EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball was swept in a GLVC doubleheader by #28(ABCA)/#18 (NCBWA) University of Illinois Springfield, 9-2 and 19-2, Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles are 13-15 overall and 2-4 in the GLVC, while Illinois Springfield is 22-6 overall, 3-3 in the league.   
 
Game 1:
A big six-run seventh inning doomed USI in the opening game, 9-2. The Eagles allowed two in the second, one in the third, and six in the seventh in the game one loss.
 
USI had the early lead, 1-0, when sophomore leftfielder Gavin McLarty (Buckner, Kentucky) hit his second home run of the season in the second inning. McLarty doubled hit his season total in the opening game by posting a team-best three hits in four plate appearances.
 
The Prairie Stars took the lead for good in the bottom of the second with a two-run blast and increased the lead to 3-1 with a solo shot in the third. The score would remain 3-1 run until the sixth when USI cut the deficit to 3-2 on a RBI-single by McLarty.
 
Since entering the line-up versus Maryville University, McLarty is .500 (6-12) at the plate with two home runs and nine RBIs (six games).
 
USI had a chance to overtake Illinois Springfield in the sixth and seventh, but left a pair of Eagles on base in the sixth and the bases jammed in the seventh.
 
Illinois Springfield put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh when it scored six times to extend the lead to 9-2. The Eagles did not challenge in the final two frames as the Stars closed the door on the victory.
 
USi sophomore right-hander/designate hitter Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) took the tough loss for the Eagles. Robinson (2-4), who pitched well until the Stars exploded in the seventh, allowed six runs on five hits and a walk, while striking six.
 
Game 2:
USI could not get on track and was grounded by Illinois Springfield, 19-2, as the Stars completed a doubleheader sweep of the Eagles.
 
The Stars built a 15-0 lead before the Eagles could get on the scoreboard in the nightcap. USI scored its only runs of the game in the sixth when junior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) hit a two-run blast. The home run was McNew’s team-best fifth of the season.
 
On the mound, senior right-hander Brice Stuteville (Rockport, Indiana) took the loss after going on four innings. Stuteville (4-2) allowed 10 runs on 10 hits and three walks, while striking out five.

UE looks to avoid sweep on Sunday

 NORMAL, Ill. – Game one on Saturday saw Illinois State rally for a 3-2 win before the Redbirds took a 9-0 decision in game two to sweep a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader against the University of Evansville softball team.

 

Game One – ISU 3, UE 2

Saturday’s opener came right down to the wire with Illinois State hanging on for a 3-2 win.  The Redbirds took a 1-0 lead when Abby Knight led the fourth inning off with a solo home run.  ISU continued to reach base in the inning, loading the bags with one out.  Izzy Vetter pitched out of the jam to keep the deficit at one.

Things remained that way until the sixth inning when the Purple Aces stormed back.  Marah Wood hit an inside the park home run to give UE its first lead.  Pinch runner Paige McAllister also scored on the play.  Unfortunately, the Redbirds went right back in front as they opened the bottom half of the sixth with a double before Dayna Kennedy homered to make it a 3-2 game

Down to its final three outs, the Aces staged a rally. Mackenzie McFeron singled to lead while Jessica Fehr and Alex Barnaby walked to load the bases with one out.  The Redbirds were able to buckled down and get the final two outs to seal the win.  Hannah Ross took the win for ISU, allowing two runs on five hits.  Izzy Vetter suffered just her sixth loss of the season, allowing three runs on six hits.

Game Two – ISU 9, UE 0

Game two saw the Redbirds break it open in the bottom half of the third with Jayden Standish hit a grand slam to turn a scoreless contest into a 4-0 game.  They extended the lead even more with five runs in the fourth.  Addison Masching and Emme Olson highlighted the frame with 2-run knocks to push the lead to 9-0.

Evansville had its best scoring chance in the top of the second.  Marah Wood led off with a double before Haley Woolf was hit by a pitch.  Following a pair of strikeouts, Mackenzie McFeron walked to load the bases, but a groundout ended the threat.  Alyssa Barela added a double in the third while McFeron hit a single in the fifth; but Amanda Fox answered each time, finishing with 10 strikeouts to seal the win.

Sunday’s finale is set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.

