University of Southern Indiana baseball team rose to second in the third and final NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll of 2017. The Screaming Eagles follow Northwood University in the poll, while passing Wayne State University (MI) (third) and Bellarmine University (fourth) this week.

Rounding out the top eight teams in the Midwest Region were Saint Joseph’s College (fifth), Quincy University (sixth), Drury University (seventh), and Walsh University (eighth). The top eight teams in the region, following this week’s conference tournaments, earn a spot in the NCAA II Midwest Regional, May 18-21.

The Eagles (32-17), who are ranked 20th nationally in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top 25 poll and 24th in Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association top 30 poll, begin Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when they play William Jewell College at U.S. Ballpark in Ozark, Missouri. USI is the top seed from the GLVC East Division, while William Jewell (21-25) is the fourth seed from the GLVC West.

NCAA Division II Midwest Region Poll
1. Northwood
  2. Southern Indiana
3. Wayne St. (Mich.)
4. Bellarmine
5. St. Joseph’s (Ind.)
6. Quincy
7. Drury
8. Walsh
9. Illinois-Springfield
10. Grand Valley St.

Eagles open NCAA Tourney play Thursday versus Grand Valley State

Three University of Southern Indiana Softball players were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association All-Midwest Region team Wednesday as the Screaming Eagles get set to open the NCAA Division II Midwest Region #2 Tournament Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against the No. 7 seed, Grand Valley State University, at the USI Softball Field.

Earning first-team honors is senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana), junior first baseman Marleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana) and freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt(Louisville, Kentucky).

Hodges, a first-team All-American a year ago, currently leads the Screaming Eagles with a .415 batting average, nine home runs and 45 RBIs. She holds the program’s all-time career records for home runs (42) and RBIs (167) and was recently named as a top 25 finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA Player of the Year honors.

Fossett, who is earning her first-career All-Region award, is currently hitting .401 with a team-high 14 doubles, five home runs, and 30 RBIs. A two-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree, Fossett has a .592 slugging percentage to go along with a team-high .513 on-base percentage. She has been hit by pitches a GLVC-high 18 times this year.

Leonhardt, the GLVC Freshman of the Year, has had a phenomenal season in the circle, amassing a 24-2 overall record with a 1.58 ERA in 181.1 innings of work. She has racked up a GLVC-high 10 shutouts to go along with 164 strikeouts, 45 walks and a .202 opponent batting average.

USI (41-12), the No. 2 seed and NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament host, enters the week ranked No. 9 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, while the Lakers (32-16) have won 20 of their last 21 games.

Thursday’s bout marks the third straight year that the Eagles have played the Lakers in the opening round of the NCAA II Tournament. The Eagles earned a 4-2 win over the Lakers in 2015, before suffering a 4-3 loss to Grand Valley State in the opening round a year ago. USI defeated Grand Valley State, 5-0, two months ago at The Spring Games in Clermont, Florida.

This week’s regional begins when the No. 3 seed, Saginaw Valley State University, takes on the No. 6 seed, the University of Indianapolis, Thursday at noon at the USI Softball Field. Friday’s action includes the winner’s bracket game at noon followed by a pair of elimination contests at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday’s championship is slated for a noon start, while an “if necessary game” is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $5 per day for adults; $3 for college students with an ID as well as senior citizens (ages 65 & older); and $2 for children (ages 3-17).

All seven games of the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network, while live stats are available at GoUSIEagles.com.

USI Softball Notes

• NCAA Tournament Bound! USI Softball earned its third straight trip to the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament and it’s fourth in the last five years. The Eagles are making their seventh trip to the NCAA postseason and their fifth under Head Coach Sue Kunkle.

• Uncharted territory. The Eagles’ No. 2 seeding in the NCAA II Tournament is the highest seeding in the NCAA postseason in program history. It also marks the first time in program history that USI has earned the right to host a regional.

• Familiar foe. USI and Grand Valley State are no strangers when it comes to the NCAA postseason. The Eagles and Lakers will meet in the NCAA II Tournament opener for the third straight year when they square off Thursday afternoon. USI opened the 2015 NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament in St. Louis with a 4-2 win over the Lakers, while Grand Valley State defeated the Eagles, 4-3, to open the 2016 Midwest Regional in Indianapolis. The Lakers hosted the NCAA II Midwest Regional the Eagles participated in during the 2013 postseason, while both teams were in the 2006 NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament in Edwardsville, Illinois.

• USI against the field. The Eagles posted a 9-3 record against the NCAA II Tournament field in 2017 and a 6-2 record against the Midwest Region Tournament field. Additionally, the Eagles were 3-1 against the teams in their sub-regional, including a 5-0 win over Grand Valley State in March.

• Eagles go 1-2 in GLVC Tourney. USI went 1-2 in the GLVC Tournament last week in East Peoria, Illinois. The Eagles won their opener, 10-4, over William Jewell, but stranded 11 runners on base in a 3-2 loss to McKendree in the second round. USI could not get the bats going in its 4-0 setback to Bellarmine in the elimination round as it was held to just five hits and shutout for just the second time this year.

• Hit parade. The Eagles racked up a combined 33 hits in their GLVC Tournament run last week, including 17 in their win over William Jewell and 11 in their loss to McKendree.

• Three Eagles net All-Region honors. Senior catcher Haley Hodges, junior first baseman Marleah Fossett and freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt each earned first-team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors in an announcement Wednesday.

