EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
Trailblazers fall in MWAC Conference doubleheader at Heartland CC
NORMAL, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team fell in the first two games of their four-game weekend Mid-West Athletic Conference series at Heartland Community College, falling 11-2 in game one and 13-3 in game two.
Vincennes got the scoring started in game one, with a single by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) and a double by sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) helped give the Trailblazers the early 2-0 lead.
Heartland would be held off the scoreboard until the third inning, when the Hawks took the lead with a four-run inning.
Heartland continued to add to their lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and a five-run fifth to hold the 11-2 lead.
This would prove to be enough as Vincennes was unable to respond and the Trailblazers fell in game one by the final score of 11-2 in the seventh inning.
Freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio) got the start on the mound in game one, throwing 2.1 innings, including two no-hit innings to begin the game and allowing three runs on three hits. Kapostasy would also strike out two batters.
VU got two big innings out of the bullpen in game one from freshman Cauy Motsinger (Huntingburg, Ind.) who allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one.
The Trailblazers looked to bounce back in game two and wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, scoring in the first inning again after a lead-off walk by freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) and would later score to give VU the 1-0 lead.
Heartland would answer back immediately, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to grab the lead back.
Vincennes would even the score in the third after lead-off singles by Burdette and Long. The two would score on a two-RBI double by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).
The Hawks would grab the lead back in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs of their own.
Heartland would grow their lead with four runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth as Vincennes fell in game two 13-3.
Sophomore Kestler Harbuck (Brooksville, Fla.) took the mound in game two and lasted three innings, allowing nine runs on seven hits and punching out one batter.
Sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.) entered out of the bullpen to throw an inning and a third, allowing four runs on four hits.
“Obviously Heartland is pretty good,†VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “They are 18-0 in Conference games and they’ve got a really solid ball club. We’ve got to do a better job on the mound. We’ve got to compete a little bit better than what we did.â€
“I thought a few guys threw pretty well for us, Nick Kapostasy did a great job,†Barney added. “He got through the order one time and he threw more pitches than he has ever thrown for us. Some other guys have to step up after that. We were our own worst enemy in game one, we gave up 11 runs on six hits. I thought Motsinger threw alright at the end.â€
“Game two was the same thing,†Barney said. “It’s hard to play when you are behind. We jump out and get some momentum and then we give it right back to them, giving up three runs on one hit. It’s just one of those things that we have to get better at and the good news is we get the chance to bounce back tomorrow.â€
Vincennes got a few good days out of the plate with Peyton Lane collecting two hits in his two plate appearances, including a double and was hit by pitch.
Colton Evans came away with a pair of hits in game two, including a double and a pair of RBI’s.
“Those two have been doing it all year, that’s why they are hitting three and four for us in the order,†Barney said. “Hopefully they can sustain it and keep it rolling for us and hopefully get a few more contributions from them and a lot of guys in the lineup tomorrow.â€
The Trailblazers will look to close out the weekend strong as VU will head back to the Corn Crib Saturday, April 16 for the final two games of the series. First pitch tomorrow is set for 2 p.m. eastern.
“There is a lot to this weekend; one, we’re seeing the top team in the league,†Barney said. “Two, you are playing on the same field that you will here in about five weeks for the conference tournament, so we get a feel for that.â€
“Tomorrow we have the opportunity to jump out in front,†Barney added. “We’ve got VanLannen going in game one. We’ve still got our solid bullpen with Nichols and Osborn ready to throw and a few other guys that can go tomorrow. I told my guys, the challenge is, let’s get a win or two here tomorrow and let’s play 16 innings. Play all 16 innings and then we will get on the road and get home feeling good about ourselves.â€
Eagles outshined by Stars, 5-2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis (7-7, 0-3 GLVC) could not gain momentum as it falls to University of Illinois Springfield (7-8, 2-2 GLVC), 5-2, Saturday afternoon at Wesselman Park. The Screaming Eagles have not won a conference match since April 2019.
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DOUBLES: USI found some success in doubles competition when the sophomore combination of Rachel McCorkle (Tulsa Oklahoma)/Lauren Rowe (Terre Haute, Indiana) won their respective game in a tie breaker, 7-6 (7-2).
SINGLES: Rowe nabbed the first point for the Eagles after her 6-3, 6-3 victory in the one slot. Freshman Madison Windham (Clarksville, Tennessee) recorded the only other point for USI after her tie-breaking win (1-6, 6-4, 1-0) in the six hole.
