MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana junior catcher Parker Stroh (Grand Fork, North Dakota) and senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) homered in the eighth and ninth innings to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 7-5 victory over the University of Tennessee at Martin Sunday afternoon in Martin, Tennessee. USI watched its record go to 10-25 overall and 3-9 in the OVC, while UTM goes to 11-26, 6-6 OVC, this spring.
 
USI jumped out to a 1-0 lead for the fourth-straight game when Stroh singled up the middle to drive in junior leftfielder Gavin McLarty (Buckner, Kentucky). The lead would hold until UTM tied the game with a single tally in the third.
 
The Eagles got back into the driver’s seat with two runs in the fourth and the fifth to lead 5-1. McNew drove in junior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) with USI’s second run when he reached on an error before scoring himself on a sacrifice fly by Stroh to make the score 3-1.
 
USI upped the lead to a game-high four runs, 5-1, on RBI-singles by Ebest and McLarty in the fifth. The Skyhawks responded with four runs to tie the game 5-5, posting a single tally in the bottom of the fifth and a trio of tallies in the sixth.
 
Stroh, who finished the game two-for-three with three RBIs, would strike again in the top of the eighth to push USI back into the lead, 6-5, with a solo shot to right field. The homer was Stroh’s first of the season.
 
After UTM stranded the tying run on third in the eighth, McNew, who had two RBIs in the game, increased the lead to the final score of 7-5 in the top of the ninth with USI’s second solo shot of the game. The round-tripper was McNew’s second of the season and the 22^nd of his career.
 
USI junior right-hander Carter Stamm (Jasper, Indiana) (2-1) picked up the win in relief after getting the Eagles out of the first and third jam in the seventh. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) posted his first save of the season and the fourth of his career after throwing two scoreless frames to secure the victory.
 
The Eagles got a strong outing from junior left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) to start the game, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out four in 4.1 innings of work.
 
The middle innings were anchored by sophomore right-hander Adam Weihe (Louisville, Kentucky). Wiehe, who relieved Ciuffetelli in the fifth, allowed three unearned runs on three hits in 2.1 innings of work.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:  
USI comes home to start a five game homestand at the USI Baseball Field Wednesday when it hosts Oakland City University for a 6 p.m. contest. Following the USI-OCU match-up, the Eagles host a three-game OVC series with Eastern Illinois University April 21-23 prior to concluding the homestand with a 6 p.m. contest with McKendree University April 25.
 
The series between USI and OCU tilts toward the Eagles, who hold a decisive 88-12 series margin. USI also has won seven of the last 10 despite losing last year’s game, 6-4, at the USI Baseball Field.
 
OCU is 27-14 after completing a three-game sweep of Alice Lloyd College Sunday, 9-7. The Mighty Oaks, who have won four in a row and five of their last six, play at Lindsey Wilson College on Tuesday before coming to play USI.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams headed into another big weekend of tough competition ranked in the Top-25 of this week’s USTFCCCA Polls with the VU men’s team slotted at No. 21 and the women’s team checking in at No. 24 in the country.

The teams again headed up north to Indiana State University for a big three-day Gibson Invitational meet in Terre Haute which began Thursday morning.

The first day of competition was highlighted by the first half of the men’s decathlon, which saw VU freshman Olegs Kozjakovs (Riga, Latvia) more than held his own, including taking the top spot in the shot put event with a throw of 15.05 meters and placing sixth in the long jump at 6.57 meters.

Olegs returned to the ISU complex on Friday for the final five events of the decathlon and got off to another great start, placing ninth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.33 seconds and taking the top spot in the discus with a throw of 43.37 meters.

Kozjakovs would sadly have to retire from the competition following the seventh event of the decathlon however after suffering an injury. He finished with 4,900 points and was well on pace to set a very competitive mark in the NJCAA rankings.

Friday also saw the running of the men’s 5000-meter race, which was headlined by sophomore Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) placing 10th with a time of 15:34.51.

Friday also saw sophomore Giorgia Fino (Francavilla Fontana, Italy) place sixth in the women’s javelin throw with an impressive 37.21 meters, followed by freshman Natalie Wagler (Montgomery, Ind.) who came in at 25.53 meters and placed 14th.

The main event of the three-day meet was on Saturday which saw the Blazers have another big day among several NCAA Division I programs.

