The 16th-ranked and third-seeded University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team bowed out of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional after 25^th-ranked and sixth-seeded University of Findlay hit a bucket with six seconds left to win 70-69, Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky. USI ends its season with a 25-5 overall mark, while Findlay advances with a 24-6.

The Screaming Eagles came out of the gate cold and slow as the Oilers built a 14-point lead through the first 15 minutes of the game, 24-10. USI could not buy a bucket for six minutes of the half and was shooting under 20 percent as the deficit grew before erupting on a comeback in the final five minutes of the opening half.

The Eagles exploded on a 12-0 run that culminated in cutting the Oiler lead to two points by the intermission, 24-22, when sophomore guard Alex Stein (Evansville, Indiana) hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left before halftime.

In the second half, senior guard Bobo Drummond (Peoria, Illinois) took over the game for USI. Drummond, who would score 26 points in the final 20 minutes of his career, propelled the Eagles to an 11-point lead, 47-36, when he hit a three-point bomb with 11:58 left in the game.

Findlay would fight back to with a 19-8 run to tie the game 55-55 with 6:17 left in the contest. In the sprint to the finish, the game would be tied six times and the lead would change hands seven times before the Oilers got the final bucket for the 70-69 win.

The game was a tail of two halves for the Eagles. USI rebounded to shoot 56.3 percent in the final 20 minutes (18-32) after shooting 21.9 percent (7-32) in the first half. The Eagles also outrebounded the Oilers, 44-36, for the game.

Individually, Drummond led the Eagles in scoring with a career-high 31 points. The senior guard was 12-of-20 from the field, six-of-13 from beyond the arc, and one-of-three from the line. Stein followed Drummond in the scoring column with 11 points and a team-best nine assists.

The Eagles finish the season with 25 wins for the 15^th time in the history of the program and with their 26^th appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Grau Brings Home National Title in Mile

by Shawn Chambers, USI Graduate Assistant

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) will return to Evansville from the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a National Championship in hand after a stellar performance in the mile on the event’s final day. Senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) will also return with hardware after a fifth-place performance in the 3,000-meter run.

Despite falling to the back of the pack to begin the event, Grau was able to move from last to the lead of the pack between the 600 and 800-meter mark of the race. From there, Grau paced the field by a half-of-a-second the rest of the way en route to his first career national title, finishing in four minutes, 5.70 seconds. His time marks the second fastest in USI history behind Ben Kapsoiya’s 4:04.44 achieved at the 1999 NCAA II Indoor Championships

With his title, Grau becomes the third Screaming Eagle to earn a national title during the indoor season, and the first since Tyler Pence won the 5,000-meters in 2015. Elly Rono earned the national title, also in the 5,000-meters, in 1998. Between cross country and indoor/outdoor track & field, it is the seventh national title for the men’s programs.

Grau, also a part of Friday evening’s distance medley relay team, becomes an All-American for the second time in his first year as an Eagle. During the fall, Grau was in line to finish near the top of the field before an injury prevented his finish. Climbing to as high as fourth near the halfway point, Broughton fell a spot to fifth where he stayed for the final 1,200-meters to finish in 8:05.65.

In one of the meet’s final events, Broughton picked up an All-America honor with a fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run. Staying near the back of the lead pack to start, Broughton began to move up the field near the 800-meter mark.

Broughton’s time marks the second fastest in USI history, trailing only Johnnie Guy’s 8:05.22 set a year ago at the Gladstein Invitational. Broughton’s finish is also the 14th-fastest in NCAA II history.

His finish marks Broughton’s second All-America honor during the 2017 NCAA II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The senior captured his first career outdoor All-America award after a fourth-place finish as a part of the distance medley relay team on Friday. In the fall, Broughton’s 27th-place finish in the NCAA II Cross Country Championships earned him his first cross country All-America nod. He became an All-American for the first time last spring with a sixth-place showing in the steeplechase finals.
As a team, the Eagles finished in a tie for 13th-place with Missouri Southern University, totaling 19 points for the event. The 19 points breakdown to 10 from Grau’s title run, five from the distance medley relay’s fourth-place performance, and four from Broughton who finished fifth in the 3,000-meters.

Tiffin University took the team crown with 63 after dominating the field events, taking the top spot in three separate events. Ashland University and St. Augustine University rounded out the top three teams with 52 and 46 points, respectively.

USI begins the outdoor season March 23 when it competes at the VU Bill Smith Challenge in Vincennes, Indiana.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) will return to Evansville from the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a National Championship in hand after a stellar performance in the mile on the event’s final day. Senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) will also return with hardware after a fifth-place performance in the 3,000-meter run.

