Aces play at home for first time since March 10, 2020

After winning the season-opener at #12 Georgia last weekend, the University of Evansville baseball team makes its season debut at German American Bank Field and Charles H. Braun Stadium with a three-game set against NIU on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Evansville, Ind.

Last Time Out: #12 Georgia 4, Evansville 1

• True freshman Donovan Schultz got his first start and appearance of his collegiate career and handled a big stage well.
• After Georgia threatened by putting three runners on in the bottom of the first, Schultz settled in and worked through the Bulldogs lineup, sitting Georgia down in order in the second.
• Evansville got on the board first in the top of the third as the Aces had senior Troy Beilsmith on second with no outs after a walk and a throwing error.
• Beilsmith moved to third following a fly out from Shepherd and was brought home on a RBI sacrifice fly by junior Tanner Craig to give the Aces a 1-0 lead.
• The Bulldogs answered immediately in the bottom half of the third, scoring twice, once on an error and another coming unearned on a sacrifice fly.
• Schultz’s day came to an end following the fourth inning as the Wisconsin native closed his debut allowing three hits, one earned run, and striking-out two.
• Schultz was replaced by newcomer Zac Cummins, who pitched a strong fifth and sixth innings, allowing just two hits and keeping the Bulldogs from adding to their lead.

Previewing the Matchup: NIU

• Evansville and NIU are meeting for the eighth time in series history with the Aces owning a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series.
• The two sides last met during the 2017 season as the Huskies captured both games, 5-2, 1-0, on April 21 and 23 in Evansville.
• NIU’s season-opening series against Memphis was cancelled last weekend, so the Huskies will open their season this weekend at UE.
• In 2020, NIU compiled a 7-10 record, including wins over Boston College and SEMO.
• Evansville returns to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium after playing just one game at the renovated field in 2020. The Aces opened the newly minted turf field on March 10 with a 5-4 victory over Indiana before the season ended just days later due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Clean ERAs

• A pair of Aces finished the weekend series with ERAs of 0.00 after facing the 12th-ranked team in the nation.
• Freshman Jakob Meyer and sophomore Eric Roberts each pitched more than two innings in the series and did not allow a run.
• Meyer played in two games, pitching a total of 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball’s striking out one.
• Roberts pitched two innings in Saturday’s first game of the doubleheader, striking out one and not allowing a hit.

SEC Win for Evansville

• Friday’s season opening win for Evansville over #12 Georgia was the first of its kind in more than six seasons for the Aces.
• It marked the Aces first win over an SEC opponent since Feb. 26, 2014 when the Aces defeated Vanderbilt on the road, 8-3.

Gray Named MVC Pitcher of the Week

• After a stellar performance on Friday, University of Evansville baseball sophomore right-handed pitcher Shane Gray was named Missouri Vally Conference Pitcher of the Week, it was announced in a release by the Conference office on Monday morning.
• Leading Evansville to a season opening win over #12 Georgia, sophomore Shane Gray turned in an impressive performance on the mound Friday.
• Against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs, Gray pitched six innings, allowing just one earned run and four hits, while striking-out four.
• Gray’s pitcher of the week honor is the first an Aces pitcher since Nathan Croner and Adam Lukas went back-to-back winning the award on March 11 and 18, 2019.

he University of Southern Indiana’s senior Jennifer Comastri has been named the Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week by the Great Lakes Valley Conference Thursday morning.

Comastri finished first in the 3000 meters last Saturday, on her way to grabbing a new NCAA II provisional qualifying time of nine minutes, 39.70 seconds, improving her previous season’s best by 11 seconds. Comastri’s 3000m time currently sits at 14th in all the nation and this is the fourth GLVC weekly honor in her career (cross country- 2019) (track & field- January 2020, January 2021, February 2021).

Up Next: Comastri and the Screaming Eagles shift their focus to the UIndy Last Chance Meet held at the University of Indianapolis, February 26-27.

IU to have Four Swim for Gold

The No. 21-ranked Indiana University women’s swimming team earned eight second swims during the preliminary rounds of the third day of action from the 2021 Women’s Big Ten Championships on Thursday afternoon at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

100 Butterfly – Elizabeth Broshears (sixth)

400 IM – Josie Grote (second); Mackenzie Looze (fourth)

200 Freestyle – Ella Ristic (third)

CONSOLATION FINAL

100 Butterfly – None.

400 IM – Bailey Kovac (10th)

200 Freestyle – Ashley Turak (11th); Laurel Eiber (16th)

C FINAL

100 Butterfly – None.

400 IM – Anna Freed (20th)

200 Freestyle – None.

TEAM SCORES

1. Ohio State – 526 pts.
2. Michigan – 358.5 pts.
3. INDIANA – 310.5 pts.
4. Northwestern – 258 pts.
5. Wisconsin – 237 pts.
6. Nebraska – 184 pts.
7. Iowa – 169 pts.
8. Minnesota – 164 pts.
9. Penn State – 149 pts.
10. Purdue – 120 pts.
11. Michigan State – 104 pts.
12. Illinois – 96 pts.
13. Rutgers – 30 pts.

