EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball bowed out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a 90-68 loss to University of Missouri-St. Louis in the semifinals Friday evenings at First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois. USI, the fifth seed, finishes the season 18-8 overall, while UMSL, the fourth seed, advances with a 22-6.
 
The Screaming Eagles went toe to toe with the Tritons for the first 10 minutes of the contest and was even with UMSL at 19-19 at 10:21 of the first half. UMSL created some distance between itself and the Eagles in the final 10, outscoring USI, 24-13, to lead at the break 43-32.
 
The Tritons exploded out of the locker room to start the second half and extend their lead to as many as 20 points, 54-34, with 16:05 remaining. USI would try to claw back into the game, reducing the margin to 16 points several times, but that would be as close they would come the rest of the game.
 
Junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) led the Eagles with a season-high 23 points, while junior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and senior guard Clayton Hughes (Jackson, Tennessee) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points each.
 
 

UE defeats Oakland and Green Bay

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Opening day at Cooper Stadium saw the University of Evansville softball team pick up a pair of victories, defeating Oakland by a 9-1 final before hanging on to defeat Green Bay, 6-4.

 

Game One – UE 9, Oakland 1

Alexa Davis hit her first home run of the season to highlight a 9-1 win over Oakland on Friday morning.  She had four RBI and scored twice.  Jenna Nink also added a pair of scores in the 5-inning win.

Things got off to a fast start for the Aces, who scored five times in the first inning.  Jessica Fehr led off with a single before a Marah Wood walk and a Nink single loaded the bases with one out.  Alyssa Barela picked up the first RBI of the day with the first of four bases loaded walks in the frame.  Hannah Hood picked up the other RBI in the inning when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Nink scored on a passed ball in the second to extend the lead to 6-0.

Oakland came through with a run in the fourth, but Izzy Vetter limited the damage on the way to her 8^th win of the spring.  The UE offense got back to work in the fifth, recording three more runs to clinch the win.  All three runs came from the bat of Davis, who launched her first career homer to bring in Barela and Elyse Hickey.  After allowing a single to open the fifth, Vetter recorded the final three outs to finish the win.  She gave up one run on two hits and struck out seven.

 

Game Two – UE 6, Green Bay 4

In the nightcap, the Aces fended off a furious rally by the Phoenix to take a 6-4 win.  Jessica Fehr and Alexa Davis recorded two hits apiece while earn scoring a run.  Marah Wood scored twice.

Following a scoreless three innings, both teams scored a run in the fourth.  The Phoenix took a 1-0 lead before the Aces got the run right back when Marah Wood singled through the left side before Jenna Nink brought her home with a double down the right field line.

UE erupted for four runs in the bottom of the fifth with Zoe Frossard scoring the first run of her career on a Davis single.  Nink added a sacrifice fly for the second run before Davis came home on a wild pitch.  Alyssa Barela singled up the middle to cap off the rally and make it a 5-1 game.

Green Bay chopped the lead in half when Alicia Peters hit a home run to right in the top of the sixth before Davis added another RBI in the bottom of the inning to give Evansville a 6-3 edge.  The Phoenix took one last crack at it in the seventh, adding a run while loading the bases, but a pop out to first ended the threat and gave the Aces the win.

Sydney Weatherford made the start and recorded the second win of her career.  She threw 5 1/3 innings.  Paige McAllister tossed the final 1 2/3 on the way to the first save of her career.  On Saturday, the Aces will take on Morehead State at 11:30 a.m.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball continued to roll against ranked teams, posting an 11-3 victory over seventh-ranked Trevecca Nazarene University Friday to start a three-game series at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles are 6-1 to start the year, while Trevecca is 10-2 in 2022.   
 
The USI win broke Trevecca’s winning streak against the GLVC this spring. Nine of the 10 Trevecca’s wins this spring came against the GLVC’s Rockhurst University, Lewis University, and Truman State University.
 
USI grabbed a first inning lead, 1-0, when junior catcher Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) doubled in senior shortstop Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute, Indiana) from second with one out. Hunter had reached on a walk and stole second to get into scoring position.
 
After the Trojans scored twice in the top of the second to take the lead, USI rebound to knot the game at 2-2 when sophomore second baseman Nolan Cook (Evansville, Indiana) doubled in sophomore third baseman Tyler Wheeler (Sellersburg, Indiana) from first.
 
The score would remain tied until the top of the fifth when Trevecca took a 3-2 lead on a wild pitch by senior right-hander Brice Stuteville (Rockport, Indiana). The Eagles rebounded with a five-run bottom half of the inning with the aid of a Trevecca error.
 
Hunter got the scoring started in the fifth, crossing the plate on a fielder’s choice. McNew brought in the second run of the frame on a throwing error before sophomore centerfielder Steven Molinet (Elberfeld, Indiana) knocked in a run on a single and Cook finished the scoring with a two-run single to left for a 7-3 lead.
 
The Eagles increased the margin to 11-3 with a four-run eighth. McNew struck again with a two-triple down the right field line before sophomore leftfielder Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) blasted a two-run shot over the centerfield wall to set the 11-3 final.
 
For the game at the plate, McNew, Robinson, and Cook led the way with three RBIs each in the victory.
 
On the mound, Stuteville (1-0) was nearly perfect for the Eagles in six-plus innings of relief work on the mound. The senior right-hander picked up his first win of the year by allowing one run on four hits and three walks in addition to striking out six batters.
 
Junior left-hander Sammy Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) finished the game for USI getting the final three outs of the ninth and stranding the bases loaded full of Trojans. USI junior right-hander Garrett Welch (New Castle, Indiana) made an abreviated start, only going the first two innings. Welch allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out two.