Despite falling to the back of the pack to begin the event, Grau was able to move from last to the lead of the pack between the 600 and 800-meter mark of the race. From there, Grau paced the field by a half-of-a-second the rest of the way en route to his first career national title, finishing in four minutes, 5.70 seconds. His time marks the second fastest in USI history behind Ben Kapsoiya’s 4:04.44 achieved at the 1999 NCAA II Indoor Championships

With his title, Grau becomes the third Screaming Eagle to earn a national title during the indoor season, and the first since Tyler Pence won the 5,000-meters in 2015. Elly Rono earned the national title, also in the 5,000-meters, in 1998. Between cross country and indoor/outdoor track & field, it is the seventh national title for the men’s programs.

Grau, also a part of Friday evening’s distance medley relay team, becomes an All-American for the second time in his first year as an Eagle. During the fall, Grau was in line to finish near the top of the field before an injury prevented his finish. Climbing to as high as fourth near the halfway point, Broughton fell a spot to fifth where he stayed for the final 1,200-meters to finish in 8:05.65.

In one of the meet’s final events, Broughton picked up an All-America honor with a fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run. Staying near the back of the lead pack to start, Broughton began to move up the field near the 800-meter mark.

Broughton’s time marks the second fastest in USI history, trailing only Johnnie Guy’s 8:05.22 set a year ago at the Gladstein Invitational. Broughton’s finish is also the 14th-fastest in NCAA II history.

His finish marks Broughton’s second All-America honor during the 2017 NCAA II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The senior captured his first career outdoor All-America award after a fourth-place finish as a part of the distance medley relay team on Friday. In the fall, Broughton’s 27th-place finish in the NCAA II Cross Country Championships earned him his first cross country All-America nod. He became an All-American for the first time last spring with a sixth-place showing in the steeplechase finals.

As a team, the Eagles finished in a tie for 13th-place with Missouri Southern University, totaling 19 points for the event. The 19 points breakdown to 10 from Grau’s title run, five from the distance medley relay’s fourth-place performance, and four from Broughton who finished fifth in the 3,000-meters.

Tiffin University took the team crown with 63 after dominating the field events, taking the top spot in three separate events. Ashland University and St. Augustine University rounded out the top three teams with 52 and 46 points, respectively.

USI begins the outdoor season March 23 when it competes at the VU Bill Smith Challenge in Vincennes, Indiana.

Schedule change announced for Saturday

 LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Evansville softball team had a great day at the ballpark on Friday, battling #19 Kentucky to the wire before wrapping up the day with a 2-1 win over Dayton at the John Cropp Classic.

“I am extremely proud of the fight our team showed today,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “Our pitching staff did a tremendous job keeping us in both ball games.”

In game one against the #19 Wildcats, the Purple Aces (6-11) held UK scoreless through just over four innings before a 3-run inning saw them take a 3-0 lead.  Alex Martens had 2 RBI in the inning.  Kentucky added one more in the sixth before the Aces were able to push a run across in the seventh.  Courtney Land had a pinch hit RBI to plate Michal Luckett to make it the final of 4-1.

Starting pitcher Emily Lockhart had a great day in the circle, tossing four innings and allowing just one hit.

Game two against Dayton was also a defensive battle as neither team put a run on the board until UE did so in the bottom of the sixth.  Morgan Lambert scored Luckett on a fielder’s choice for the opening run before McKenzie Johnson singled to bring Kori Keyes home.

That was all starter Morgan Florey would need as she allowed one Flyer run in the seventh, but UE held on for the 2-1 win.

Due to the impending weather, a schedule change is on tap for Saturday.  Just one game will be played as the Aces will face Michigan at 1 p.m. ET.

CLERMONT, Fla.—University of Southern Indiana Softball racked up a combined 15 runs and 25 hits Friday night as the No. 16 Screaming Eagles completed The Spring Games with a 9-0, six-inning win over the University of Sioux Falls and a 6-1 victory over Northern State University Friday night.

USI has reached the five-run plateau in 14 of its 20 games this season and have had at least 10 hits in nine games.

The Eagles (17-3) return to action Wednesday at 1 p.m. when they host Midwest Region foe Kentucky Wesleyan College in their 2017 home-opener at the USI Softball Field.

Southern Indiana (17-3) 9, Sioux Falls (8-5) 0

Senior shortstop Lexi Reese (Lebanon, Indiana) hit a walk-off, three-run home run to give USI Softball a 9-0, six-inning victory over Sioux Falls to open the final day of competition for the Eagles at The Spring Games.

USI scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to open up the onslaught as four different Eagles had RBIs. Sophomore second basemanClaire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana), junior first baseman Marleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana) and junior third baseman Mena Fulton(Bloomington, Indiana) each had RBI-hits in the third frame, while senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) had a sacrifice fly.

Fulton had an RBI-groundout in the fifth inning to put the Eagles up, 5-0, while sophomore utility player Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) followed Fulton with an RBI-single to give USI a 6-0 lead.

