Eryn Gould, Brittany Hay and Morgan Florey were the stars of the day, pacing the University of Evansville softball team to a doubleheader sweep of UNI on Sunday at Cooper Stadium.  Evansville won both games by a final of 6-2.

Gould notched six hits in seven at-bats while scoring five runs for the Purple Aces (9-18, 2-3 MVC) while Hay hit a 3-run home run in game two that broke a scoreless tie.  Florey threw a total of 11 innings on the day, allowing just seven hits and one earned run.

“This was a good series for us, I am really proud of the girls for keeping their focus through all of the weather that we had this weekend,” UE head coach Mat Mundell said.  “Our offense played great, even our outs were hard hit balls.  We got runners on and were able to get them in.  Defensively, we played great and Morgan and Ashleigh did a nice job of keeping UNI’s hitters off balance in the circle.”

Today’s sweep gave UE its first series win over the Panthers since 2013.  In the previous 11 games against UNI entering the day, the Aces were 2-9.

UNI recorded three hits in the first inning, but Aces starter Morgan Florey was able to limit the damage to just one run, which came on a Courtney Krodinger single.

In the bottom of the inning, UE was able to plate two runs.  Eryn Gould led off with a double before advancing to third on a Brittany Hay groundout.  Next up was Lindsay Renneisen, who delivered a triple to right center field to score Gould.  Renneisen gave the Aces the lead, scoring when Florey reached on an error.

Evansville threatened in the second, loading the bases with no outs, but UNI’s Brooke Craig forced a double play that helped her get out of the frame unscathed.  UE was able to push a run through in the third when Florey crossed home plate on UNI’s second error of the day.  The top half of the fourth saw UNI get that run right back with an unearned run.

For the third time, the Aces added a run on the scoreboard.  Gould notched her second hit of the day and came home on a UNI error that came on a Renneisen hit.  Evansville picked up some more breathing room in the sixth when Elyse Hickey delivered a 2-RBI double with the bases loaded to make it a 6-2 game.

Florey picked up her fifth win of the season.  She gave up three hits in the first, but did not allow a single one for the remainder of the contest.  Gould was a perfect 3-3 with three runs scored and a walk while Renneisen notched a pair of hits.

Just as they did in game one, the Panthers grabbed an early lead in the first frame of the second contest, but Evansville followed suit as Eryn Gould led the bottom of the first off with her third home run of the season to knot the score at 1-1.  Renneisen would later score on a wild pitch to give the Aces their first lead.  Jaclyn Spencer notched an RBI single in the third, which tied the game at 2-2.

Things would remain that way until the fifth frame when Brittany Hay delivered her team-leading fifth home run of the season.  Bailee Porter and Eryn Gould scored on the play.  Some insurance was added in the sixth as Bailee Bostic singled through the right side to bring home pinch runner Mea Adams to make it the final of 6-2.  Florey picked up her second win of the day while Gould posted three more hits.

A trip to Loyola awaits the Purple Aces next weekend as UE faces the Ramblers in Chicago.

University of Southern Indiana Track & Field senior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) ran a provisional time in the 1500 meters in the first outdoor meet of the season at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Meet.

Grau finished fifth in the event, crossing the line in three minutes, 49.30 seconds. Sophomore Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) placed 16^th in the event, with sophomore Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) right behind in 17^th.

Senior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) was the lone event winner for the Screaming Eagles, taking the top spot in the 2000-meter steeplechase in 5:59.65.

Other top 10 finishes included freshman Grady Wilkinson (Mt. Carmel, Illinois) with an eighth-place finish in the 5000 meters in 15:33.53 and junior Calvin Sander (Jasper, Indiana) in the javelin with a throw of 133 feet, six inches. Senior Cain Parker  (Petersburg, Indiana) just missed a top 10 with an 11^th place effort in the 3000 meters.

Next weekend USI will be in St. Louis, Missouri, for the WashU Invitational hosted by Washington University, as well as the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina.

University of Southern Indiana Softball saw one-run leads slip away in game one and game two as it suffered a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference setbacks to No. 12 University of Indianapolis Sunday afternoon at the USI Softball Field.

The Screaming Eagles (14-13, 3-5 GLVC) fell, 5-2, in the opener before suffering an 8-1 loss in the nightcap.

Senior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana) led the Screaming Eagles offensively after going a combined 6-of-7 at the plate with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

USI returns to action Friday at noon when it takes on the University of Illinois Springfield in a GLVC doubleheader.

