The Purple Aces will participate in six meets before postseason competition in 2024

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville track and field team is gearing up for its outdoor season starting in mid-March.

The Purple Aces will participate in six meets before MVC Championships in mid-May. UE will begin its season at a Valley school with the Margaret Simmons Invite on March 22 and 23 at Murray State. Evansville’s other March outdoor meet will be the team’s longest trip of the year to Raleigh, N.C. for the Raleigh Relays on March 28 through March 30.

The Aces will participate in two single-day meets during outdoor competition. The first will be on April 5 at the Jim Vargo Invitational in Louisville, Ky. UE will then get almost two weeks off before its next meet at Eastern Kentucky’s Rick Erdmann Twilight meet, on April 20 and April 21. Evansville wraps up the month of April with the Outdoor Music City Challenge in Nashville hosted by Vanderbilt on the 26^th and 27th.

The final meet of the regular outdoor season for the Aces will be a one-day meet on Friday, May 3. UE will participate in the Billy Hayes Invitational hosted by Indiana that Friday afternoon. Evansville then wraps up its outdoor season at the MVC Championships, hosted by Indiana State. The Aces will look to improve on their indoor season placements of 10^th at the outdoor championships.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Softball displayed its extra-base power on Monday when the Screaming Eagles notched five extra-base hits toward a 6-3 series finale road win at Tennessee Tech University.
 
Southern Indiana (7-11, 1-2) came out swinging right in the first inning Monday. Following a double by sophomore outfielder Caroline Stapleton (Shirley, Indiana), senior first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) brought Stapleton home on a double to centerfield. Three batters later, junior infielder Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) drove in two more runs with a double down the left field line, giving USI a 3-0 advantage through the first inning.
 
Tennessee Tech (9-7) chipped away with a run in the third and another in the fourth inning to draw within one run of the Screaming Eagles, 3-2. Southern Indiana responded in the top of the fifth inning, grabbing a 5-2 lead with a pair of runs. Senior catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) led off the fifth with a solo home run, her second of the season.
 
USI added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning when Gotshall recorded her second double and third RBI of the contest. With the Screaming Eagles ahead 6-2, Tennessee Tech threatened with the potential tying run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, but USI junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) pitched out of the jam. The Golden Eagles scored their last run in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Southern Indiana scored its six runs off 10 hits, five of which went for extra bases. Gotshall finished with three RBIs on a pair of doubles. Kihega went 2-2 with a home run, and Stapleton also registered a two-hit game. Newman earned the pitching win, going to 6-5 this season. Newman struck out three and allowed three runs – two earned – in the complete game.
 
Tennessee Tech’s three runs came off six hits. Freshman pitcher Faith Rush dropped 1-3 after surrendering three runs in two innings of work.
 
Next, USI Softball will make its home debut at USI Softball Field Saturday and Sunday against Morehead State University in an OVC showdown. Saturday is a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for Noon. There will also be a 2024 USI Softball magnet schedule giveaway throughout the weekend series.

UE welcomes Indiana State at 5 p.m.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri Valley Conference action begins on Tuesday and Wednesday for the University of Evansville softball team, who welcomes Indiana State to Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium.  First pitch for both games will be 5 p.m.

Evansville enters its MVC slate having won four of its last five games.  In its 4-1 finish to the last week, UE hit .357 as a team while outscoring the opposition by a 49-31 margin.  UE also slugged .593 as a team with its runners reaching base 43.1% of the time.

Marah Wood put together a big week at the plate for the Purple Aces, batting .429 with two home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored while slugging .857.  After going 1-3 in Wednesday’s opener against Lindenwood, Wood picked up the biggest hit of the year for the Aces in game two.  With her team trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 6^th, Wood launched a 2-run home run that would prove to be the game winner while giving Evansville its first win of the season.

UE pitcher Megan Brenton won three games over the last week while striking out 12 batters and posted a 3.59 ERA.  On Wednesday against Lindenwood, Brenton tossed a complete game gem to help the Purple Aces to their first win of the season.

Batting .357 and scoring eight runs on the week, freshman Brooke Voss played a large role in the Aces’ 4-1 finish to the week.  Voss accumulated five hits in 14 at-bats while slugging .786 and reaching base 47.1% of the time.  All five hits came in her final eight at-bats of the weekend.  Voss put together her top day of collegiate softball on Sunday.  In the opener against St. Bonaventure, she was a perfect 3-3 with a home run, two RBI and four runs scored.  She followed that up with a 2-for-5 performance in the weekend finale versus Bellarmine.  Voss added her second home run of the day while picking up two RBI and two more runs.

Indiana State comes into Tuesday’s contest with a record of 11-12.  Kennedy Shade leads the Sycamores with a .413 batting average.  She has recorded two home runs, 20 RBI and 10 runs scored through the opening month of the season.