| by Wendy McNamara | |||||
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According to the American Cancer Society, more than 9,000 children in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2025. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14, and over 1,000 children under age 15 are expected to die from cancer in 2025.
Legislation I supported to create new grant programs for pediatric and breast cancer research recently passed the Indiana legislature and has now been signed into law by the governor. Through House Enrolled Act 1453, both the Pediatric Cancer Research and Treatment Grant Program and the Breast Cancer Research Fund will focus on providing grant funding for innovative research into novel forms of treatment. By helping to fund these novel therapies and treatments, Indiana could become a leader in important medical research, saving Hoosier lives. Click here to learn more about legislation passed during the 2025 legislative session. |
Advancing pediatric and breast cancer research
IS IT TRUE
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S IT TRUE that if every man, woman, and child in Evansville sent $13,823.01 to the Civic Center, we could retire all of the city’s bond debt?
IS IT TRUE that Indiana Lt. Governor Mike Beckwith was slammed for making an allegation that Democrats pay for Black voter turnout?
IS IT TRUE that it’s been alleged by felible sources that Indiana Lt. Governor Mike Beckwith ask members of the Budget Committee to approve a new staff member and pay him or her a wh
Baseball ends season with a high-scoring loss to Bradley
The Purple Aces’ five-spot in the fifth wasn’t enough to take the series
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Coming back from an eight-run deficit didn’t keep the University of Evansville baseball team in its final game of the 2025 season, falling to the Bradley Braves 23-11.
The Purple Aces came back from an early eight-run deficit on Saturday afternoon. But 12 unanswered runs from Bradley after UE tied the game brought Evansville’s season to a close in eight innings. The Aces were led on offense by sophomore left fielder Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) with three hits and five RBIs in four at-bats.
The Braves jumped out to a large lead early with two bases loaded walked in runs, a grand slam, and another home run. UE went to the plate for the first time that afternoon, already back eight runs. Evansville’s offense answered with two runs of its own in the bottom frame of the first.
The Aces had two hits to start as Longmeier singled through the right side and second baseman Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) doubled to right center. A sacrifice fly from catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) scored Longmeier while a sacrifice fly double play from right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC) brought home McGinnis.
Both teams went down in order during the second inning. The Braves added another run to their total in the top of the third on an RBI double. UE’s offense kept answering as Evansville put two more hits into play in the bottom of the third.
Longmeier hit his only triple of the year in his second at-bat to score third baseman Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS), who led off the inning with a single of his own. Longmeier then made his way home on the next play as an error from Bradley’s shortstop on a knock from McGinnis gave him time to score the Aces’ fourth run.
The game continued at a back-and-forth pace as the Braves added a run in the fourth on a walk and two singles. UE added two more runs of its own as first baseman Ben Stuart (Mason, Ohio / William Mason HS) and Howard crossed on two singles and a double. Bradley again added a single run in the top of the fifth at German American Bank Field to widen its lead back to five runs.
Evansville had its biggest offensive inning in the bottom of the fifth as it looked like the tides were turning its way. The Aces sent eight hitters to the plate through the frame, starting the bottom of the fifth with three straight hits. Taubert added his eighth home run of the year with a moon shot to right, scoring himself and outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS).
Designated hitter Aaron Nehls (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) followed up the homer with a double to left, putting UE right back into scoring position. Howard reached base for his third straight plate appearance after two quick outs for Evansville. It was Longmeier who had the biggest hit of the inning, as he hit a no-doubter out of left field, tying the game at 11-11.
But the Aces weren’t able to score again in the final three innings of the game as they didn’t get past the batter’s box. It was all the Braves as they added six hits to score 12 runs with help from two errors and nine free bases. UE sent its two seniors who didn’t start the game to the plate in the bottom of the eighth for their final at-bats in an Evansville uniform. Neither Evan Waggoner (Bedford, Ind. / North Bedford Lawrence HS) nor Kevin McCormick (Orland Park, Ill. / St. Laurence HS) reached first base, but both made contact with a deep flyout to center and a close groundout to third.
