Schaumburg, Ill. – The Evansville Otters pounded the Schaumburg Boomers for 13 singles and 15 total hits in a 9-1 victory Friday night at Wintrust Field.

Six different Otters totaled multi-hit performances led by Ethan Skender’s three-hit, three-RBI night.

On the mound, Braden Scott tossed six dominant innings, allowing just four baserunners over six innings of work. James Krick pitched three shutout innings in relief, allowing just one baserunner. The two arms combined to allow just three hits over the entire game.

The Otters quickly scored in the first inning. Gary Mattis led off with a single and stole two bases before scoring on a sacrifice fly. Three more hits followed with Skender driving in the second run of the frame on a RBI single.

Schaumburg hit a leadoff solo home run in the first but that would be the Boomers only run of the evening. After the home run, Scott retired the next nine Boomers’ batters.

Austin Bost hit a two-out RBI single in the third inning to double the Otters lead to 3-1.

Another two scored in the fifth inning. Dakota Phillips led off with his 33rd double of the season. Skender hit another RBI single and George Callil knocked home the second run of the frame.

Evansville blew the game open in the seventh inning with four runs, sending all nine batters to the plate. Skender capped his big night by doubling home the first run of the inning. Callil notched an RBI single and Jeffrey Baez hit a two-RBI single to finish the scoring.

Scott earned his fourth win of the season and fourth quality start. Schaumburg’s Juan Pichardo suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs on nine hits.

Phillips extended his on-base streak to 22 games on a two-hit, two-run night. Myers finished with three hits and moved his on-base streak to 16 games. The Otters worked nine walks and stole five bases.

Evansville and Schaumburg play the middle game of the series on Saturday evening with a 6:00 PM CT first pitch from Wintrust Field. The game can be heard on the Otters Digital Network and simulcast on FloSports.

LOUISVILLE, Ken. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-5) played a competitive match in its loss to Murray State University (3-1), 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-21), before dropping the second match of the day to Bellarmine University (2-3), 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19), at Knights Hall Friday evening to open the Bellarmine Invitational.
 
USI vs. Murray State
The Screaming Eagles had an early lead but watched it dwindle as the Racers came back and defeated them, 25-21. After giving up two straight points, USI went on a quick 6-0 run with the help of a couple of kills from senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois). The Eagles held on to the lead until three straight kills from MSU gave the Racers a 14-12 advantage. Both sides traded blows back and forth until MSU sealed the game by scoring four of the last five points. Bednar led the Eagles with five of the team’s 10 kills.
 
Another competitive game from USI left the Eagles without satisfaction as MSU took the second set, 25-19. The Racers jumped out to a 4-2 lead before USI nabbed three points off a pair of MSU errors and a kill from Bianca Anderson. Back-and-forth play went on the entire set, but the Racers got the upper hand at the end after a game-sealing 3-0 run. Bednar racked up another five kills with senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) tallying four kills. MSU had their best attacking set of the day, earning 16 kills with just one error and a 0.455 hitting percentage. The Eagles also performed a good attacking game, throwing down 13 kills with a 0.206 hitting percentage.
 
A few solid Racers’ surges sealed the Eagles’ fate in the final set, 25-21. USI came out of the gates with a 4-1 lead after kills from Leah Anderson and junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) along with a service ace from junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana). MSU retaliated with a big 6-0 stretch to make it 7-4 in favor of the Racers. Once again, the Eagles pushed back with three straight points. Down 10-9, USI gained some momentum and the lead after two kills from Bednar and an attacking error from MSU that made it 12-11. The Racers returned with four straight and made it 15-12. Trailing 21-17, USI made a last-second push and went on a 4-0 stint to tie it up at 21 apiece. Bednar was the culprit for a few of the Eagles’ points, earning a kill, ace, and assist while Sobieralski tallied a block and a kill. Despite the late comeback, the Racers nailed four straight points to earn the sweep over the Eagles.
 
Bednar led the charge on the attack for USI, securing 15 kills to go with an ace and two blocks. Sobieralski threw up 29 assists along with seven digs and an ace while sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) racked up a team-leading 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) was the main blocker for USI, picking up two block solos and assists each.
 
As a team, the Eagles recorded 35 kills, 31 assists, and three aces to pair with 38 digs and five total blocks. The Racers ended the morning with 44 kills, 42 assists, and three aces to go with 45 digs and five blocks.
 
USI vs. Bellarmine
A big run by the Knights led to a 25-22 loss for the Eagles in the opening game. USI went up 6-2 with the help of a pair of kills from senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and a kill by senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Bellarmine retaliated with a 3-0 run right before the Eagles returned the favor by scoring three straight points. After taking a 13-8 lead, USI watched Bellarmine go on a 7-0 surge and scoring 11 of the next 13 points to take a 19-15 advantage. After a run-ending kill from sophomore outside hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois), the Eagles cut the deficit to just one with a 4-1 stint. Bellarmine was able to extend the lead back to four and then seal the Eagles’ fate. Despite being outhit 13 kills to 12 kills, the Knights earned five service aces in the opening set.
 
USI put up a strong fight at the end but could not recover from an early deficit, falling 25-22 in the second set. The Eagles found themselves in a hole after the Knights put up a 10-3 lead early in the game. USI was able to take advantage of a few Bellarmine offensive mistakes to pull with four. Down 18-11, the Eagles made a quick jump and scored three straight after a kill from Leah Anderson and junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana). However, the Knights fought back with a 3-0 run of their own which made it 21-14. USI would end up scoring eight of the final 12 points of the set but would still be taken down by Bellarmine. Both sides put up match-high kills in the second frame with the Eagles recording 15 kills and the Knights tallying 18 kills.
 
A tough offensive outing for USI cost the Eagles the 25-19 third-set win as the Knights took home their second win of the season. It was back-and-forth play early into the game until Bellarmine went on a 5-0 surge to give themselves a 19-13 advantage. The Eagles could not recover from the late push from the Knights and were given their fifth loss of the season and fourth loss in a row. USI had just eight kills in the set while Bellarmine recorded 15 kills.
 
Leah Anderson put up a team-leading 13 kills with Bednar adding 11 kills of her own. Junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) put up 28 assists, her sixth-straight match with 20 or more assists. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) nabbed 11 digs while Downing totaled a pair of blocks. Four Eagles recorded one ace including Downing, Moore, junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana), and senior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana).
 
As a team, the Eagles had 36 kills, 34 assists, and four aces to pair with 43 digs and four blocks. The Knights ended the night with 45 kills, 43 assists, and nine aces to go with 46 digs and five blocks.