VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out the week on a high note after picking up their second win over an NJCAA Division I opponent in five days after defeating Frontier Community College 12-4 at Jerry Blemker Field Sunday evening.

After giving up a run in the top of the first, the Trailblazers set the tone early at the plate in the bottom half of the inning, with the first four batters reaching base, including a two-RBI double by freshman Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.).

Vincennes did not just stop there however, with sophomores Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) and Mahkai Pelzer (Douglasville, Ga.) adding to the lead with RBI singles later in the inning before sophomore Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.) blew the game open with a bases clearing three-RBI triple to give the Blazers eight runs in the first and VU an early 8-1 lead.

Even after sending 12 batters to the plate in the first, VU was still not done, with sophomores Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.) and Colin Long coming through with back-to-back doubles in the second, with Long’s netting him his second RBI of the day.

Later in the second, Mahkai Pelzer came through again with another RBI single, giving him two hits and two RBIs in as many innings as Vincennes took complete control with an 11-1 lead.

The scoring would slow as the Blazers went to their bench and got some more playing time for a few players.

Frontier would avoid the 10-run rule in the fifth with a pair of runs and extended the game with another run in the sixth to cut the VU lead to 11-4.

VU would still look to end the game early in the seventh after a leadoff single by freshman Bracey Breneman (Linton, Ind.) and a walk by freshman Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.) freshman Tucker Helton (Terre Haute, Ind.) came through with an RBI single giving the Blazers an eight-run lead and ending the game on a walk-off.

“We jumped out early on their pitcher and did a really good job,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “Our guys did a great job of scoring 11 runs in two innings. They obviously blanked us for the next four innings, but we were able to get a run in the seventh to cap it off.”

“A lot of guys stepped up for us today,” Barney added. “Burdette got on base three times. Elliott had three RBIs. Whitehead comes up with a big two-RBI double. Long gets two RBIs, Coy gets an RBI, Mahkai Pelzer goes three for three with three singles, a hit by pitch and two RBIs. So, a lot of guys contributing throughout the lineup.”

“It’s experience,” Barney said of sending 16 different batters to the plate Sunday. “It’s at bats and an opportunity to see live pitching. It’s an opportunity to get into a game situation and see what you can do because down the road we are going to need some of those guys. I’d love to tell you that over the last 24 games of the regular season everybody is going to be healthy, but that’s just not the way it works in baseball. So some other guys are going to have to step up at different points throughout the season and today we were just trying to get some guys in.”

Freshman Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) got the start on the mound for Vincennes and threw three innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four as he picked up his second winning decision of the season.

Freshman Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the first out of the pen, throwing two innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three.

Sophomore Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) entered to pitch the sixth, allowing one run on one hit and striking out two, while sophomore Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) pitched the seventh, allowing one base runner and striking out one.

“On the mound, Jace Parnin gets the win after throwing three innings,” Barney said. “Josh McCormick deserved a better fate than what he had today in his two innings. Then we had Blaylock and Stuteville come in and both throw okay and we got what we had hoped to get out of them. Hopefully this helps us get ready for another conference weekend next weekend.”

The Trailblazers will return to Mid-West Athletic Conference play for the remainder of the season, started off by a very tough weekend coming up against No. 2-ranked Heartland Community College Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 at Jerry Blemker Field.

First pitch Friday is set for 3 p.m. eastern, with first pitch on Saturday set for 12 p.m. eastern.

“Hopefully it’s just confidence and experience,” Barney said about his team’s takeaways from this past week. “Those are the biggest things that we have to have right now. We are starting to get our pitching mapped out a little bit better than we have the first half of the season and we are still changing some things up within the rotation. Between all of that, hopefully we feel better as a club because we’ve got a big weekend with Heartland coming up.”

BOX SCORE

Frontier – 100   021   0 – 4

VU (16-16, 4-4) – 830   000   1 – 12

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Bartlett, Long, Whitehead. 3B – Elliott. RBI – Elliott 3, Whitehead 2, Long 2, Pelzer 2, Helton, Coy. HBP – Evans, Burdette, Pelzer. SB – Breneman, Burdette.

-30-

The Vincennes University baseball team improves to 16-16 on the season, while still holding a 4-4 record in MWAC Conference play.

Tournament to be played in Silvis, Illinois

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Up next for the University of Evansville men’s golf team is a trip to Silvis, Illinois for the WIU Intercollegiate.

Set for Monday and Tuesday, a total of 54 holes will be played with 36 on day one and the final 18 on day two at TPC at Deere Run.  A shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. opens the action each day.

Teams set to participate include Northern Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Omaha, St. Thomas, Evansville, St. Ambrose, UW-Parkside, Detroit Mercy, and host Western Illinois.