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COMING UP FOR THE EAGLES:
USI will conclude the home schedule against McKendree University at USI Tennis Courts tomorrow at 11 a.m. for senior day. The Bearcats (6-9, 0-4 GLVC) will take the trip to the tri-state area on senior day where the Eagles will honor senior Kylie Skepnek and head coach Keely Porter who will be retiring at the conclusion of the season. USI holds an 8-2 overall record against McKendree but lost the last meeting (5-2) in April 2021.
Marah Wood homers twice in Friday doubleheader
Aces look to win series finale on Saturday
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Marah Wood blasted two home runs for the University of Evansville softball team in Friday’s doubleheader against Missouri State at Cooper Stadium. After taking an 8-2 win in the opener, the Bears held on for a 4-1 victory in game two.
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Game One – Missouri State 8, UE 2
Marah Wood hit a pair of solo home runs, but three long balls from Missouri State gave them an 8-2 victory. The Bears opened the scoring in the top half of the second when Annie Mueller hit a 2-run shot to left. Wood got one of the runs right back in the bottom of the frame, hitting a solo shot to left.
Missouri State used the long ball once again to make it a 3-1 game when Olivia Krehbiel hit a shot to left. Mueller struck again with a 2-run double in the sixth before the Bears tacked on three more in the seventh. Wood hit her 7th home run of the season in the bottom of the 7th to make it a final of 8-2. Steffany Dickerson picked up the win for MSU, allowing one run on three hits in six innings. Izzy Vetter suffered the loss and fell to 14-8 on the season.
Game Two – Missouri State 4, UE 1
An unearned run opened the scoring for the Bears in the top of the first to open game two. Another run crossed the plate in the third when a double by Madison Hunsaker scored Daphne Plummer, who tripled to lead off the inning.
Picking up right where she left off from game one, Marah Wood had the big RBI knock to get UE on the scoreboard. Her 2-out single in the third brought in Zoe Frossard to make it a 2-1 game. Frossard reached on a leadoff double. The Bears countered in the top of the sixth when a McKenzie Vaughan single plated the third run of the contest before an unearned run in the seventh capped off the scoring.
Hannah Hood gave the Aces some life with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh before MSU pitcher Steffany Dickerson recorded the final three outs on the way to her second win of the day. She tossed the final four innings and gave up two hits. Sydney Weatherford had a solid start in the circle. In seven innings, she gave up four runs, two of which were earned.
UE looks to pick up a win in the final game of the series on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Women’s golf looks to defend MVC Championship
Aces head to Missouri for conference championship
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Greenbriar Hills Country Club in Kirkwood, Missouri will be the site of 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championship with the University of Evansville women’s golf team looking to defend their title from 2021.
Comprised of 54 holes, the championship will feature one round of 18 each day between Sunday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 19. Par is set for 71 while the yardage checks in at 5,830. All ten MVC schools will be playing in the tournament.
It was just one year ago when the Purple Aces made their improbable run to the first-ever women’s golf conference championship in program history. Following the opening two rounds, the Aces led the field by 10 strokes. With a steady snow falling throughout the final round, Evansville held strong to force a playoff hole against Northern Iowa.
Only one hole was needed for the Aces to clinch the championship with Sophia Rohleder taking medalist. Following her graduation, UE brings extensive experience into the 2022 championship with four out of five returning from the 2021 championship run. Allison Enchelmayer tied for the 12th position last April while Alyssa McMiinn also picked up a top 20 finish, tying for 17th.
Caitlin O’Donnell set the tone for the Purple Aces in last year’s opening round, shooting a 73 to put Evansville in position to hold the double-digit lead following the first two rounds. Mallory Russell came home in the 32nd position in her first MVC event. Her biggest contribution came on the playoff hole where she hit the first shot off the tee, which set the Aces up for the playoff win.
This year, Russell holds the low stroke average for the Aces. She enters the championship with a 78.81 average. Russell excelled in the fall, tying for 6th at the Briar Ridge Invitational while recording a 77.20 average in the opening months of the season. Enchelmayer (79.58) and McMinn (79.79) also hold averages under 80 at the completion of the regular season. Set to make her inaugural championship appearance is freshman Magdalena Borisova.
Borisova has the second-lowest spring average for UE, sitting at 79.64. Over her last seven rounds, Borisova has posted a 77.57 average. Her top finish was a tie for fourth at the Indiana State Invitational.
Preventing Child Abuse In Indiana
| Preventing Child Abuse In Indiana | |||||
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Every child deserves to grow up in a safe and supportive home without harm, neglect or abuse. The scars of physical or emotional trauma can last a lifetime.