The biggest highlight of Saturday was obviously freshman Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) who led the VU men’s team after taking the top spot in the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.87, besting the field by a full second, before returning to the track to place second in the 200 meters with a time of 20.78 seconds.

Jordan’s times in these two events place him firmly on the VU school record list, with his time in the 400 coming in second in school history and currently 10th in the NJCAA this year and his time in the 200 set a new school record and places him sixth in the NJCAA this season.

Jordan was joined in the 200-meter dash by freshman Justin Emmanuel (Jamaica) who placed eighth with a time of 21.37 seconds, after getting the day started in the 100 meters, placing 11th at 10.68 seconds.

The VU men’s team did not stop there however with sophomore Mathew Keitany (Kenya) and freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) holding their own in the 1500 meters with Keitany placing third at 3:53.17 and Stanford clocking in at 3:54.20 and taking home fifth overall.

These times mean that Keitany is now ranked third and Stanford is now fourth in VU school history in that event.

VU freshman Paketo Dudley (Kingston, Jamaica) also had a good meet while competing unattached Saturday, taking home the top spot in the triple jump with a distance of 15.02 meters, beating the next best jumper by nearly three feet.

The VU women’s team was highlighted Saturday by freshman pole vaulter and NJCAA Indoor All-American Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira (Brazil) who placed 14th after clearing a height of 3.30 meters.

“We finally got to compete with some good weather and had some incredible performances,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “The men took several spots on VU’s All-Time record list. Desroy had an amazing day with two outstanding races. Starting with a big PR in the 400 and a couple of hours later setting the fastest time in school history in the 200.”

“Justin also had two nice PRs with a 10.68 in the 100 and a 21.37 in the 200,” Rogier added. “It was a perfect day and the sprints were very, very fast, so those are some really good performances.”

“Giorgia had a good performance, finishing sixth in the javelin against a really good field of throwers,” Rogier said. “And Paketo, competing unattached, won the triple jump with a PR of 15.02. That was a really good effort and would be a school record in an event he has not done in six years. I’m really excited for his future in both the triple and long jumps.”

“But we also had some setbacks and are still dealing with some injuries,” Roger added. “Olegs was on his way to a really solid decathlon when he suffered an injury and had to withdraw from the competition after seven events. He had 4,900 points and was in fourth at the time.”

“He got some really good points in the shot put and discus segments and expected to get some big points in the pole vault and javelin, but the injury cut it short,” Rogier said. “He was on track to score about 6,800 points, which would be number one in the NJCAA this year.”

“We are still also without Julia, who is currently ranked first in the pole vault,” Rogier added. “So hopefully we get those two healed up by Nationals in May.”

The VU Track teams as a whole placed well, with the VU men’s team placing ninth overall with 29 points, with several more points left out on the table and the VU women’s team placed 17th overall.

The Trailblazers will look to carry this strong momentum into their next competition when VU travels to Marion, Ind. to take part in the Indiana Little State Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University on Friday April 21 and concluding on Saturday, April 22.

VINCENNES RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS

VU MEN – 9, 29 points

VU WOMEN – 17, 3 points

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

MEN’S RESULTS

100m

Justin Emmanuel – 11, 10.68

200m

Desroy Jordan – 2, 20.78

Justin Emmanuel 8, 21.37

400m

Desroy Jordan – 1, 46.87

1500m

Mathew Keitany – 3, 3:53.17

Isaac Stanford – 5, 3:54.20

5000m

Ernest Momodu – 10, 15:34.51

Triple Jump

Paketo Dudley (Unattached) – 1, 15.02m

WOMEN’S RESULTS

Pole Vault

Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira – 14, 3.30m

Javelin

Giorgia Fino – 6, 37.21m

Natalie Wagler – 14, 25.53m

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois right-fielder Nathan Bandy came through with a two-out, walk-off RBI single to the right-center field gap in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon, as the home-standing Salukis edged the visiting University of Evansville baseball team, 3-2, at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

“This is a tough series loss, as we were in the driver’s seat after our performance on Friday night,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “We just didn’t earn it offensively today.  We need to turn the page, and get ready to attack this week coming up.”

Bandy’s walk-off single capped a back-and-forth affair between the two schools on ESPNU.  The two teams traded home runs in the first two innings, as SIU outfielder Pier-Olivier Boucher and UE junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse both hit home runs to left field to start the scoring for their respective teams.