Back-to-back singles by Johnson and sophomore designated player/pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) to lead off the sixth inning put Reese in position for the three-run, game-ending bomb that sailed over the left-centerfield fence.

Sophomore pitcher Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana) recorded her second straight complete-game shutout and third in the last four outings after scattering two hits and three walks throughout six innings. Atkisson (6-2) had a strikeout as she earned her third straight win.

Southern Indiana 6, Northern State (12-4) 1

The Eagles scored six unanswered runs as they ended The Spring Games with a 6-1 victory over Northern State Friday night.

After spotting the Wolves (12-4) a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Eagles responded with pair of tallies in the top of the second inning as Bradley had an RBI-single before scoring on a wild pitch to put USI up, 2-1.

USI tacked on another tally in the fourth inning when junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) drove in a run on a groundout to third base.

A two-run triple off the bat of Johnson in the sixth inning put the Eagles up, 5-1, while an RBI-single by Fossett in the seventh inning completed the Eagles’ scoring.

Leonhardt (8-1) earned the win after allowing the one run off three hits in seven innings of work. She racked up a season-high 12 strikeouts en route to her fifth straight win.

Southern Indiana 9, Sioux Falls 0 (Mar 10, 2017 at Clermont, FL)

———————————————————————-

Sioux Falls……… 000 000  -  0  2  1      (8-5)

Southern Indiana…. 004 023  -  9 13  0      (16-3)

———————————————————————-

Pitchers: Sioux Falls – Mathews, Courtney; Black, Breanna(4) and Ragusi, Jasmine.

Southern Indiana – Atkisson,Courtney and Hodges, Haley.

Win-Atkisson,Courtney(6-2)  Loss-Mathews, Courtney(2-5)  T-1:25  A-88

HR USI – Reese, Lexi (4).

Black, B. faced 3 batters in the 6th.

Game: 19-TSG

Southern Indiana 6, Northern State 1 (Mar 10, 2017 at Clermont, FL)

———————————————————————-

Southern Indiana…. 020 102 1 -  6 12  0      (17-3)

Northern State…… 100 000 0 -  1  3  1      (12-4)

———————————————————————-

Pitchers: Southern Indiana – Leonhardt, Jennifer and Hodges, Haley. Northern State –

Elkins, Missy; Albright, Rachel(7) and Rutter, Madison.

Win-Leonhardt, Jennifer(8-1)  Loss-Elkins, Missy(4-3)  T-1:45  A-73

Game: 20-TSG

Eagles end spring trip with 8-1 win

written by Jostun Pomplun, USI Graduate Assistant

a. – The University of Southern Indiana women’s tennis team ended its spring trip with an 8-1 victory over Bentley University Frida afternoon in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Junior Kelsey Shipman (Olney, Illinois) picked up the win at number one singles, 6-1, 6-1. She also partnered with senior Brenna Wu (Evansville, Indiana) for an 8-5 win at number two singles.

Also in doubles, freshman Lauren Hambrock (Terre Haute, Indiana) and senior Kymberly Brannon (Louisville, Kentucky) tallied a victory at number two 8-5. Hambrock won at number three singles 6-4, 6-2, while Brannon was a winner at number four 6-3, 6-1.

At number five singles, freshman Alex Jamison (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) picked up the win 6-1, 6-1. Junior Jennifer Mizikar (Batavia, Illinois) grabbed the win at number six 6-4, 6-2. Jamison also teamed up with junior Haley Jones (Ft. Branch, Indiana) at number three doubles for an 8-2 win.

USI returns to action on March 15 when it hosts Daemen College (N.Y.) at the USI Tennis Courts at 2 p.m.

Southern Indiana 8, Bentley 1
Mar 10, 2017 at Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Singles competition
1. Kelsey Shipman (USI) def. Rachel Petrini (BEN) 6-1, 6-1
2. Hannah Fabianski (BEN) def. Brenna Wu (USI) 6-3, 7-5
3. Lauren Hambrock (USI) def. Rachel Hui (BEN) 6-4, 6-2
4. Kymberly Brannon (USI) def. Tiffany Suchanek (BEN) 6-3, 6-1
5. Alex Jamison (USI) def. Katie Tynan (BEN) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jennifer Mizikar (USI) def. Jill Kamphaus (BEN) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Kelsey Shipman/Brenna Wu (USI) def. Rachel Petrini/Katie Tynan (BEN) 8-5
2. Lauren Hambrock/Kymberly Brannon (USI) def. Hannah Fabianski/Tiffany Suchanek (BEN) 8-5
3. Haley Jones/Alex Jamison (USI) def. Jill Kamphaus/Olivia von Oldenburg (BEN) 8-2
Match Notes
Southern Indiana 5-4
Bentley 13-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,5,4,6,2,3)