Carson Parker recorded a 3-over 75 in the final round of the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate to record the top finish of the tournament for the Purple Aces last week.

Parker’s effort saw him wrap up the 3-round event with a 223 at True Blue Golf Club.  He tied for 47^th in the final standings.  Isaac Rohleder and Masatoyo Kato tied for the second-best UE finish in the standings.

Both Purple Aces players wrapped up play with scores of 227 to tie for 68^th.  Rohleder matched his second-round total as he carded a 75 in round three.   Kato recorded a 77.  His 71 in Monday’s opening round was the lowest score of the trip to the men.

UE freshman has low score at midway point

 TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – University of Evansville freshman Kate Petrova holds the lead with the first of two rounds complete at the Indiana State Invitational.

With a 1-under 71 in the first 18 holes at the Country Club of Terre Haute, Petrova has a 2-stroke lead with just one round remaining.  She was the only player in the event to finish under par in Sunday’s action.  Dasa Urbankova of UIC is in second place with a 73 while her teammate Brooke Beyer is third with a 74.

Petrova’s efforts have the Purple Aces in third place with a score of 311.  Green Bay holds the team lead with a 304 while UIC is in second with a 307.  Monday will feature a final round of 18 holes to complete the tournament.

Second on the UE squad is Allison Enchelmayer.  Her 5-over 77 has her in ninth place.  Mallory Russell’s score of 80 has her inside the top 20, currently in 18^th.

Alyssa McMinn and Caitlin O’Donnell carded rounds of 83 and are tied for the 24^th spot.  Carly Frazier and Destynie Sheridan competed as individuals.  Frazier is tied for 14^th with a 79 while Sheridan is in a tie for 31^st with an 85.

ST. LOUIS—Junior McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) posted one of the top 5,000-meter performances in University of Southern Indiana Women’s Track & Field history Saturday night to finish second out of 27 competitors at the WashU Distance Carnival, one of two meets the Screaming Eagles competed in Saturday. Cavanaugh’s time is a personal-best and ranks fifth in school history.

Fellow classmate Lauren Griewe (West Harrison, Indiana) also posted an impressive effort in the 5,000 meters at the WashU Distance Carnival as she finish seventh with a time of 16:50.40, a mark the ranks seventh in program history, while senior Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) rounded out the record-setting day with a 10th-place finish in the event with a time of 16:53.58, which ranks eighth on USI’s all-time outdoor 5,000-meter list.

Junior Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) turned out a strong showing to lead the Eagles at the Joey Haines Invite in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, earlier in the day. Comastri was third in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:47.00, while also helping USI’s 4×400-meter relay team to a fifth-place showing.

USI, which was ninth with 23 points, got scoring performances from senior Emma Brown (Evansville, Indiana), who was fifth in the 800 meters as well as the 4×400-meter relay; freshman Emily Rempe (Owensboro, Kentucky), who was fifth in the 1,500 meters and 4×400-meter relay; and sophomore Katie Winkler, who was sixth in the 5,000 meters. Junior Katie Hoerig (Prospect, Kentucky) rounded out the Eagles’ scoring with a seventh-place effort in the 5,000 meters.

The Eagles return to action Friday and Saturday when they compete at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic in Carbondale, Illinois.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis (4-12, 0-3 OVC) was swept by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 7-0, at the SIUE Tennis Courts Sunday afternoon.
 
Doubles: The Screaming Eagles drew blanks in doubles play, falling in all three sets.
 
Singles: USI fell short in all six singles sets to the Cougars. Sophomore Abby Myers (Evansville, Indiana) was close to stumping SIUE at number five despite dropping 6-3, 6-3 while sophomore Abby Brown (Evansville, Indiana) pushed the score in the opening set (6-4, 6-1) at number six.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles are back home for their final home match of the season as USI hosts Southeast Missouri State University at the USI Tennis Courts Friday at 2 p.m. Senior Elizabeth Cluck (Newburgh, Indiana) will be competing at home for the final time as she will be honored on Senior Day.

