USI opens 2022 with upset win over #26 Young Harris

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball opened the 2022 campaign with a 16-6 upset victory at #26 Young Harris University Friday afternoon in Georgia. The Screaming Eagles start the year 1-0, while Young Harris falls to 6-2.   
 
The Eagles struck early with a three-run first inning to take command of the game. USI junior catcher Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) gave USI a 1-0 lead with an RBI single, while sophomore first baseman Adam Wildeman (Evansville, Indiana) extended the margin to 3-0 with a two-run single up the middle.
 
USI got the bats going again in the top of the fourth when another three spot. Senior shortstop Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute, Indiana) pushed a run across after reaching on an error to increase the lead to 4-0, while McNew and sophomore designated hitter Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) knocked runs with a double and a single, respectively, to put the advantage at 6-0.
 
USI’s offense exploded again in the fifth with a four-run frame. After junior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) forced in a run with a hit by pitch, Hunter knocked in a pair with a two-run double that would put the Eagles ahead 9-0.
 
Tachioka struck again by scoring on a wild pitch before junior leftfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana) singled in a tally for the 11-0 margin.
 
The Mountain Lions took a large bit out of the USI lead with a five run fifth and a single tally in the sixth. The 11-6 score would be as close as Young Harris would come in the final half of the game as USI would score four in the seventh to re-extend the lead to nine, 15-6, and one in the eighth to get back to double-digits, 16-6.
 
Sophomore centerfielder Steven Molinet (Elberfeld, Indiana) and sophomore third baseman Nolan Cook (Evansville, Indiana) knocked in a pair of runs each during the seventh on a RBI-double and a RBI-single, respectively. Wildeman finished the scoring for the Eagles with a RBI-single in the eighth. USI would add three more runs in the top of the ninth for a game-high 13-run lead to get the 19-6 victory.
 
Hunter and Wildeman led the Eagles at the plate with three RBIs each, while five players had two hits each. Hunter and McNew also scored four times in the win.
 
On the mound, junior right-hander Garrett Welch (New Castle, Indiana) started and got a no-decision. Welch, who started with four scoreless frames before getting into trouble in the fifth, allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out one.
 
Freshman left-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) was the pitcher of record in relief and picks up his first collegiate win. Hutson allowed one run on three hits in two innings, striking out one.
 
Senior right-hander Brice Stuteville (Rockport, Indiana), who picked up an RBI-single in the ninth, finished the game on the mound for the Eagles. Stuteville threw three scoreless innings with no-hits and four strikeouts.