The Aces end the 2025 season with a 17-37 overall record and a 10-17 MVC record. UE says goodbye to seven members of its roster this summer in Rumsey, McGinnis, Flaherty, Stuart, Waggoner, McCormick, and pitcher Jacob Jarvis (Farmington, Mo. / Jefferson College). Combined the six position players accounted for 222 hits, 45 doubles, 14 home runs, 132 RBIs, 114 runs scored, 73 walks, and 721 at-bats. While Jarvis pitched 10 innings in 10 appearances, with seven strikeouts.
Eagles win series with 5-4 victory Slack doubles in game-winner in the 9th
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana junior shortstop Clayton Slack doubled in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Screaming Eagles a 5-4 victory and series win at Lindenwood University Saturday afternoon in St. Charles, Missouri. USI is 27-28 overall and 15-12 in the OVC, while Lindenwood goes to 27-28, 14-12 OVC.
With the win, USI takes hold of fifth in the OVC standings and will be the fifth seed in the OVC Championship. The OVC Championship, presented by SERVPRO, will be May 21-24 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. For more information about the OVC Championship, visit OVCSports.com.
The Eagles will play the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the first round of the single-elimination day of the conference tournament at 9 a.m. May 21.
USI got on the scoreboard quickly in the first inning when junior first baseman Cole Kitchens hit a two-run blast for a 2-0 lead. The home run was Kitchens’ team-best 12th of the season.
The Screaming Eagles extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth on an RBI single by junior catcher Micajah Wall with two outs, scoring sophomore third baseman Parker Martin from third.
The Lions rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth with three runs to knot the game at 3-3. Lindenwood would take its only lead of the game in the seventh with a tally to make the score, 4-3.
USI bounced back to knot the game, 4-4, in the eighth when Kitchens singled in senior centerfielder Khi Holiday with the tying run. Kitchens’ third RBI of the game set the stage for Slack in the ninth.
Eagles’ sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd extended his hitting streak to a team-best 20 games this season. The USI overall hitting streak record is 26 games, which is held by Kyle Kempf (last 12 games of 2015 and the first 14 of 2016), while the single-season record is 21 games, which is held by Logan Brown (2018).
Wall singled to start the ninth and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. Slack doubled off the left field wall as Wall crossed the plate with the eventual game-winning 5-4 run.
USI sophomore right-hander Abdriel Figueroa closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning for his second save of the series. Figueroa got a pair of groundouts and struck out in the ninth inning.
The 5-4 victory went to junior right-hander Blake Kimball, who posted his team-best sixth win of the season. Kimball permitted a run on three hits, while striking out in 2.0 innings.
VU’s Sophia Salvi claims fourth straight title at Outdoor Nationals
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Vincennes University sophomore pole vaulter Sophia Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) completed the clean sweep, claiming her fourth NJCAA Pole Vaulting National Championship Thursday at the 2025 NJCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships hosted by Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan.
Salvi got the Trailblazer Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams off to a hot start to the three-day meet, winning the pole vault National Championship after clearing a height of 3.81 meters, her fourth National Championship in the past two years.
The Thursday events continued for the VU women’s team when freshman Zoe Allen (Anderson, Ind.) competed in the 400 meter hurdles, taking 15th place overall with a final time of 1:04.23.
On the men’s side Thursday freshman Anthony Keene (Harrisburg, Ill.) claimed the VU men’s team’s first All-American honors on the weekend, taking second place overall in the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.96 meters.
Sophomore Malik Ferdinand (Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) continued the day by taking 27th place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 47.51 seconds.
VU sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) was also active during the opening day of the Outdoor National Championships, competing in the first five events of the Decathlon.
Bush opened the Decathlon strong by taking fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.10 seconds, before climbing up the leaderboard with a first place finish in the long jump with a distance of 6.99 meters.
The strong start for Bush continued by taking fifth in the shot put with a throw of 11.07 meters, before closing out the first day by taking 12th in the high jump at 1.80 meters and 10th in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.84 seconds.
“Maliek got the competition started in the Decathlon with the 100 meters,” VU Interim Head Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “The track ran slow for everyone and he finished just off a PR, but keeping him in a good spot at the start. In the long jump, a lot of competitors were struggling to get a good mark but Maliek managed to get in a great jump of 6.99 meters and move himself into first place in the competition.”
“The shot put didn’t go as well as he wanted but he kept himself in second overall,” Steigenga added. “We wanted to get one more bar in the high jump but fell just short with Maliek brushing the bar off with the back of his calves on the last attempt. He finished day one in fifth place and in a good spot for day two.”
