Eagles ready for 6th regional in 10 years
USI begins NCAA II Tournament play vs. Missouri S&T
 The University of Southern Indiana baseball team starts the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional with a fellow Great Lakes Valley Conference team when it plays Missouri University of Science & Technology Thursday at 10 a.m. The Midwest Regional, which runs May 19-23, is being hosted by top-seeded Quincy University at Quincy Stadium in Quincy, Illinois.
The Screaming Eagles (33-19) are the fourth seed in the regional, while Missouri S&T (35-17) is the fifth seed. First pitch for USI’s first round game is 10 a.m. Thursday and will be a match-up of the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s 2016 divisional winners.
In addition to the USI-Missouri S&T match-up, Quincy (37-16) is scheduled to start the regional against eighth-seeded Alderson Broaddus (31-19); second-seeded Grand Valley State University (35-16-1) plays seventh-seeded Hillsdale College (32-22); and third-seeded University of Indianapolis (37-19) plays sixth-seeded Ashland University (31-20). The automatic qualifiers in the regional are UIndy (GLVC), GVSU (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), and Alderson Broaddus (Great Midwest Athletic Conference).
Coverage of all of the Screaming Eagles’ action in the NCAA II Midwest Regional, including live stats, audio and video broadcasts, can be found on GoUSIEagles.com or Quincy’s Midwest Regional homepage.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
USI history in the NCAA II Tournament. The Screaming Eagles are making their sixth appearance in the Midwest Regional in the last 10 seasons and their 12th appearance overall in the NCAA II Tournament. USI has won the Midwest Regional three times (2007, 2010, 2014) and the NCAA II National Championship twice (2010, 2014).
Eagles in the NCAA II Tournament. Six current Eagles have NCAA II Tournament experience from 2014 when they won the national championship, going 8-2 during the title run. Senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr led the Eagles during the championship run with a .355 batting average, seven RBIs, and seven stolen bases.
USI in the GLVC Tournament. USI had a rough weekend in the GLVC Tournament, going two and out. Senior first baseman Andrew Cope and sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs led the Eagles with .429 batting averages.
Eagles and back-to-back losses. USI has lost back to back games four times this year and lost three-in-a-row only once in 2016. The Eagles went on to win eight in a row the last time they lost back-to-back games this spring.
USI won the GLVC East. The Eagles won the GLVC East Division title this spring, marking the fourth time in the last seven seasons, taking the East Division three times (2011, 2014, 2016) and the West Division once (2010). USI has gone on to win an NCAA Division II national title in 2010 and 2014.
USI versus NCAA II Midwest Regional field in 2016. USI is 5-6 against the 2016 NCAA II Midwest Regional field (0-3 vs. Quincy; 2-1 vs. GVSU; 0-1 vs. Asland; and 3-1 vs. UIndy). The Eagles are hitting .283 as a team against the field, led by senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf‘s .372 batting average and six RBIs. Senior catcher Ryan Bertram drove in a team best 13 RBIs against the regional field and tied for third with a .341 average against the regional field.
Eagles all-time versus the regional field and in NCAA II Tournament. USI is 126-110 all-time, 10-4 in NCAA II Tournament action, versus the NCAA II Midwest Regional field (vs. Missouri S&T: 19-6 all-time, 0-1 NCAA II Tournament; vs. Quincy: 33-39 all-time, 0-0 NCAA II Tournament; vs. UIndy: 50-52 all-time, 2-2 NCAA II Tournament; vs. Grand Valley State: 11-6 all-time, 6-1 NCAA II Tournament; vs. Ashland : 13-7 all-time, 2-0 NCAA II Tournament).
Eagles flying at the end of the regular season. The Eagles were flying as they enter the post-season, winning nine of the last 10 regular-season games. Senior catcher Ryan Bertram led the way with a .441 batting average in those 10 games with 12 RBIs, while sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs provided the power with four home runs and 19 RBIs. Senior right-hander T.J. Decker solidified the USI bullpen with four saves in five appearances, while junior right-handers Colin Nowak, Lucas Barnett, and freshman left-hander Chase Partain won two games each down the stretch.
At the plate in 2016. Senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf and senior catcher Ryan Bertram lead the Eagles with .352 and .351 batting averages, respectively. Sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs has driven in a team-best 47 RBIs, while Kempf and Bertram follow with 42 and 41 RBIs, respectively.
Kempf took one record, chasing more. Senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf continues to build on his USI career-record for hits, expanding the mark to 283 hits since 2013. Kempf also is chasing three more records, ranking third with 58 doubles (record 63) and 167 runs scored (record 183); and tied for third with 209 games played (record 213).
Carr hoping to steal a record. USI senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr is closing on the Eagles’ stolen base record with 78 career thefts (record 86), ranking third on the Eagles’ all-time list. Carr also ranks 14th all-time in hits (200), 11th in runs scored (138), and 12th in games played (179).
Six-game winners. Two of USI’s four starting pitchers have won six games each this year. Junior right-handers Colin Nowak and Lucas Barnett won their sixth games of the year against UIndy. Barnett also has struck out a team-best 73 batters.
Leading the GLVC in pitching. USI leads the GLVC and ranks 22nd nationally in pitching with a 3.46 ERA.
Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta reached 500 all-time victories and became the Eagles’ all-time winningest coach in program history. Archuleta has a USI record of 373-190 (.668) in eight-plus seasons and is 521-314 (.624) 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. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.
Barnett, Bertram, Niemeier, and Decker earned weekly honors. USI has had four players earn GLVC weekly honors during 2016. Senior catcher Ryan Bertram and senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier received Player of the Week honors during the season, while senior right-handed pitcher T.J. Decker and junior right-hander Lucas Barnett earned Pitcher of the Week awards.
Nine Eagles named All-GLVC. USI had nine players receive All-GLVC East Division honors. The nine All-GLVC honorees are one short of the USI record of 10 all-conference players in 2014. Headlining the All-GLVC East first team for USI is senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf, senior catcher Ryan Bertram, and senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier. The Screaming Eagles placed six players on the All-GLVC East second team with senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr; senior third baseman Trent Gunn; sophomore utility playerDrake McNamara; junior right-handed starter Colin Nowak; junior right-handed starter Devin Williams; and senior right-handed relief pitcher T.J. Decker being honored.
