Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts were able to rally in the first round after dropping the first game of the series and will now look to do so again in this second round series following a 7-2 loss to the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center on Wednesday night, with do-or-die game two on Friday night in Peoria.

Although Peoria opened the scoring with a Jordan Ernst goal at 7:32 of the first period, the Thunderbolts played well in long stretches and were only outshot 10-8.  The second period proved to be the big difference, beginning with an early Cale List goal at 1:41 to make it 2-0, and the Thunderbolts could not recover after coming up short on several power play chances to shorten the deficit.  Seconds after Evansville’s final power play of the second period ended, Tristan Trudel scored at 18:03 to make it a 3-0 game.  Just after that, Jacob Kamps was ejected following a major penalty for charging, with another goal being scored at 19:33 on the ensuing power play, as Mitchell McPherson made it 4-0 Peoria.

The Thunderbolts had a much more solid third period, holding even in shots at eight-apiece, and broke the Rivermen shutout on a power play goal from Chays Ruddy at 7:37, assisted by Scott Kirton and Brendan Harrogate.  Peoria responded with a power play goal of their own as Alec Hagaman made it 5-1 at 10:47 and scored again at 12:23 to make it 6-1.  Lincoln Hatten got Evansville a second goal on the power play at 15:48 from Kirton and Ruddy, but the Rivermen finalized the scoring with a power play goal from Ernst at 19:37, ending the score at 7-2 Peoria.

Ruddy finished with a goal and assist, Hatten scored one goal, and Kirton tallied two assists.  In goal, Ceci finished with 28 saves on 35 shots.  Game two will be in Peoria on Friday, April 19^th at 7:15pm CT, and if Evansville can rally to win game two, game three in Peoria will be on Sunday, April 21^st at 3:15pm CT.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball will host the University of Tennessee at Martin this weekend for an important three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at the USI Baseball Field. The USI-UT Martin series starts Friday with West Side Nut Club Night a 6 p.m. before continuing Saturday at 3 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.  
 
The series also is USI Faculty and Staff Weekend at the USI Baseball Field. USI faculty, staff, and their families will be admitted free with a valid University ID at the baseball field entrance. Sunday also is Family Day at the ballpark with kids 12-and-under running the bases and taking pictures with their favorite player after the game.
 
Links to follow the Eagles (15-22, 5-7 OVC) during the opening weekend of 2024 can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and on the USI Baseball Schedule.
 
Following the USI-UTM series, USI will conclude its five-game homestand with Belmont University Tuesday at 6 p.m.

USI Baseball Notes
Eagles suffer tough loss to WKU. The USI Screaming Eagles suffered a tough loss, 2-1, to Western Kentucky University to start the week. USI pitching held WKU to just two runs, one earned, on two hits (one a second inning home run). Senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) drove in the Eagles’ only run of the game with a RBI-double in the eighth.
 
USI goes 1-3 last week. The USI Eagles were 1-3 last week, falling to Saint Louis University and losing two-of-three in OVC play to Southeast Missouri State University. Sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) led the USI hitters last week by batting .467 (7-15) with four runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and five RBIs. Junior right-hander Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) picked up the only win last week, while freshman right-hander Grant Parson (Owensboro, Kentucky) had the best outing, allowing one run over seven innings in a tough 1-0 loss.
 
The Long Ball. Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) has hit a team-best and career-high seven home runs this season, while junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) follows with five round trippers.
 
USI in the OVC. USI is tied for seventh in the OVC standing (5-7) after losing the series to SEMO last weekend. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) leads USI at the plate in conference play, batting .414 (12-29). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis has a team-high three home runs and 14 RBIs in the 12 games.
 
Leaders at the plate in 2024. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka is hitting a team best .369 (38-103) in 27 of the 37 games, while junior leftfielder Adam Euler (Evansville, Indiana) is second with a .342 mark (13-38). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis has a team best seven home runs, while senior infielder/designated hitter Tucker Ebest has driven in a team-best 31 RBIs.
 
Multi-hit/Multi-RBI Games. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen leads the Eagles with 18 multi-hit games (16 with 2; 2 with 3), followed by sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus has 16 (12 with 2; 4 with 3). Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis and senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest have nine multi-RBI games each. Niehaus has the top RBI game with five versus Southeast Missouri State University last weekend.
 
Leaders on the mound in 2024. USI junior right-handers Gavin Seebold has recorded a team-best four wins this season. Freshman right-hander Grant Parson and junior right-hander Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) follow with three wins each, while Parson also has a team-high 41 strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit Ferdinand, Indiana) leads USI hurlers with a team-low 3.34 ERA in 29.2 innings this season.
 
In the OVC. USI as a team is fifth in the OVC in pitching with a team 6.28 ERA and sixth in the league in hitting with a .283 team batting average. Freshman right-hander Grant Parson is fifth with a 3.95 ERA and seventh with 41 strikeouts. Junior right-hander Gavin Morris is eighth in the OVC overall with 38 strikeouts.
 
In OVC Games Only. USI is third in the league with a .303 team batting average for OVC games only, but seventh with a 6.97 team ERA.
 
UT Martin in 2024. The Skyhawks of the University of Tennessee at Martin are 13-23 overall and 5-7 in the OVC this season, tied with USI for seventh. UTM lost two of three over the weekend to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has gone 3-7 in the last 10 games.
 
USI vs. UTM. The Eagles lead the all-time series with UTM, 7-5, despite losing two of three in their first season in the OVC last year.
 
Belmont in 2024. The Bruins of Belmont University are 20-17 overall in 2024 and has three games left before visiting USI next week. Belmont defeated the University of North Alabama, 15-9, Tuesday and is 6-4 in its last 10 games.
 
USI vs. Belmont. The Bruins lead the all-time series with USI, 3-0, after winning the only meeting last year, 6-3, in Nashville.