“In the field events, pole vault had an added challenge of cross winds and wind gusts throughout the competition that made it difficult for all competitors,” Steigenga said. “Sophia struggled at the opening height at first but managed to clear it on her third try. After that, she was clean through the next two bars until she won the competition and secured her fourth and final NJCAA pole vault title.”
“In the men’s vault, Anthony nearly matched Sophia with a runner up finish of his own,” Steigenga added. “He finished just off his PR and took three attempts at a new one in some very difficult jumping conditions where most athletes finish far off their PRs.”
“Zoe was the first individual running event to go on day one,” Steigenga said. “She got out slow in her heat of the 400 meter hurdles but managed to close hard and narrowly missed her PR by a quarter of a second. In the men’s 400 meters, Malik Ferdinand came away with a small 0.01 second PR and finished well ahead of his ranking going in.”
Bush continued the Decathlon Friday where he again opened the day strong, finishing third in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds, winning his heat.
The events continued with Bush claiming ninth in the discus with a throw of 28.65 meters and seventh in the pole vault after clearing a height of 3.50 meters.
Bush made a strong push to the end, taking second place in the javelin with a best throw of 46.48 meters before capping off the Decathlon by taking ninth place in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:12.20.
Bush closed out the Decathlon with a total of 6,319 points earned, placing him fourth overall and claiming the second All-American honors for the VU men’s team.
Friday was another busy day for the Trailblazers on the track, with freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) pulling double duty by taking 13th in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:56.21 and placing 32nd overall in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.60.
The Trailblazers 4×400 relay team of freshman Isaiah Ervin (French Lick, Ind.), sophomore Zion Pruitt (Avon, Ind.), freshman ArTezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Malik Ferdinand placed 20th on the leaderboard with a final time of 3:21.33.
The Friday men’s team events Friday were closed out by freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) who placed 14th in the high jump after clearing a height of 2.02 meters.
The VU Women’s team results from Friday were led by freshman Sara Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who placed 20th in the 1500 meters with a final time of 4:56.95.
Sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) also placed 20th in her event, taking the 20th spot overall in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 12:34.68.
Sophomore Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) closed out the day’s results by taking 34th overall in the 800 meters with a final time of 2:43.61.
“Maliek started off the second day of competition with a strong showing in the 110 hurdles,” Steigenga said. “He finished third overall in the event, which put him fifth in a tight field, just 48 points out of first. In the discus Maliek had to settle for a safety throw of 28.65. He was not able to improve on his subsequent throws.”
“For the pole vault, Maliek had a good jump of 3.50 meters that kept him right in the hunt,” Steigenga added. “In the javelin, he had the second best throw and heading into the last event he was fifth overall. In the 1500 meters, Maliek went out more determined and faster than he ever had and wound up moving up one spot to finish fourth overall with an 11 second PR.”
“In the running events, Anis had an off race in the 1500 and finished a spot out of qualifying for the finals,” Steigenga added. “Sara ran a good race in the women’s 1500 and finished a spot back of her ranking going in. Anis ran the 800 meters in an attempt to qualify but was too tired coming off such short rest.”
“Later in the men’s 4×400, the men got off to a good start with Isaiah and Zion running 49.3 and 49.1 second splits,” Steigenga said. “O the third leg, ArTezz lost both of his shoes and had to run the rest of his leg barefoot. Unfortunately ending the team’s chances to improve on their time from earlier in the year.”
Saturday came as the final day of competition at the Outdoor National Championships and the Blazers were once again active on the track to close out the weekend meet.
Freshman Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) closed out a strong weekend for the Vincennes women’s team by taking 34th overall in the 5000 meters with a time of 20:36.77.
On the men’s team side, sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) placed 25th overall in the 5000 meters with a time of 16:10.87.
Spence’s teammate, sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) finished just behind him with a final time of 17:14.61 to take 26th place overall.
“On the last day there were just three Trailblazers competing in the 5k,” Steigenga said. “By the time their events came, it was hot and the sun was shining, making for difficult running conditions. Despite the tough conditions, Alexis ran extremely well, just 15 seconds off her PR when a lot of runners ran over a minute slower. She has come a long way as a freshman and it will be awesome to see her improvement next year.”