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts appeared to be on their way to another massive win, up 2-0 over Knoxville and dominating play, however the Ice Bears would rally behind the play of goaltender Kristian Stead, coming back to win 3-2 over the Thunderbolts on Saturday night at Ford Center .  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, April 7^th ^ against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

Evansville picked up a 2-0 lead in the first period off goals from Scott Kirton at 1:16 from Matthew Hobbs and Jeremy Masella, and Andrew Shewfelt at 9:41 from Pierre-Luc Lurette and Derek Osik.  Pouring on the offense, Evansville soon ran into a hot goaltender in Kristian Stead who refused to allow any more goals, stopping over 30 consecutive shots the rest of the way.  With 1:51 remaining in the first period, Bailey Conger scored to pull Knoxville within one goal.  In the second period, with Evansville still dominating play, the Ice Bears suddenly struck twice to take a 3-2 lead, as Justin MacDonald scored at 17:20, and Razmuz Waxin-Engback 24 seconds later at 17:48.  The Thunderbolts kept up their attack in the third period, but could not find the third goal to tie the game back up, falling to the Ice Bears 3-2.

Kirton and Shewfelt each finished with one goal, while Trevor Gorsuch stopped 27 of 30 shots.  The Thunderbolts remain in 5^th place in the SPHL standings but remain in contention for 4^th place and home-ice advantage, as Roanoke was also defeated on Saturday night, remaining only .016% win percentage behind Roanoke.  Roanoke plays Macon this Thursday, before playing Knoxville on Friday and Saturday, with any losses helping to further bridge the gap that Evansville trails.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears do not meet again this regular season.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball captured a series win against the University of Tennessee at Martin on Sunday, following up Saturday’s series-opening victory with a split doubleheader Sunday afternoon. The Screaming Eagles won 8-2 in the doubleheader’s second game after the visiting Skyhawks took the first game by a final score of 5-0.
 
The series win against UT Martin marked Southern Indiana’s third series win in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Screaming Eagles improved to 12-15 overall and claimed fourth place in the OVC with a 6-5 conference record. The Skyhawks are 12-16 this season with a 5-6 mark in the OVC after Sunday’s action.
 
The first game of the doubleheader started out in a pitcher’s duel. USI sophomore pitcher Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) and UT Martin junior pitcher Brooklynn Linneman worked around a few baserunners and some hits to keep the game scoreless through three innings.
 
The Skyhawks grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth inning, tallying two runs off three hits and a couple of productive outs in the inning. Two innings later, the Skyhawks continued to be aggressive at the plate against Gotshall. After the first two batters reached and then two consecutive outs, UT Martin freshman Jordyn Hustey hit a three-run home run to give UTM a 5-0 advantage, which held the rest of the way.
 
Gotshall was dealt the loss, dropping to 2-4 this season. The right-hander went six innings, struck out two, and allowed five runs off nine hits. Freshman pitcher Raegan Gibson (Louisville, Kentucky) tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
 
Offensively, Gotshall had a pair of hits along with sophomore outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana).
 
Linneman improved to 5-4 on the season with the win in the complete game, shutout effort. She struck out five and gave up six hits.
 
In the second game of the doubleheader, Southern Indiana found early momentum in the bottom of the first inning after getting the first two hitters on base. USI went on to score two runs, including one off an RBI single from senior infielder Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois).
 
The Screaming Eagles claimed a 3-0 lead in the second inning. With two outs and two on, senior Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) brought in a run with a hit to right field.
 
UT Martin got one run back in the top of the fourth inning on a solo home run by graduate senior Kaitlyn Kelley, but USI responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth and took a 5-1 lead to the fifth.
 
USI increased its advantage to 8-1 in the fifth inning. Junior Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) recorded an RBI knock, and Goodin shot a two-RBI double to the alley.
 
UT Martin tacked on one more run before the end of the game, but USI sophomore pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) earned her 10^th complete game of the season. Newman was in a groove throughout the contest, striking out six and allowing one earned run off four hits. The right-hander also picked up her 10^th win to move to 10-6 this season. Newman also surpassed 100 strikeouts for the season on Sunday.
 
UT Martin’s junior pitcher Katie Dreiling took the loss to move her record to 6-5. Dreiling was chased out of the game after 1.2 innings of work, giving up three runs – two earned – on four hits.
 
It was a team effort at the plate for the Screaming Eagles in Sunday’s series finale. Bedrick had two hits, an RBI, and three runs. Goodin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Junior Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) registered two RBIs, and Nalley scored three times.
 
Goodin’s overall batting average climbed to .459, which is among the top-20 in the nation. Her team-leading RBI total also increased to 23 runs batted in. In OVC play, Goodin is hitting .550 with 17 RBIs. The senior sits among the top of the OVC in batting average and in RBIs. Bedrick’s overall batting average escalated to .329 while her team-best run total increased to 21.
 
The Screaming Eagles return to action at USI Softball Field Tuesday for a midweek doubleheader against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). First pitch Tuesday is at 3 p.m. Admission to all 2023 USI Softball home spring games is free, courtesy of The Women’s Hospital Deaconess. Both games can be heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links are on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.