FAIRFIELD, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers are taking advantage of their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) bye week with four straight games against NJCAA Division I opponents, beginning with a two-game set with Frontier Community College.

VU traveled to Fairfield, Ill. Saturday afternoon to take part in a single nine-inning game as part of a two-game home-and-home series with the Bobcats.

The host Bobcats got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the first inning, including getting three runs in the first three pitches of the game.

VU would begin their comeback in the fourth when freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) led off the inning with a single and came around to score on an RBI single by sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.).

The Trailblazers would get another run in the fifth after freshman Will Egger (Terre Haute, Ind.) reached base on an error and would score on an RBI single by Burdette to cut the Frontier lead to 4-2.

The Bobcats would increase their lead with a run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh.

Vincennes would again cut the deficit in the eighth with a two-out, two-run home run by VanLannen.

The Trailblazers would try to complete the comeback in the ninth inning with a double by freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Kapostasy would score when the next batter, freshman Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.) drove him in with an RBI single.

Vincennes would be unable to complete the comeback however as Frontier finished off the 7-5 win over VU.

“It was a rough start, the first three hitters got on base on three pitches, with the third guy hitting a home run to put them up 3-0,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “They got a base hit later in the inning to score again, so they got four runs in the first. But to our credit it finished as a 7-5 game and our guys battled back.”

“Later on in the game Kapostasy comes through with a big hit in the ninth and Elliott scores him with an RBI single,” Barney added. “We get the tying run to the plate with Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) who has done it all year for us and it just, unfortunately, didn’t work out today.”

VanLannen got the start on the mound and settled in after a rough first inning to throw four innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out five.

VanLannen also came through at the plate, with a pair of hits, including a home run and three RBI’s on the day.

“Connor did a good job of separating the pitching and hitting parts of his game today,” Barney said. “And really he did a pretty nice job on the mound after the first three hitters. He threw four innings and we got him out at around 70-75 pitches, which we wanted to do to make sure he was ready for next weekend. But he settled in and did a good job.”

“He separated at the plate, Ethan Burdette had two big hits and an RBI. Elliott came off the bench in the ninth and got an RBI,” Barney added. “The middle part of our order has done it all year for us, just unfortunately today it didn’t happen for us.”

Sophomore Braedon Nichols (Sullivan, Ind.) was the first out of the bullpen for Vincennes Saturday, as Nichols lasted two and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on three hits and punching out two batters.

Nick Kapostasy entered to close out the seventh and threw the final one and one-third innings without allowing a hit and striking out three.

“Nichols did a good job on the mound,” Barney said. “He left one pitch up that their guy hit for a two-run homer. Kapostasy did a great job coming in relief of Nichols. We used three guys on the mound and those two did a good job.”

UE comes home in sixth place

 MURRAY, Ky. – Leading the way in the final standings for the University of Evansville women’s golf team was Alyssa McMinn, who picked up a top ten finish at the Murray State Jan Weaver Invite.

McMinn completed the second round on Saturday with an 80.  Her final tally of 156 gave her a tie for 9^th place in the final individual standings to lead the Purple Aces.  Magdalena Borisova and Allison Enchelmayer tied for the 18^th position.  Both finished with 2-round scores of 159.  Borisova carded an 80 in Saturday’s final round.  Enchelmayer registered an 84 in the final 18 to pick up a top 20 finish.

Mallory Russell was the #4 finisher for UE and tied for 25^th in the final finishing order.  After posting an 82 on Friday, Russell lowered her score to a 79 to finish the event with a 161.  Caitlin O’Donnell notched an 84 in the last 18 holes and scored a 169 in the two rounds.

Evansville’s low round of the day belonged to Carly Frazier.  A 6-over 78 saw her jump to 41^st in the standings.  After opening the tournament with an 88, Frazier knocked 10 strokes off her score in round two and finished with a 166.

Samford cruised to the team championship, defeating second-place Belmont by 14 strokes.  Shooting a 305 on Saturday – the low round of the tournament – Samford posted a 614.  Evansville came in sixth place with a 635, which was four behind a third-place tie between Southern Mississippi and North Carolina A&T.  Sophie Membrino of Samford was the medalist with a 2-round total of 151.  She came in one shot ahead of a second-place tie.

UE has its sights set on defending its Missouri Valley Conference Championship.  Running from April 17-19, it will be held in St. Louis.