NOTABLES

• Michigan leads all schools with 13 returning for a final swim, including six swimming in a Championship Final. Ohio State is second with 12, followed by Indiana with eight. The Hoosiers are tied for second in the conference with four returnees swimming in A Finals.
• The career-best time of 52.75 set by Broshears in the 100 Butterfly makes her the sixth-best performer in program history in the event.
• Ristic now sits as the 13th-best performer in team history in the 200 Freestyle after notching a career-best mark of 1:46.16.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

100 BUTTERFLY

Elizabeth Broshears – 52.75 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

28. Carla Gildersleeve – 54.82
29. Mia Ristic – 54.83 (Career Best)
30. Avery Williams – 56.39 (Career Best)
31. Grace Pangburn – 57.98

 

400 IM

Josie Grote – 4:11.70 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)

Mackenzie Looze – 4:12.42 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)

Bailey Kovac – 4:14.85 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)

Anna Freed – 4:19.17 (C Final, Career Best)

30. Christin Rockway – 4:24.03
31. Maggie Wallace – 4:28.18 (Career Best)

200 FREESTYLE

Ella Ristic – 1:46.14 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

Ashley Turak – 1:47.61 (Consolation Final, Career Best)

Laurel Eiber – 1:48.06 (Consolation Final)

29. Ryley Ober – 1:49.57 (Career Best)
30. Samantha Muma – 1:54.93 (Career Best)
31. Anne Rouleau – 1:57.14

UP NEXT

The 2021 Big Ten Championships will continue on Thursday evening with the second night of finals beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Three events will be contested, including the 100 Butterfly, 400 IM, 50 Freestyle, and 200 Freestyle.

The sophomore is the third Eagle to ever receive the honors

University of Southern Indiana Volleyball sophomore outside hitter Leah Anderson adds AVCA National Player of the Week to her portfolio after she posted colossal numbers in back-to-back sweeps over then-No. 6 Rockhurst and Lindenwood during the USI-hosted GLVC triangular on February 20.

The sophomore is the third Screaming Eagle to ever earn the AVCA National Player of the Week honors and the first since 2011. This follows the outside hitter taking GLVC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week recognition on Monday, February 22. The two previous Screaming Eagles to garner the AVCA national weekly award were Danielle LaGrange (Oct. 25, 2011) and Laura Ellerbusch (Sept. 26, 2005).

During the two-match weekend, Anderson cut through the Hawk and Lion defense at 5.67 kills per set (34 total), three service aces, and a hitting percentage of .446, amassing 38.5 points (6.42 points per set). The sophomore also flew around the defensive side, laying out for 3.00 digs per set (18 total) and thwarting opponent attacks with three blocks (0.5 per set).

The Illinois-native set a season-high in hitting percentage at .455 against Lindenwood after setting a season-high earlier in the day against Rockhurst at .438. Anderson tied her season high in kills with 17 in both games, also blasting 17 kills against Indianapolis (2/6/2021), and points with 21.0, also recorded 21.0 against No.2 Lewis (then No. 14).

This season, Anderson leads the Eagles in multiple categories while also ranking highly in the GLVC overall in multiple statistical categories. She leads USI in kills (83), kills per set (4.15), services aces (14, 0.70 per set), digs (63, 3.15 per set) and points (101.0, 5.05 per set). In the conference, she leads in points per set at 5.05 while ranking second in service aces per set (0.70) and kills per set (4.15).

UP NEXT & HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW:
No. 13 USI (5-1) hits the road for another weekend GLVC divisional crossover, playing Maryville (0-6) and William Jewell (0-7) in St. Louis at Moloney Arena on February 27. USI will first duel Maryville at high noon, then taking on William Jewell at 3 P.M. Both games will be broadcast on GLVCSN.

While fans are not permitted to attend the games, they can watch free of charge on the GLVC Sports Network, which is available both you’re your desktop, mobile/tablet devices, as well as four over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV (4th Generation). GLVCSN.com is the official website of the GLVC Sports Network, while the GLVCSN mobile app is available for iOS in the App Store and Android on Google Play. Apple users also can use AirPlay with their Apple TV or some of the newer smart TVs. (GLVCSN FAQs)

Previews, live game updates, and post game information can be found via USI Athletics (@USIAthletics | #GoUSIEagles) social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

USI Volleyball can be followed directly on Twitter (@USIVolleyball) and Instagram (@USI_wvolleyball) as well for team updates.