Game 1: Indianapolis 5, USI 2 (Box Score)
USI used a two-out rally in the top of the first inning to build a 1-0 lead, but a three-run home run by UIndy junior designated player Shannon Schuetz in the last half of the second inning gave the Greyhounds a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Junior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) had an RBI-double in the fourth frame to cut UIndy’s lead to 3-2; but solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings gave the Greyhounds a comfortable three-run cushion.

Fulton was 3-of-4 at the plate, including an RBI-single in the first inning, to lead the Eagles’ offensively. Missed opportunities haunted the Eagles throughout the contest as they stranded 10 runners on base.

Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) was charged the loss after surrendering five runs off six hits in six innings of work. Leonhardt (6-7) racked up nine strikeouts in the loss.

Game 2: Indianapolis 8, USI 1 (Box Score)
After taking a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Taylor Ricketts (Georgetown, Kentucky) in the top of the fourth inning, the Eagles saw the Greyhounds strike for eight runs off five hits in the last half of the fourth inning to break the game open.

UIndy (25-5, 9-1 GLVC) capitalized on a pair of errors in the fourth inning and got a grand slam off the bat of junior third baseman Taylor Podschweit to put an exclamation point on the frame.

Fulton, once again, led the Eagles at the plate with a 3-for-3 effort that included a pair of doubles and a run scored.

Junior pitcher Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana) was charged with the loss after giving up eight runs, off six hits in four innings of work. Atkisson (5-3) had a strikeout and four walks in the loss.

The No. 3-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team closed a historic 2018 NCAA Championships on Saturday night at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Hoosiers finished third overall in the team standings with a total of 422 points. Texas won a fourth-straight NCAA team title with a score of 449 points, while California took second with a total of 437.5 points. The 422 points scored are the most for the team in 49 years, when Indiana scored 427 in 1969.

The finish for the Hoosiers is the best for the program in 43 years, when IU took second in 1975. Indiana won a total of four NCAA titles over the week, the most for the team since winning six crowns in 1973. The top-10 finish for the Hoosiers at the NCAA Championships is the sixth in the last seven years.

For the third-straight season, Indiana finished as the top Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships – the best stretch for IU since accomplishing the feat for 15-straight seasons from 1964-78.

Over the course of NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers had 12 individuals earn a total of 42 All-America honors – the most in program history in 44 years since the team tallied 50 in 1974. Blake Pieroni led the way, earning All-America accolades in all seven of his events. Pieroni ends his stellar career with a staggering 19 All-America certificates.

Indiana swept the CSCAA Division I Coach of the Year awards, as Ray Looze was named Swimming Coach of the Year and Drew Johansen was named Diving Coach of the Year.

Junior Ian Finnerty was dominant in the Championship Final of the 200 breaststroke, winning the NCAA championship with a Big Ten, school and pool record time of 1:50.17.

Finnerty won his second NCAA title in as many days, becoming the first man in IU history to win both the 100 and 200 breast crowns in one season. The championship is the second in program history, as Finnerty joined Tom Tretheway in 1965 as NCAA champions in the 200 breast.

In the Consolation Final of the 200 breaststroke, senior Levi Brock placed eighth to finish 16^th overall with a time of 1:56.32.

Vini Lanza had a historic finish for Indiana in the Championship Final of the 200 butterfly, taking third overall with a Big Ten and school record time of 1:39.75. With his mark, Lanza becomes the seventh-fastest performer in history in the event. Lanza’s finish is the best for a Hoosier in the event in 45 years, when Jim Montgomery won the title in 1973.

Andrew Capobianco capped his outstanding freshman season by placing third in the Championship Final of the platform dive with a total of 435.30 points. Capobianco was one of only two freshmen in the nation to score points in all three diving events.

Diving was a huge component of the Hoosiers’ historic week, as the diving squad scored an amazing 98 points, the most of any team in the nation. The 98 points scored by the diving team alone would have placed them 13^th in the team standings.

In the Championship Final of the 100 freestyle, Pieroni has the best finish for a Hoosier since Jim Montgomery in 1977, placing fourth overall with a time of 41.51. The time is the fourth-fastest in school history.

In the Consolation Final, Blaskovic took eighth to finish 16^th overall with a time of 42.43.

Samy placed seventh in the Consolation Final of the 200 backstroke to finish 15^th overall with a time of 1:41.66.