EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball landed four players on the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) and National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region teams in respective votes by the Midwest Region’s sports information directors and softball coaches.

Junior pitcher/designated player Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) was named second-team on both the NFCA and D2CCA teams as a utility/pitcher, while sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) was named second-team by the NFCA. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) and freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) each collected second-team All-Midwest Region honors.

Goodin, a unanimous first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree, is currently 13-2 in the circle with a 2.10 ERA and .220 opponent batting average. At the plate, she is hitting .350 with three doubles, a triple, five home runs and 28 RBI. This is Goodin’s first-career All-Region awards.

Bedrick is collecting All-Midwest Region by the NFCA for the second straight season after earning first-team honors a year ago. She is currently hitting .367 with three doubles, two triples, 16 RBI and is 17-of-19 in stolen base attempts.

Like Goodin, Fair is earning her first-career All-Region award after hitting .382 with 17 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 48 RBI. She leads the GLVC in doubles and has been hit by a pitch a league-high 20 times.

Newman joins Fair and Goodin in earning D2CCA All-Region honors after posting a 14-3 overall record and 11-0 mark in conference play during the regular-season. She posted a 0.95 ERA, 120 strikeouts and a .114 opponent batting average in GLVC play. Overall, Newman finished the regular-season with a 1.84 ERA, 165 strikeouts and a .170 opponent batting average.

In addition to the All-Region awards, USI jumped five spots to No. 10 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 poll after winning its fifth GLVC Tournament title.

The Screaming Eagles (43-10) begin the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament Thursday at 2:30 p.m. when they host Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion Saginaw Valley State University at the USI Softball Field. USI is the No. 1 overall seed in the Midwest Region, while the Cardinals (34-18) are the No. 8 seed.

Lindenwood University (35-11), the No. 4 seed, takes on Drury University (36-15), the No. 5 seed, in the opening round Thursday at noon at the USI Softball Field.

No. 2-seeded University of Indianapolis is hosting the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament in Indianapolis. The winners of the two tournaments will meet at the highest remaining seed in the NCAA II Midwest Super Regional May 19-20.

Frossard, McFeron and Hood earn accolades

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Three University of Evansville softball players earned Missouri Valley Conference postseason recognition on Wednesday morning as the league is set to open the 2022 championship in Springfield, Mo.

Zoe Frossard was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year while Mackenzie McFeron was named to the All-MVC Second Team.  Hannah Hood earned a nod on the All-Defensive squad.

Playing the best softball of her college career over the last two months, McFeron led the Purple Aces with a .324 batting average in conference games.  She recorded the second-highest team average over the course of the season, hitting .296.  She enters the conference championship having reached base in 13 consecutive games.  McFeron registered nine of her 12 career RBI as a senior on the way to the second team honor.

“I could not be happier for Mackenzie to receive this honor. She has put in so much work and it paid off with a tremendous senior season,” Aces head softball coach Mat Mundell exclaimed.  “She is the perfect example of what it means to be a Purple Ace both on and off the field!”

Earning the league’s Newcomer of the Year award was Zoe Frossard.  The sophomore transfer from Ball State played in 34 games over the course of the 2022 campaign while making 33 starts.  Frossard excelled in her patience at the plate, accumulating 11 walks in MVC games, the second-highest total on the squad.  She made her Evansville debut on March 4, picking up an RBI in her first contest.

“We were so excited when Zoe transferred to UE and you can see why,” Mundell said.  “She has made a big impact. She such a smooth outfielder.”

Making her second appearance on the MVC All-Defensive Team is Hannah Hood.  She was named to the team in 2021 and her unbelievable defense continued into her junior season.  Hood made multiple diving plays to save countless runs with her defense.  Her .980 fielding percentage led all Aces starters.  At the plate, she batted .260 with 19 runs scored and 12 RBI.

“Hannah continues to shine in the outfield in just her second year playing the position. She makes highlight worthy plays every game,” Coach Mundell commented.  “Hannah’s play along with Alexa and Zoe give us the best defensive outfield in the MVC.”

MT. CARMEL, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team closed out the road portion of their 2022 Spring regular season Tuesday afternoon, taking the short trip down to face NJCAA Division I No. 3-ranked Wabash Valley.

The Warriors jumped out ahead early and held on as Vincennes fell by the final score of 11-1.