Both teams would put two men on in the third inning, but SIU starter Tanner Lewis and UE starter Donovan Schultz were able to escape the jams.  From there, pitching would dominate both sides until SIU was able to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning against UE reliever Michael Parks (2-1) on back-to-back singles by shortstop Kaeber Rog and second baseman Steven Loden and a sacrifice fly by first baseman Matt Schark.

Evansville would answer right back, though, as junior catcher Brendan Hord and Fougerousse led off the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back singles against SIU reliever Paul Bonzagni (6-2).  After a walk loaded the bases with no-one out, graduate outfielder Eric Roberts crushed a ball to right that Bandy was able to track down on the warning track in right field for a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2-2.  Then, Bandy robbed fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug of a base hit with a sliding catch in the right-center field gap, and Bonzagni got an infield ground out to keep the score tied at 2-2.

Evansville would produce two-out base runners in the eighth and ninth innings, but came up empty offensively.  Schark would then lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double against Parks.  UE junior closer Nate Hardman then came on to get back-to-back outs, but Bandy spoiled an 0-1 pitch with a single to right-center field to score Schark with the game-winning run and give the Salukis a series victory over UE.

Fougerousse went 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the year to lead Evansville offensively.  Schark, meanwhile, went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.  Bonzagni earned the win with 3.0 innings of one-run, three-hit relief for SIU.  Parks, meanwhile, suffered the tough-luck loss despite tossing 4.0 innings of two-run, four-hit relief in which he got eight ground-ball outs.

With the victory, Southern Illinois improves to 22-14 overall and 10-2 in the MVC, while the Salukis earned their 12th-straight Missouri Valley Conference series victory.  Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 20-15 overall and 6-6 in the MVC.  The Purple Aces will return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium on Tuesday night to host Western Kentucky University in a 6 p.m. contest.

Aces fall by a final of 6-2

MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State plated two runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings to win Sunday’s series finale against the University of Evansville softball team at Racer Field.

Ailey Schick got the scoring started with an RBI triple in the second inning before two more RBI knocked in the fourth extended the lead to 4-0.  Scoring on a walk and wild pitch in the sixth, the Racers made it a 6-0 game. Marah Wood led the third inning off with the Purple Aces’ first hit of the afternoon – a double to left center.  Alexa Davis drew a 1-out walk before the Racers escaped damage and recorded the final two outs. Trailing by six entering the top of the seventh, the Aces were able to manufacture two runs.  Zoe Frossard doubled to bring in Hannah Hood, who reached on a leadoff error.  Kaylee Lawson brought in Frossard on a ground out, but the late rally came up short with MSU clinching the series with a 6-1 win. Sydney Weatherford made the start for UE and allowed four runs, three earned, in four innings.  Erin Kleffman went the final two frames and allowed two earned runs.  As a team, the Aces picked up two hits on the day.

On Tuesday, UE will be back home to face SIU Edwardsville in a 6 p.m. game.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis dropped two matches this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee as they fell to Tennessee State University, 5-2, on Saturday and Belmont University, 7-0, on Sunday. The Screaming Eagles fall to 5-14 (1-6 Horizon League) while the Tigers go to 10-12 (6-2 Horizon) and the Bruins improve to 18-5 (9-0 Horizon).
 
USI vs Tennessee State
Doubles:
After the Tigers took the number two doubles to open the match, the Eagles bounced right back and earned a win in one doubles, as freshman Omar ElSamahy (Cairo, Egypt) and senior Lucas Sakamaki (Louisville, Kentucky) took down their opponent 7-5. Tennessee State would take the number three doubles match to secure the point.
 
Singles:
The Tigers stayed hot as they took the number three, four, and six singles matches to claim the match victory early. USI would not back down as ElSamahy would earn a win by default in number two singles while senior Yahor Bahdanovich (Minsk, Belarus) would earn a victory of his opponent in number five singles, 1-6 6-3 7-5.
 
USI vs Belmont
Doubles:
Belmont would take both the number two and three doubles matches to claim the point while the number one doubles would go unfinished.
 
Singles:
The Bruins would stay hot and take all six singles matches in straight sets to earn a match victory.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:
USI returns home for their final two matches of the regular season as they play host to Lindenwood University on April 22 at 1 pm and Eastern Illinois University on April 23 at noon. The Eagles will celebrate Senior Day when they host Eastern Illinois. Both matches will be played at the USI Tennis Courts.
 
The USI match with Tennessee Tech University that was previously postponed will not be made up and will go as a no contest for both teams.