USI men land four on podium at OVC Championships
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field racked up four podium finishes en route to an eighth-place showing at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships this week.
The Screaming Eagles opened the meet Thursday evening by landing three runners in the finals of the 1,500 meters. Senior Brady Terry, junior Isaac Stanford and freshman Griffen Wheeler all secured berths in Saturday’s final.
USI got the scoring started later in the evening as sophomores Alex Nolan and Landen Swiney raced to respective finishes of fourth and eighth place in the 10,000 meters.
Sophomore Joe Schwartz gave the Eagles two more points with a seventh-place showing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday afternoon, while Terry, Wheeler and Stanford ran to respective finishes of second, third and seventh in the finals of the 1,500 meters Saturday afternoon.
Nolan and sophomore Tyler Zimmerman capped off the scoring for USI with third and eighth-place showings in the 5,000 meters Saturday afternoon.
As a team, the Eagles finished with 31 points. Nolan accounted for 11 points to lead the Eagles, while Terry’s second-place showing in the 1,500 meters was worth another eight. The 1,500 meters ended up as the top scoring event for the Eagles as Terry, Wheeler and Stanford accounted for a combined 16 points.
Strong efforts in 5k/10k lead USI women to 7th at OVC meet
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Track & Field racked up a combined 44 points in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters en route to a seventh-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships this week.
Freshman Hadessah Austin won both races and was, once again, named the OVC Freshman of the Year—Austin was the OVC Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year in February.
After the Screaming Eagles saw a pair of runners—senior Audrey Comastri and freshman Maggie Smith—qualify for the finals in the 1,500 meters, USI churned out an impressive finish in the 10,000 meters Thursday night.
USI went 1-2-3 in the 10k, with sophomore Ellie Hall and senior Cameron Hough following Austin across the finish line.
Comastri, junior Emily Rempe and freshman Abrielle Richard secured berths in the finals of the 800 meters with strong efforts in the prelims on Friday.
Following the 800 meters, USI secured three more points as sophomore Sara Livingston and freshman Amber Fusner finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
On Saturday, Comastri got the scoring started for USI with a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 meters. She led for a majority of the race but faded in the final lap.
Comastri returned later in the day for an eighth-place finish in the finals of the 800 meters. USI had a solid scoring effort in the 800 meters as Rempe and Richard placed third and seventh, respectively.
Austin cruised to the victory in the 5,000 meters, while Hough and Hall finished third and fifth respectively.
As a team, USI finished with 59 points, just four points behind sixth-place Lindenwood and 13 behind SIU Edwardsville and Tennessee Tech for fourth place.
OVC Female Track Athlete of the Year: Sa’Nijah Houston, Lindenwood
OVC Female Field Athlete of the Year: Anna Thomason, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Freshman of the Year: Hadessah Austin, Southern Indiana
OVC Women’s Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Athlete of the Championship: Anna Thomason, Southeast Missouri
Felton III and Oulgout qualify for finals for UE track and field on the first day of the MVC Outdoor Conference Championships
The Purple Aces competed in 18 events in the first day of competition
CARBONDALE, Ill. – On the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Conference Championships, the University of Evansville track and field team reset four program records while qualifying for three finals.
After a day of competition, the Purple Aces men’s team is ninth of 10 teams while the women’s team is tied with two other schools for 10th. UE’s men qualified for three final events on Sunday as sophomore Raymond Felton III (Houston / Clear Brook) placed in the top five in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes while senior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn. / Central HS) placed fifth in the 800-meter race. Overall, Evansville had nine runners set new PRs with four new program records.
SPRINTS, HURDLES, & RELAYS
Junior Kate Walke (Batesville, Ind. / Oldenberg Academy) had the first short-distance event of the day with the 100-meter hurdles. Walke placed 12th in the event with a time of 15.27 seconds. The Aces then competed in the 400-meter races, where freshman Myles Terry (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) finished 12th with a time of 49.81 seconds. While on the women’s side, sophomore Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) finished a place higher in 11th place with a time of 56.77 seconds to rebreak her program record by just under three tenths of a second.
