The University of Southern Indiana baseball team opens 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference action when it hosts Bellarmine University for a four-game series Friday and Saturday at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles and the Knights are slated to play a 2 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday. Live coverage four-game series with Bellarmine can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
Next Up: 500 Wins. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta remains one win shy of 500 all-time victories with 499 wins combined between his seasons at USI and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Archuleta has a USI record of 351-178 (.664) in eight-plus seasons and is 499-302 (.623) in 13-plus seasons as the head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships. He also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.
USI in the national polls. USI fell out of the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 poll despite receiving votes. The Eagles also fell out of the NCBWA Top 25 poll.
Eagles looking to bounce back after 0-3 week. USI fell to 11-7 after 0-3 week to finish the six-game road trip and start a six-game homestand. The Eagles started the week by falling at crosstown rival University of Evansville, 2-1, Friday before losing a pair to Quincy University, 7-4 and 8-4, over the weekend. USI had troubles at the plate, hitting only .214 (22-103) and committing six errors in the three games.
Leading the GLVC. Senior catcher/designated hitter Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) is tied for 8th in the GLVC with 19 RBIs. Junior right-hander Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana) is third in the conference with a 1.99 ERA and seventh with a .234 opponent batting average. Junior right-hander Lucas Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) is sixth in the league with a .230 opponent batting average.
USI leaders at the plate. Sophomore utility player Drake McNamara (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) leads the Eagle regulars with a .373 batting average, while senior catcher/designated hitter Ryan Bertram has a team-high 19 RBIs and sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) has three home runs.
On the bump. Junior right-hander Lucas Barnett has a team-best three victories (3-1 overall), while junior right-hander Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana) has a team-low 1.99 ERA amongst the starting pitchers. Senior right-hander T.J. Decker (Brazil, Indiana) has a team-low 1.80 ERA in seven appearances out of the bullpen.
USI vs. Bellarmine. USI leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 74-67, after splitting four regular season games last year. The Eagles won 8-7 (in 10 innings) and lost 6-4 at the USI Baseball Field, before winning 8-3 and losing 6-3 at Knights Field in Louisville, Kentucky.
Bellarmine in 2016. Bellarmine is 8-8 in 2016, winning five of its last six games.
