EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball opens the 2024 campaign with a four-games away from home when it visits Mobile, Alabama, February 16-19. The Screaming Eagles are scheduled to play Lamar University Friday and the University of North Alabama Saturday in neutral site contests before taking on University of South Alabama, the host, Sunday and Monday.
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Links to follow the Eagles during the opening weekend of 2024 can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and on the USI Baseball Schedule.   Â
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USI Baseball Notes:
USI predicted 8th in 2024 OVC. The USI Screaming Eagles are predicted to place eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024. Â
USI reached OVC Championship during 1st Division I season: The Eagles earned a trip to the OVC Championship during its first season of transitioning to NCAA Division I. The Eagles lost in the opening round of the tournament.
USI in 2023. The Eagles were 17-38 a year ago, 8-15 in the OVC and 9-23 in the non-conference contests. USI also was 8-16 at home, 6-20 on the road, and 3-2 on a neutral field.
Top returning hitter from 2023: Senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) is USI top returning hitter from 2023 after hitting .321 with a team-best 53 RBI, 12 home runs, and 12 multi-RBI games. Senior outfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) follows with a 2023 batting average of .296 with a team-best 15 stolen bases. Tachioka also finished 2023 by reaching base in 21-straight games.
Looking for a full season: Junior infielder Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) is looking for a full season after missing nearly all of 2023 after breaking his collar bone in the opening game. He was three-for-three with a triple and three RBIs before being injured.
On the mound: Senior right-hander Carter Stamm (Jasper, Indiana) and junior right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) are USI’s top returning winning pitchers with two victories each last season. USI had 17 wins distributed amongst 11 hurlers in 2023.
USI under Archuleta: The Eagles are in their 18th season under Head Coach Tracy Archuleta, who has led the Eagles to two NCAA Division II national championships (2010, 2014) in his 17 years at the helm. He also has been recognized as the Division II ABCA National Coach of the Year twice (2010, 2014); the ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year five times (2007, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018) and the GLVC Coach of the Year twice (2011, 2014) since taking over the program in 2007. He also is the winningest coach in the history of the program with 544 victories in 17 years.
New opponents on the 2024 Schedule. The Eagles are playing 15 of the first 19 games against opponents who are making their first appearance on a USI baseball schedule.
Long road coming up. In March, the Eagles will have a long road to go, playing 14 of 17 games away from the USI Baseball Field. Â
USI vs. Lamar, UNA, USA. USI will be playing Lamar, North Alabama, and South Alabama for the first time in the history of the program. Lamar was 32-23 a year ago, while North Alabama and South Alabama were 14-37 and 23-31, respectively.
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