The University of Southern Indiana baseball team fell short in a comeback and lost to Wayne State University, 6-5, Friday afternoon in game one of the Dunn Hospitality Invitational. USI is 1-3 to start the spring, while WSU goes to 3-1 in 2017.

The Screaming Eagles took the early 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-ground out by junior third baseman Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana), scoring junior centerfielder Buddy Johnson (Shelbyville, Kentucky). USI would hold the 1-0 lead until the third when WSU scored four times to take command, 4-1.

After WSU increased the margin to 6-1 with two runs in the fourth, USI tried to comeback. The Eagles scored once in the fourth on a RBI-double by senior rightfielder Cody Montgomery (Shepherdsville, Kentucky) and three times in the fifth on an RBI-double by junior designated hitter Nick Gobert (Jasper, Indiana) and a two-run single by junior second baseman Joe Redburn (Newburgh, Indiana) to make the score 6-5.

The USI rally came to an end at that point as the Eagles would not get a runner past second base in the final four innings of the 6-5 final.

On the mound, junior right-hander Kyle Griffin (Morganfield, Kentucky) took the loss for the Eagles. Griffin (0-2) allowed four runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks, while striking out five in three innings of work.

Senior right-hander Lucas Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) followed Griffin to the mound and allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out two. Sophomore right-hander Austin Krizan (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) finished the game with the best day on the mound, throwing four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three strikeouts.

The Eagles conclude its portion of the Dunn Hospitality Invitational Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when they host Notre Dame College (OH). Notre Dame will enter the weekend with a 1-2 mark.

University of Southern Indiana Softball erupted for a combined 24 runs and 31 hits Friday as it opened the Midwest Region Crossover with a 7-4 win against Trevecca Nazarene University and a 17-2 victory against Ferris State University at Deaconess Sports Park.

Fifteen different players had a hit for the Screaming Eagles, while 10 players had an RBI and eight players had at least two RBIs.

Junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) went 4-of-5 at the plate with a pair of RBIs and three runs scored to lead USI offensively.

Southern Indiana (4-0): 7, Trevecca Nazarene (3-5): 4

Junior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana) went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Eagles rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Trevecca Nazarene, 7-4. Fulton’s two-run single highlighted a three-run fifth inning that put the Eagles up, 4-2.

Sophomore second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) had an RBI-single in the sixth inning as the Eagles answered the Trojan’s tally in the bottom of the fifth frame; then Fulton hit a two-run shot in the top half of the seventh inning to give the Eagles a 7-3 cushion.

Senior outfielder Grace Clark (Indianapolis, Indiana) had a solo home run in the second inning to put the Eagles up, 1-0, but Trevecca Nazarene (3-5) scored runs in the third and fourth innings to go up, 2-1. Senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) had an RBI-double in the fifth to tie the game prior to Fulton’s two-run single.

Freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky), who was named the Herosports.com D2 Hero of the Week Friday afternoon, earned the win. Leonhardt (2-0) gave up four runs, three earned off nine hits in seven innings of work.

The 31^st-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s tennis team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 7-2 defeat at the hands of 42^nd ranked Bluefield State College Thursday in Charleston, West Virginia.

The Screaming Eagles (4-4) scored the first point of the day when the duo of sophomore James Hardiman (Backwell Bristol, United Kingdom) and freshman Denis Davydov (Chorvatsky Grob, Slovakia) picked up an 8-2 win at number two doubles. However, the Eagles were behind 2-1 heading into singles play.

In singles, Hardiman had a 6-0, 6-0 win to tie the match at two apiece, but that would be the last point USI would score. Three of the remaining five singles matches went all three sets.

Junior Samuel Kiladejo (London, England) was defeated at number three singles 1-6, 6-4, 2-6. At number four, senior Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) took the close 7-6, 6-7, 6-7 loss, and sophomore Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) was knocked off 2-6, 7-5, 3-10.

USI is back in action tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia.

Senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) and junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) combined for 48 points as the No. 23 University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball team rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 20 Bellarmine University, 88-81, in its regular-season finale Thursday evening.

USI (24-4, 16-2 GLVC) trailed 10-0 two minutes into the contest and 28-15 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles, however, outscored the Knights 25-13 throughout the final 8:30 of the half, taking a brief two-point lead late in the second quarter before going into the break facing a 41-40 halftime deficit.

The two teams traded buckets early in the third quarter, but Marcum had a three-pointer and a pair of field goals in USI’s 7-0 run that put the Eagles up 55-46 with less than five minutes to play in the period.

Bellarmine (21-6, 13-5 GLVC) trimmed the Eagles’ lead to three late in the third quarter, but an 8-2 USI run that featured a pair of baskets by junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) put the Eagles up 65-56 early in the fourth quarter.

USI maintained its nine-point advantage with just over four minutes to play in the game, but an 8-2 Bellarmine run trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 77-74 with less than two minutes to play in the contest.

Marcum, however, drained 6-of-6 free throws in the final 1:22 of the contest, while Grooms sank 5-of-6 attempts to preserve the Eagles’ victory.

Grooms, who became the 17^th player in program history reach the 1,000-point plateau, finished with 21 points, while Marcum was named the Player of the Game by NCAA.com after finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Dahlstrom added 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while senior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) finished with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. USI dominated the lane, out-rebounding the Knights, 42-32, and outscoring Bellarmine, 42-36, in the paint.

USI shot 47.5 percent from the field on 29-of-61 shooting, while Bellarmine went 27-of-66 (.405) from the field. The Eagles were a blistering 25-of-27 (.926) from the free throw line, while the Knights went 19-of-23 (.826) from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Sarah Galvin and junior guard Raven Merriweather led the Knights with 23 and 19 points, respectively.

The Eagles begin GLVC Tournament play next Friday, March 3, against an opponent to be determined. USI will be the No. 2 seed after winning the East Division by three games over Bellarmine and Lewis University.

The 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team lost a battle outside game versus inside game to  fourth-ranked Bellarmine University, 67-61, Thursday evening in Louisville, Kentucky. USI finished the regular season 25-3 overall and 15-3 in the GLVC, while Bellarmine goes to 25-3 overall, 17-1 GLVC.

Next up for the Screaming Eagles is the GLVC Tournament where they are the third seed and have a first round bye. USI will find out who its quarterfinal opponent is Sunday after the GLVC Tournament first round games (seeds 5-12).

The first half began the battle of inside versus outside, resulting in a Bellarmine 35-30 lead at the break. Bellarmine finished the first 20 minutes with a 30-2 advantage in the paint, while USI owned the outside by hitting eight-of-17 from beyond the arc.

The Eagles’ attack from outside was led by sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana), who had 13 first-half points on five-of-seven from the field, three-of-four from long range. Senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) followed with nine points on three three-point bombs, while senior guard Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Kentucky) had six points on a pair of three-pointers.

In the second half, the contrasting styles continued as the Eagles rallied to take their largest lead of the game, 50-45, with 9:08 to play on Drummond’s season-best fifth three-point field goal of the contest. The Knights took control from that point, limiting the Eagles to only two baskets in the final seven minutes and outscoring USI, 22-11, to get their 41^st-straight home victory.

USI, overall, won the battle beyond the arc, 36-0 (12-of-29 from three-point range), while the Knights took the struggle in the paint, 48-10. The Eagles, who were held to their lowest point total of the year, also won the battle on the boards, 33-30.

Individually, Stein would lead three Eagles in double-digits with a game-high 20 points. The sophomore guard, who had seven points in the second half, was eight-of-14 from the field, three-of-six from downtown, and one-of-one from the line.

Drummond, who had a team-best nine points in the second half, finished the game with a season-high 18 points, hitting six-of-12 from the field and five-of-nine from downtown. Taylor rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, hitting three three-point buckets and a pair of free throws.