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In some cases, abuse is so severe, it can end in a tragic loss. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an average of five children die every day nationwide from child abuse. In Indiana, 281 children died from child abuse in 2020, according to a study from the Indiana Department of Child Services. Last October, 4-year-old Judah Morgan, of LaPorte County, died from blunt force trauma after alleged child abuse, according to court records. In response, state legislators passed a new law to expand the state’s reporting on child deaths, which could help children in need sooner and prevent tragedies. House Enrolled Act 1247 will help collect more data that can be used by DCS, and state and local officials to better identify risk factors and develop stronger policies to protect Indiana’s most vulnerable. |
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The goal is to learn from these tragedies, intervene sooner, increase public awareness and draft better laws to protect these children.The National Child Abuse Coalition estimates at least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year. The Indiana Department of Child Services says it receives around 15,000 phone calls every month to report suspected child abuse or neglect in our state. If you suspect abuse, it must be reported to the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. Reports can be made anonymously 24/7. |
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Attorney General Defends Rule Of Law With Supreme Court Action
Attorney General Todd Rokita today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to sustain the nation’s “Remain in Mexico†policy as a means of protecting states from the tidal wave of illegal immigrants flooding over the nation’s southern border.
He is leading a 19-state coalition fighting the Biden administration’s unlawful efforts to provide illegal immigrants free and easy entry into the United States.
“As I witnessed firsthand on behalf of all Hoosiers, we pay an enormous price for the Biden administration’s complete disregard of their duties at the southern border,†Attorney General Rokita said. “No one is above the law in America, and we are simply insisting that the Biden administration follow the law.â€
On behalf of Hoosiers, Attorney General Rokita has traveled to the border twice during his administration to assess conditions and discuss policies with leaders from other states.
“The rule of law is the framework that enables American liberty to survive and thrive,†Attorney General Rokita said. “The situation at our southern border provides the perfect example of how going soft on the rule of law gives rise to anarchy, chaos, and ultimately the erosion of our freedom and safety.â€
The Remain in Mexico rule — formally titled the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) — requires that immigrants without clear authorization to cross the southern border into the United States be required either to be detained or remain in Mexico while their cases are examined.
Implemented under President Donald Trump in January 2019, the rule successfully stemmed the tide of illegal immigrants pouring into the United States until the Biden administration illegally suspended the policy in January 2021.
From January 2019 through December 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) returned over 68,000 aliens to Mexico as part of MPP.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS primarily used the public-health rule known as Title 42 (rather than MPP) to expel 102,234 aliens in 2020 and 111,174 in the beginning of 2021.
In January 2021, President Joe Biden illegally directed the DHS to ignore MPP. After MPP was suspended under Biden, border encounters surged from around 78,000 in January 2021 to about 178,000 in April 2021 and then to nearly 214,000 in July 2021.
In the last year, the federal government has released unprecedented numbers of aliens into the states — approximately 758,000 between January 2021 and February 2022.
Federal agencies are legally required to properly consider the consequences of their actions on states and their citizens before making policy changes. That consideration did not occur before DHS threw open the southern border to new hordes of illegal immigrants.
“The individual states and our taxpayers are the ones footing the bill for social services like health care, education and other government assistance for illegal immigrants,†Attorney General Rokita said. “The lawless crisis at the border makes every state a border state. We are the ones endangered by the rapid escalation of human trafficking, fentanyl, and other drugs and criminals sent by cartels to our communities.â€
Former President Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy was designed to achieve greater compliance with longstanding immigration laws passed by Congress.
Those laws require that immigrants not clearly authorized to cross the Mexican border into the U.S. be either 1) detained, 2) required to stay in Mexico or 3) “paroled†into the United States based on narrowly defined case-by-case circumstances featuring “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.â€
The federal government has no authority, however, to simply issue paroles en masse to permit illegal immigrants to reside in the United States.
U.S. district and appeals courts already ruled that MPP must be reinstated until the Biden administration follows proper legal procedures to change it, including consideration of alternative policies and the impact on states.
Attorney General Rokita last year led a successful multistate brief supporting the conclusion eventually reached by the appellate court. He and the other attorneys general are now asking the Supreme Court to uphold the earlier decisions.
