University of Southern Indiana Softball was unable to take advantage of two early leads, dropping a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at the Case Softball Complex Saturday afternoon.

The Screaming Eagles (14-11, 3-3 GLVC) held leads in both games before the Rangers (14-12, 5-3 GLVC) rallied for a pair of 6-5 wins.

USI returns home tomorrow when it hosts No. 12 University of Indianapolis in a doubleheader that was moved to the USI Softball Field after inclement weather in Indianapolis. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Game 1: UW-Parkside 6, USI 5

UW-Parkside scored four times in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase a three run Eagles’ lead to rally for a 6-5 win in game one.

USI took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off RBI singles by junior outfielder Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) and senior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana). The Eagles would add to that lead with a solo home run by sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) in the fourth.

After UWP answered with a pair of runs in the fifth, Schubert hit her second home run of the game in the sixth. The Eagles added another run in the top of the seventh on a home run by junior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana).

Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) recorded 11 strikeouts, but was charged with the loss. Schubert finished with three hits, while Johnson and junior catcher Lindsey Barr (Whitesville, Kentucky) each finished with two.

The No. 3-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team qualified seven individuals and one relay for Saturday night finals at the 2018 NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

IU will have four individuals and one relay in Championship Finals on the final night of the NCAA Championships. The Hoosiers sit atop the team standings with a total of 325 points. Texas is second with 306 points, while California is third with 291.5.

200 Backstroke

IU’s Mohamed Samy qualified 13^th overall and will swim in the Consolation Final of the 200 backstroke after touching the wall with a time of 1:40.01.

100 Freestyle

Senior Blake Pieroni continued his record-breaking week at the NCAA Championships, crushing his own Big Ten and school record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 41.16. Pieroni will be the No. 2 seed for the Championship Final.

Freshman Bruno Blaskovic posted a personal-best time of 41.99 to qualify for the Consolation Final of the 100 freestyle. Blaskovic’s time is the seventh-best in school history.

On a day that saw rain clouds move in almost from first pitch, the University of Evansville baseball team earned a doubleheader split with Oakland City University, ending a six game skid.

In the first game of the twin bill, the Purple Aces and Mighty Oaks staged a pitcher’s duel between senior right hander Jimmy Ward and OCU’s Caleb Wagner, with both pitchers taking a shutout into the fifth frame of a seven inning affair.

That’s when the UE offense broke through. Sophomore slugger Troy Beilsmith got the Aces on the scoreboard first with an RBI double to the gap in left-center, scoring sophomore shortstop Craig Shepherd for the long-awaited icebreaker. Sophomore center fielder Kenton Crews followed that up with a two-run double down the left field line, tallying both Beilsmith and junior third baseman Sam Troyer, putting Evansville up 3-0 after five complete.

That’s the way it would remain until the final frame, when Ward walked the lead-off batter, then giving way to senior reliever Hunter Porterfielder, who proceeded to give up a single and walk to load up the bases.

With the lead in danger, Aces head coach Wes Carroll turned to freshman right hander Austin Ruesch, who induced back-to-back RBI sacrifice flyouts, as the Mighty Oaks drew within one. However, Ruesch would get Austin Morris to fly out to right to end the game in favor of Evansville, 3-2. Ward picked up the win, his first of the season, while Ruesch earned his first collegiate save.

Game two of the twin bill saw the rain finally settle in, and Oakland City seize the early advantage on a pair of errors from the Aces middle infielders. Throwing mishaps from Sam Troyer and Cooper Trinkle in the first and second innings, respectively, put Evansville in an early 2-0 hole. Reed Farmer continued the second inning assault on Aces junior left hand starter Alex Weigand, doubling in a pair, and when the smoke cleared, the Aces were down 4-0.

UE would bounce back to drive in a pair, highlighted by Tanner Craig’s run-scoring single in the third, as Evansville halved the OCU lead to 4-2 after three.

However, Oakland City would erupt for four more tallies in the fourth, as Tyler Stoltz drove in a run on a single to shortstop, followed by a two-run rip through the right side of the infield by Jenrick Rivera, chasing Weigand from the game. Nathan Croner would come into replace the junior southpaw, and the Mighty Oaks would tally another on a double steal, tallying Stoltz on the steal of home.

Down 8-4 in the final frame, the Aces would attempt a late inning rally. Freshman infielder Tanner Craig would get the ball rolling for Evansville with an RBI double to the gap in right-center. Senior Dalton Horstmeier would then come up with a clutch two-our RBI rip down the right field line, scoring Craig, drawing the Aces within two.

However, the rally runs out of steam there, as junior outfielder Nate Reeder flew out to right-center to end the game, as Evansville fell 8-6. They’re now 6-12 on the season. Oakland City is now 7-13.

Up next for Evansville is a midweek encounter on the road against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m.