the night cap as the Screaming Eagles blasted Trevecca Nazarene, 9-1, in five innings.
In the opener, Hodges hit a three-run home run to straight-away centerfield in the bottom of the first inning to put the Eagles up 3-0.
Trevecca Nazarene (5-5), which is receiving votes in the NFCA Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll after advancing to the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 championship round last year, answered the Eagles’ charge with five unanswered runs to take a 5-3 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Hodges’ two-out single in the fourth inning, however, pushed the tying run across the plate; then her two-out double in the sixth inning put the Eagles up 6-5 heading into the seventh frame.
Freshman pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) retired the final seven batters she faced as USI rallied for the game-one victory. Bradley (1-0), who earned her first collegiate victory, allowed just one unearned run off two hits in 4 2/3 innings of work.
USI (4-0) began the second game in the same fashion as it opened the first game; with Hodges hitting a three-run shot over the centerfield fence to give the Eagles a 3-0 cushion in the bottom of the first inning.
The Trojans trimmed USI’s advantage to 3-1 with a tally in the third stanza, but the Eagles answered with six runs in the last half of the fourth inning to win via the eight-run rule.
Junior shortstop Lexi Reese (Lebanon, Indiana) aided the Eagles with a three-run double, while freshman infielder Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) had an RBI-single. USI also took advantage of a two-out error in the fourth inning to score the final five runs of the frame.
Freshman pitcher Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana) earned the win after surrendering just one run off four hits in five innings of work.
USI returns to action Friday when it begins the Mid-South Classic in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Eagles take on Augusta University and Wingate University Friday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
The Eagles will get their crack at No. 1 ranked and defending national champion University of North Georgia Saturday at 11 a.m. before taking on the University of North Carolina-Pembroke later in the day. USI concludes the weekend slate Sunday with Lenoir-Rhyne University and Lincoln Memorial University.