• GLVC regular-season champions! USI earned a share of the GLVC regular-season championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the GLVC Tournament for the second time in program history and the first time since 1995.

• Kunkle, Leonhardt earn major awards. USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle was named GLVC Coach of the Year, while freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt was named GLVC Freshman of the Year. Leonhardt is the third USI Softball player to earn GLVC Player of the Year honors and the first since Rachel Bowling in 2000, while Kunkle earned GLVC Coach of the Year accolades for the second time and the first since 2006.

• All-GLVC honors. USI Softball was represented on the All-GLVC by freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt, senior catcher Haley Hodges, junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittlesonand junior first baseman Marleah Fossett. Leonhardt was named to the first time, while Hodges was named to the second team. Clark-Kittleson and Fossett were both named to the third team. This year’s awards mark the first time since 2014 that USI did not have the GLVC Player of the Year after Hodges earned the honor in 2016 and assistant coachMacKenzi Dorsam took home the award in 2015.

• Hodges named Top 25 finalist for national POY. Senior catcher Haley Hodges was named a Top 25 finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA Player of the Year honors late last week. This marks the second time that Hodges has cracked the Top 25 finalist list after cracking the Top 10 a year ago.

• 40-win plateau. USI cracked the 40-win plateau for the second time in program history and the first time since going 48-17 in 1998.

• USI slips three spots in latest NFCA Top 25 poll. The Eagles slipped three spots to No. 9 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll after going 1-2 last week at the GLVC Tournament. USI one of two teams in its sub-regional to earn a spot in the latest poll and one of three teams from the Midwest Region.  Joining USI from the sub-regional is No. 22 Saginaw Valley State, while Missouri-St. Louis, the top seed in the Midwest Region, jumped into the poll at No. 25. Wayne State fell out of the poll, but is still receiving votes.

• USI perfect against Top 25. USI is 5-0 against teams in the Top 25 this year. The Eagles began the year with a doubleheader sweep of defending NCAA II champion and No. 1-ranked North Alabama and had a 5-0 win over then No. 7 Grand Valley State at The Spring Games. They also swept No. 14 Indianapolis two weeks ago.

• Single-season marks in jeopardy. Freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt has a shot to break Amy Stetler’s single-season school records for wins (25) and shutouts (13) this year. Leonhardt has racked up 24 wins and 10 shutouts on the year.

• Beanball. USI has three players in the top four of the GLVC in hit by pitches. Junior first baseman Marleah Fossett and junior third baseman Mena Fulton rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the GLVC in hit by pitches, while senior Grace Clark is No. 4 in the league. Fossett has been hit by a league-high 17 pitches, while Fulton and Clark have been pelted 15 and 11 times, respectively.

• Record book watch. Several USI players are in the USI career record books:

–Caitlyn Bradley is tied for 20th in home runs (7);

–Grace Clark is tied for fourth in grand slams (1), fifth in home runs (21), seventh in walks (64), 10th in RBIs (104) and tied for 10th in doubles (34);

–Marleah Fossett is tied for 15th in home runs (11);

–Mena Fulton is tied for 23rd in home runs (6);

–Haley Hodges is first in home runs (42) and RBIs (167), third in grand slams (2), third in putouts (917), fourth in walks (70), sixth in doubles (39), seventh in runs scored (125) and tied for eighth in total hits (204);

–Lexi Reese is tied for seventh in doubles (37), tied for 10th in home runs (17) and 12th in RBIs (94).

With the regular season in the books, the University of Evansville softball team is ready for action in the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Championship as they open play on Thursday versus Loyola.

Normal, Ill. is the host for the tournament as the Purple Aces and Ramblers will tangle in the first game on Thursday at 11 a.m.  The Valley on ESPN3 has full coverage while live stats will also be available.

UE has dropped nine of its last ten games, including three over the weekend at Wichita State.  The Aces and Shockers had a 12-inning battle in game one before WSU took a 4-3 win.  WSU picked up 5-0 wins in each of the last two games.  The Aces open versus Loyola, a team they swept in the first MVC series of 2017.

For the first time since the 2007 and 2008 season, the Purple Aces posted double digit conference wins.  UE finished with 12 MVC victories in 2016 and completed the 2017 campaign with 11.  Evansville also finished in the top five in the league standings in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-03.

Last year, Morgan Lambert hit a season-changing home run against Wichita State to give the Aces their first Valley series win in three years.  In this year’s match-up, Lambert launched a 2-run homer in the ninth inning to give UE the lead.  For the season, Lambert batted .265 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI.  In MVC games, she led the Aces with six homers and was second with 16 runs batted in.

Morgan Florey had another great day in the circle at Wichita State in game one, throwing 11 1/3 innings in a tough 4-3 loss.  Her ERA of 1.95 remains third in the MVC while her tally of 188 strikeouts continues to lead the league as she is 30 ahead of her nearest competition.  The sophomore has gone the distance in 15 of her last 18 outings while winning 14 games on the season.

Loyola finished the season with a 26-25 mark while going 9-17 in league play on their way to the #8 seed.  Shannon McGee paced the Ramblers with a .297 average and 26 runs scored while Katie Kasubke provided the power, notching five home runs and 25 RBI.  Kiley Jones posted 18 victories for LUC with a 2.27 ERA.