University of Evansville head volleyball coach Manolo Concepcion has announced the signing of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Purple Aces next season.

His signees include: Gabriela Dos Santos of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Allana McInnis, who is from Kennesaw, Ga.

Dos Santos spent her first two collegiate seasons playing at Frank Phillips College in Texas where she worked as an outside hitter and defensive specialist.  She is coming off of a strong sophomore campaign that saw her earn First-Team All-Conference honors in 2016.  As a freshman, her team was the NJCAA Conference Champion and also won the NJCAA Region IV West Championship that season.  She also brings a great work ethic in the classroom as she is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

“Gabby will create an immediate impact on ball control and volleyball IQ. She is an all-around player that is able to contribute in many aspects of the game, especially with her capacity to go beyond tangible measures to still influence the game,” Concepcion said.  “She will provide our team with an intense competitive spirit and extensive experience. What she lacks in height, she compensates in heart & versatility. We are very excited to know that Gabby has chosen UE as her next destination, as she brings to the table what Brazilians call “jogo bonito”.”

McInnis will come to UE as a freshman later this year from Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga.  She also played for the A5-South Club Team.  As a senior, she led her squad to the state championship and played a pivotal role in that run, being named the MVP.

She was a 3-time All-Area Team honoree while being a member of the USA Volleyball High Performance A2 Team in 2014 and 2015.  Serving as the team captain as a junior and senior, McInnis was also a role model in the classroom, earning a spot on the Honor Roll.

“Allana brings an incredible boost to our setting position with her servant/vocal leadership style, precision/location, and dynamic movement. We were blown away with her personality, as she has tremendous self-confidence and interpersonal skills,” Concepcion explained.  “She is a setter that even played Libero for a year in one of the best clubs in the nation (A5 Volleyball Club), and that has recently led her current team as a Setter towards a double-bid qualification to USA Volleyball National Championships, which will be played this coming weekend. We have high hopes in the depth that will create in the Settin

The University of Southern Indiana baseball team completes its five-game homestand Tuesday when it hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College for a non-conference game before resuming Great Lakes Valley Conference action on the road  when it travels to Lewis University this weekend. The first pitch for the USI (21-14, 13-3 GLVC) and KWC (18-17) non-conference showdown is 6 p.m. Tuesday, while the GLVC road games at Lewis (8-27, 4-12 GLVC) are slated for noon Saturday and Sunday.

Game coverage of the Eagles in 2017 can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.

SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:

USI posts season-best nine-game winning streak. The Screaming Eagles are on a season-best nine-game winning streak after getting a win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a four-game sweep of McKendree University. USI’s hitters are batting .312 and averaging seven runs a game as a team, while the pitching staff is posting a 1.36 ERA and holding the opposition to .194 at the plate during the last nine games. Sophomore catcher Logan Brown leads the Eagles during the winning streak with a .519 batting average and three triples. Junior designated hitter/leftfielder Drake McNamara is batting .433 with a team-best 15 RBIs.

Brown has big week for the Eagles. Sophomore catcher Logan Brown had a big week for the Eagles, hitting .625 (10-16) and tying for the team-lead with seven RBIs against UMSL and McKendree. Brown also batted .818 (9-11) in the four GLVC games versus McKendree.

McNamara reaching base. Junior designated hitter/outfielder Drake McNamara has reached base in each of the last 17 games.

USI over .500. The nine-game winning streak has pushed USI to a season-best seven games over .500.

Eagles hold a two-game lead in GLVC East. The Eagles have flown into a two-game lead in the GLVC East Division by winning 11 of the last 12 conference games. USI also holds a one-game lead in the race to be the top seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament next month.

Griffin named NCBWA Midwest Region Pitcher of the Week. Junior right-hander Kyle Griffin ended last week as the NCBWA Midwest Region Pitcher of the Week. Griffin was named the GLVC Pitcher of the Week earlier in the week after shutting out UW-Parkside, 6-0, on April 8.

Pitchers doing the job. USI’s pitching staff has been doing the job in the last 20 games, posting a 2.01 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average. In the first 11 games, USI hurlers had a 5.13 ERA, while the opposition had a .307 batting average.

Individual win streaks. The Eagles have won each of junior right-hander Kyle Griffin‘s last five starts with the hurler posting a 4-0 record. Senior right-hander Lucas Barnett has four-straight victories, while the Eagles have won six of his last seven starts.

Season hitting leaders. Sophomore shortstop Jacob Fleming and junior designated hitter/leftfielder Drake McNamara are the only Eagles over .300 with .349 and .324 batting averages, respectively. McNamara leads USI with a team-best five home runs and 28 RBIs.

Season pitching leaders. Sophomore right-hander Austin Krizan has the Eagles’ best ERA at 1.88 (minimum 15 innings) in his 11 appearances and 36.0 innings of work. Senior right-hander Lucas Barnett has the team lead in victories with five, while junior right-hander Kyle Griffin has recorded a team-high 57 strikeouts in nine games.

Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta is USI’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 399-206 (.660) in nine-plus seasons and is 547-330 (.624) in 14-plus seasons all-time as a head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships and the ABCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading USI to the regional crown in 2016. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.

USI vs. Kentucky Wesleyan. USI leads the all-time series, 95-64, after KWC took the only meeting in Owensboro, Kentucky, 13-7, last year. The Eagles have won nine of the last 10 meeting since the Panther left the GLVC and joined the G-MAC in the 2012-13 season.

USI vs. Lewis. USI leads the all-time series with Lewis, 59-56, after splitting the four-game set at the USI Baseball Field last spring. The Eagles are 35-11 against the Flyers since 2007, going 13-6 versus Lewis in Romeoville, Illinois.

In Saturday’s rubber match at Missouri State, the University of Evansville softball team was able to hang on for a 6-4 win to clinch the series against the Bears at Killian Stadium.

“This was a big road series win.  They are a really good team so for us to come here and get two out of three is a big deal,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “Hopefully we can carry this momentum into our homestand.”

Evansville (18-23, 9-6 MVC) earned its second MVC road series in a row with the win as the Aces recorded six runs on 11 hits.  Chandra Parr had three more hits in four at-bats while Hayli Scott, Brittany Hay and Ashlee Kawall notched two hits apiece.  Hay along with Tess Hupe each scored twice.

Following a scoreless first inning, Morgan Lambert got the Aces on the board in the second.  Her sixth long ball of the season led off the frame and gave UE a 1-0 lead.  The score remained that way until the top of the fourth.  That is when Brittany Hay homered to left center to extend the advantage to 3-0.

Missouri State (21-15, 9-6 MVC) scored their first run in the bottom of the frame as a Darian Frost single cut into their deficit but Evansville got the run right back in the sixth.  Ashlee Kawall hit a leadoff triple before scoring on a single by pinch hitter Bailee Bostic.

Hayli Scott added to the lead later in the inning as a 2-run double scored Hay and Tess Hupe to give UE its largest advantage of the day at 6-1.  The Bears were able to match UE’s 3-run top of the 6^th with three of their own in the bottom of the inning, making it a 6-4 game going to the seventh.

After the Aces left a runner stranded at third in the top half of the seventh, Missouri State looked to take advantage in their final at-bat.  MSU put runners on first and second with no outs before advancing to second and third one out later.  Morgan Florey was able to end the threat as UE clinched the series with a 6-4 win.

Florey went all seven innings allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits.  She struck out six.

Starting on Wednesday, the Aces are home for eight of their next nine games as they take on Southern Illinois in a doubleheader slated to begin at 3 p.m.  Next weekend, UE welcomes Indiana State to Cooper Stadium for a 3-game set.