University of Evansville professor of history Daniel Gahan will be the speaker for UE’s Andiron Lecture on April 5. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Room 253, in Ridgway University Center. Gahan’s topic will be “Diggers, Farmers, and Townsmen: Irish Immigrants in Southwestern Indiana.”

Between 1815 and 1900 over four million Irish came to the US. The arrival of the Irish in such numbers sparked the first anti-immigrant political movement. Irish immigrants of 1815-1900 were largely Catholic; most settled in urban centers. Their eighteenth century compatriots were mostly Protestant and settled largely in the rural south. Scholarship on the nineteenth-century wave has focused largely on the urban experience, but recently there has been considerable study of those who settled in small towns and in the country.

Gahan will summarize current research on a 17-county area of southwestern Indiana, which examines the Irish immigrant experience there in the period 1815-1880. He will offer a profile of the Irish immigrant community of the study area at the mid-point of the century. He will consider evidence of community development, recreation of “normal” family life, achievement of a certain economic status, and degrees of assimilation, as experienced by these immigrants. This will be placed in the broader context of Irish settlement in rural parts of the US from 1815-1900.

Gahan earned his BA from the National University of Ireland (Maynooth College), his MA from Loyola University of Chicago, and his PhD from the University of Kansas. He has published on Irish agrarian history, Irish immigrants in the United States, and the Irish rebellion of 1798 (including a book on the rebellion in county Wexford, The People’s Rising).

The Andiron Lecture series is sponsored by the William L. Ridgway College of Arts and Sciences and supported by a generous gift from Donald B. Korb. For more information, call 812-488-1070 or 812-488-2589.

University of Southern Indiana Softball opens its 2017 home schedule as well as Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend in a position it has never been in before: the top 10 of the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Top 25 poll.

The Screaming Eagles (17-3) jumped six spots to No. 10 in the latest poll as they host William Jewell College in a doubleheader Saturday at noon at the USI Softball Field. USI also hosts Rockhurst University in a twinbill Sunday at noon.

Live stats as well as GLVC Sports Network coverage can be accessed on GoUSIEagles.com.

USI Softball Notes
• Eagles bring nine-game win streak into GLVC-opener. USI Softball brings a nine-game winning streak into its GLVC-opener Saturday against William Jewell. It is the Eagles’ longest winning streak since USI won 13 straight in April of 2015. USI won a program-best 18 straight games in 2005 after opening the year with eight straight losses.

• Eagles earn highest ranking in program history. The Eagles jumped six spots to No. 10 in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll. It is the highest ranking in program history for the Eagles, whose previous high was No. 13. In addition to USI, the GLVC is represented in the NFCA Top 25 by No. 17 Missouri-St. Louis and No. 20 Indianapolis.

• Hodges closing in on HR, RBI records. Senior catcher Haley Hodges is closing in on USI’s all-time career records for home runs and RBIs. Hodges is just one home run shy of Rachel Bowling’s career-record of 38 and just three RBIs away from Bowling’s career-mark of 144.

• Eagles racking up GLVC accolades. Senior shortstop Lexi Reese became the third USI Softball player to earn a GLVC weekly honor when she was named Player of the Week on Monday. Reese joins sophomore second baseman Claire Johnson (February 27–Player) and freshmant pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (February 20–Pitcher) in earning a GLVC weekly award.

• USI pitching staff off to strong start. USI pitchers have been getting the job done in the first 20 games of the season as the staff has a 1.79 team ERA, good enough for second in the league, and a GLVC-best .206 opponent batting average. Freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt and sophomore lefty Courtney Atkisson have been neck-and-neck in ERA and opponent batting average. Leonhardt has a team-best 1.74 ERA to go with a .203 opponent batting average, while Atkisson has a team-best .201 opponent batting average and three shutouts to go along with a 1.75 ERA.

• Productive lineup. The Eagles have eight players in their lineup with at least one home run this year and nine players in their lineup with at least five RBIs. USI leads the GLVC in batting average (.343), runs per game (6.85) and on-base percentage (.419), and is second in slugging percentage (.503).

The University of Southern Indiana men’s tennis team swept Daemen College 9-0 Wednesday afternoon at the Evansville Tennis Center. The win improved the 34th-ranked Screaming Eagles’ record to 10-5.

Sophomores Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) and Andrew Dones (Georgetown, Indiana) scored the first point of the day for USI winning at number three doubles 8-0 as the Eagles never looked back. Dones went on to win his number six singles match 6-0, 6-0, while Karelin won at number five 6-1, 6-1.

In singles, sophomore James Hardiman (Backwell Bristol, United Kingdom) tallied a 6-0, 6-0 victory at number one and freshman Denis Davydov (Chorvatsky Grob, Slovakia) grabbed the win at number two, 6-1, 6-2. Hardiman and Davydov teamed up at number one doubles for an 8-4 win.

Picking up the final point in doubles was junior Samuel Kiladejo (London, England) and senior Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) at number two, 8-5. Barris would go on to win at number four singles 6-1, 6-2, and Kiladejo was victorious at number three, 6-2, 6-4.

The Eagles will take part in the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover this weekend, playing Ferris State University, Northwood University and Rockhurst University in Plainfield, Illinois. USI will play Ferris State first on Friday morning at 7:30 a.m.
#34 Southern Indiana 9, Daemen 0
Mar 15, 2017 at Evansville, Indiana (Evansville Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. James Hardiman (USI) def. D Gonzalez Villegas (DAEM) 6-0, 6-0
2. Denis Davydov (USI) def. Mark Veitengruber (DAEM) 6-1, 6-2
3. Samuel Kiladejo (USI) def. Fabian Wilde (DAEM) 6-2, 6-4
4. Aaron Barris (USI) def. R Ruiz Martinez (DAEM) 6-1, 6-2
5. Ilia Karelin (USI) def. Justin Milner (DAEM) 6-1, 6-1
6. Andrew Dones (USI) def. Andrew LeMar (DAEM) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. James Hardiman/Denis Davydov (USI) def. Mark Veitengruber/Fabian Wilde (DAEM) 8-4
2. Aaron Barris/Samuel Kiladejo (USI) def. D Gonzalez Villegas/R Ruiz Martinez (DAEM) 8-5
3. Ilia Karelin/Andrew Dones (USI) def. Andrew LeMar/John LeMar (DAEM) 8-0
Match Notes
Daemen 5-12
Southern Indiana 10-5; National ranking #34
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,5,2,3,6)