Jada Burton Running For District 77 House Seat Currently Held By Democrat Ryan Hatfield)
JADA BURTON HOSTING A “COFFEE WITH YOUR CANDIDATE†EVENTÂ
(Ms. Burton Is Running For House District 77 Seat Currently Held By Democrat Ryan Hatfield)
April16, 2022
(Evansville, IN) Jada Burton, the candidate for Indiana’s 77th House District, is holding “Coffee With Your Candidate†at River City Coffee + Goods on Sunday, April 10 from 2 pm to 3 pm. This event is open to the public and will give voters a chance to meet, pose questions, and voice concerns to Burton.
Burton is a graduate of Bosse High School. Currently, she is a psychology student at the University of Southern Indiana. Burton was motivated to run for office because of her passion for helping others and wants to give local Hoosiers a fresh, inviting individual to best represent their voice.
One of the key issues for Burton’s campaign is tackling high prices from Centerpoint Energy. Energy prices in Vanderburgh County have risen dramatically in recent years, which Burton attributes to Centerpoint’s state-granted monopoly.
Burton’s candidacy as a Libertarian comes in the wake of Donald Rainwater’s (L) unprecedented run for governor in 2020, who placed second in more than one-third of Indiana counties.
To learn more about Jada Burton’s campaign, or how to support her, please visit https://www.jadaburton.com/
EPA Publishes 29th Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
WASHINGTON (April 14, 2022) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 29th annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHG Inventory), which presents a national-level overview of annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2020. Net U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were 5,222.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020, a nearly 11% decrease in emissions from 2019. The sharp decline in emissions from 2019 to 2020 is largely due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on travel and economic activity. However, the decline also reflects the combined impacts of several factors, including population trends, energy market trends, technological changes including energy efficiency improvements, and the carbon intensity of energy fuel choices.Â
“The annual Inventory reflects EPA’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the data that inform all of our actions on climate change†said Joseph Goffman, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. “Each year, EPA follows a rigorous and open process to engage with researchers, federal partners and stakeholders and incorporate new information, resulting in a national Inventory that is unsurpassed in scope and quality.â€Â Â
For this latest release, EPA has made several important improvements. For example, EPA has added estimates for two important sources of methane: emissions from post-meter uses of natural gas, which includes leak emissions from residential and commercial appliances, industrial facilities and power plants, and natural gas fueled vehicles; and emissions from flooded lands such as hydroelectric and agricultural reservoirs. Additionally, the EPA worked with researchers to include estimates of methane emissions from large anomalous leak events, such as well blow-outs. Â
The GHG Inventory covers seven key greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. In addition to tracking U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the Inventory also calculates carbon dioxide that is removed from the atmosphere through the uptake of carbon in forests and other vegetation. 
This impartial, policy neutral report has been compiled annually since 1993 and submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report is prepared by EPA in collaboration with numerous experts from other federal agencies, state government authorities, research and academic institutions, and industry associations. Under the UNFCCC, national inventories for UNFCCC Annex I parties should be provided to the UNFCCC Secretariat each year by April 15.Â
In an effort to engage the public and researchers across the country, EPA conducts an annual public review and comment process for this document. The document was made available on the EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions website and announced via Federal Register Notice for 30 days. Comments received after the closure of the public comment period are accepted and considered for the next edition of this annual report. Public review of this year’s report occurred from February 15 to March 17, 2022, and comments received are posted to the docket EPAHQ-OAR-2022-0001. Responses to comments will be posted to EPA’s website within 2-4 weeks following publication of this report.Â
EVSC Names Austin Brooks New Reitz Head Basketball Coach
The EVSC Board of School Trustees approved the appointment of Austin Brooks as the new boy’s varsity basketball coach at Reitz High School.
After a successful high school career as a local student-athlete, Brooks attended Ancilla College in Donaldson, Indiana where he holds the top records for field goals, free throws, and assists made while a member of the basketball team. From there, Brooks attended Southern Illinois University of Carbondale (SIUC) under the leadership of head coach Matt Painter and Chris Lowery and head assistant coach Rodney Watson until his graduation in May 2008. While at SIUC, Brooks’ team advanced to the NCAA tournament consecutively for three years.
For the last 14 years, Brooks has coached high school basketball at McCluer South Berkeley High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and Evansville Day School where he led the team to their second sectional championship in school history. He also spent the last three years as coach at Boonville High School where, under this leadership, they advanced to the sectional championship game for the first time in over ten years.
“Austin Brooks is an energetic and engaging coach who comes highly recommended. He also has the passion, knowledge, and energy to continue to build upon the remarkable success within the Reitz basketball program,†said Dr. Andy Owen, EVSC Director Of Athletics.
In addition to serving as the head basketball coach, Brooks also will teach at Reitz.