Wabash Valley jumped on the scoreboard early and in a big way in the first inning, scoring five runs in the first and adding an additional run in the second to take an early 6-0 lead.

The Vincennes pitching held serve in the third and fourth innings before the Warriors pushed a pair of runs across in the fifth.

The Trailblazers would get on the board in the sixth inning after freshman Jordan Roth (Delphi, Ind.) reached on an error and would score on a two-out double by freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Roth had a big day at the plate, reaching base in all three at-bats including a pair of singles, accounting for two of VU’s four hits in the game.

Freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) would get credit for the fourth hit of the game for VU, reaching base twice on a walk in the first and a single in the third.

Wabash Valley would put the game away in the sixth on a three-run walk-off home run to give the Warriors the 11-1 win.

“We had some guys with some bright spots today,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “Jordan Roth had two hits. Colton Evans had a couple of good at bats and Luke Osborn throwing two innings and only giving up one run and that came after a wild pitch, otherwise he would have never given up a run in that situation. Eli Steimel came out an threw really well also.”

“There are some positives to take out of this game,” Barney added. “It’s been a tough week. We’ve got some guys banged up and we held three regular starters out of our lineup today that potentially could have made some type of difference. But that’s just the nature of the beast as we get ready for another conference weekend on Friday and Saturday.”

Freshman Cauy Motsinger (Salem, Ind.) got the start on the mound for the Blazers and threw the first inning of the game. Motsinger allowed five runs on four hits in his outing.

Sophomore Luke Osborn (Perrysville, Ind.) was the first Blazer out of the bullpen, throwing the second and third innings and allowing one run on two hits and striking out two.

Freshman Eli Steimel (Sullivan, Ind.) took over on the mound after getting the start in right field Tuesday to throw two innings, allowing two runs, both unearned, on three hits.

“Luke and Eli did a great job,” Barney said. “Luke has done it all year for us. He got us to a point where we shut them down for two innings and the same thing for Eli. Those two gave us a chance, we just didn’t have it offensively. We were down to our last four arms after playing four games the past two days and those two pitched well for us.”

Aces open on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the second year in a row, the University of Evansville softball team will begin its quest for a Missouri Valley Conference Championship against Loyola.  Wednesday’s opening game pits the 9th-seeded Purple Aces against #8 Loyola at 11 a.m. at Killian Stadium in Springfield, Mo.  ESPN+ will have coverage of each game in the conference tournament.

 

Looking at the Matchup

– Evansville and Loyola meet up in the conference tournament for the third time since 2017 with the Ramblers taking both games, including a 3-1 decision in last year’s championship opener at Cooper Stadium

– Since 2015, the Aces are 14-9 versus the Ramblers and have won six consecutive regular season series

– In 2022, UE took two out of three in Chicago

Last Time Out

– Taking on Valparaiso in the final series of the 2022 regular season, Evansville dropped two out of three contests

– After falling in the opener by a 5-1 score, UE rallied for a 2-1 win in eight frames in game two of the doubleheader

– Sunday’s contest saw the Beacons score five times in the first inning on their way to a 10-0 win in five innings

– Izzy Vetter picked up the win on Saturday, allowing on earned run in eight innings while Jessica Fehr scored both of the Aces runs

Strong Finish

– Entering the MVC Championship, senior Mackenzie McFeron has reached base safely in each of the final 13 games of the regular season and carried an 8-game hitting streak into the series at Valpo

– Over the last 11 contests, she is batting .364 with 12 hits in 33 at-bats while scoring 11 runs

– McFeron was Evansville’s leading hitter in Valley games (.324) and finished second with her season average of .296 and had the first 3-hit game of her career in the April 10 finale at Illinois State

Back in the Win Column

– On Saturday, Izzy Vetter gave up one run in eight innings on the way to a win over Valparaiso; it was her first victory since April 2 at Loyola

– Vetter finished conference play with a 4-10 record and a 6.25 ERA; she had 66 walks against 66 strikeouts in 84.0 frames of work in the MVC

– Her non-conference numbers saw her accumulate a 1.51 ERA and an 11-2 record while striking out 112 and walking just 22 in 74 innings

– Vetter has thrown three no-hitters in 2022 to improve to a total of four in her career and accomplished the feat this season against Mississippi Valley State, Morehead State and Creighton

– Her 178 strikeouts is second in the MVC and 45th nationally