In the 100-meter dash events, Felton III qualified for Sunday’s final in third with a new PR of 10.48 seconds. Felton’s 100-meter dash time also broke the UE program record that’s stood since 1973. Junior José Ocampo (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) and sophomore Connor Shin (Bloomington, Ind. / Bloomington North HS) also finished in the event with times of 11.05 and 11.07 seconds.
Evansville returned to the hurdles for the 400-meter event. Freshman Zander Pickens (Poseyville, Ind. / North Posey HS) set a new PR in the event with his first finish at under a minute, running the event in 58.82 seconds. In the women’s event, Johnson finished a place outside of qualifying for the finals with a time of 1:02.92. But she did set a new program record in the event by three-quarters of a second.
The Aces ended their first day of the championship with the men’s 200-meter dash. Felton III qualified for the 200 finals as well, placing fifth with a time of 21.09 seconds. Felton’s time also set a new program record for UE, beating the previous record from 1979 by just under a tenth of a second. Terry and Shin also ran in the event for Evansville, finishing with times of 21.85 and 22.14 seconds.
MID-DISTANCE
Sophomore Tommaso Losma (Lombardia, Italy) ran the first mid-distance event of the afternoon. Losma ran the men’s 1,500-meter race in 4:04.21. In the women’s 1,500 race, sophomore Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind. / Western HS) set a new PR, finishing in 4:48.80.
The Aces’ only mid-distance qualifier was Oulgout in the men’s 800-meter race. Oulgout placed fifth overall on Saturday with a PR of 1:50.79 seconds. Sophomore Cedrik Flipo (Beloeil, Quebec) finished just outside of qualifying range with a time of 1:52.24 for 10th. In the women’s 800-meter race, Hayes finished two seconds under her season best at 2:21.96.
DISTANCE
The first track event of the day for UE was bright and early on Saturday morning as sophomores Samuel Lea (Worcester, England) and Avery Stephens (Newburgh, Ind. / Castle HS) ran in the 10K race. Both had top 10 finishes in the event as Lea had the fastest time at 31:06.35 for sixth place, and only seven seconds off the current program record set in 2004. While Stephens finished ninth in the women’s race with a PR of 38:57.23.
THROWS
Freshman Emma Bertel (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community HS) was the first Evansville thrower to compete on Saturday. Bertel placed 16th in the women’s discus with a throw of 35.66 meters, only a little over a meter of her season best throw. In the men’s discus, sophomores Cole Johnson (Salem, Ill. / Salem Community HS) and Tyler Cherne (Boardman, Ohio / Boardman HS) finished back-to-back with throws of 40.68 and 39.95 meters.
The Aces’ throwers then moved to the javelin. Senior Kaitlyn Sansone (Fairfield, Ohio / Mercy McAuley HS) threw for 28.86 meters. In the men’s javelin, Johnson competed in his second event of the day with a throw of 37.07 meters.
UP NEXT
UE begins day two of the MVC Outdoor Championships at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning with the men’s hammer and the women’s shot put. Evansville’s first track event of the day will be at 1:15 p.m. for the men’s 4×100-meter relay.
Otters offense arrives late in one-run defeat
Pearl, Miss. – The Evansville Otters comeback attempt came up short as they fell in the series middle game to the Mississippi Mud Monsters, 3-2.
The Otters fell behind after giving up two runs in the second and one run in the third as the Mud Monsters hurried to a 3-0 lead.
Adrian Montilva made his first professional start for the Otters, giving up two hits and a walk in the second inning that led to two runs. A lead off error ended up leading to the third Mud Monsters’ run. He finished his four innings with two strikeouts and two walks.
The Mississippi starter,who was also making his first professional start,held the Otters hitless through six innings, only scattering three walks in that time.
Joan Gonzalez took to the mound following Montilva and faced the minimum in the fifth and sixth, going six up and six down.
Pavin Parks kicked off the seventh with a leadoff triple and JT Benson followed with a hard hit ball that forced an error, allowing Benson to reach safely and Parks to score. Following a pitching change, Benson would steal second and score on a Keenan Taylor single to cut the lead to 3-2.
Grif Hughes and Alex Valdez shut the door to finish the game for the Otters. However, the Otters’ bats failed to tie the game.
Evansville looks to avoid the sweep on Sunday, with game three in Pearl starting at 2:00 p.m. CT.
