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USI ranked 10th in first regional poll Eagles enter home stretch GLVC schedule

04/25/2019

Â The University of Southern Indiana baseball team was ranked 10^thÂ in the first NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll of 2019. USI was a part of a GLVC contingent that featured six league teams to be ranked in the poll.

The top eight teams — three automatic conference qualifiers and five at-large â€“ will be selected for to the NCAA II Midwest Regional, scheduled for May 16-19, that will be split into two four-team sub-regionals this season. The winners of the four-team regionals advance to a super-regional that will be hosted by the highest remaining seed May 24-26.

This weekend, USI enters the home stretch of the 2019 GLVC schedule when it hosts the University of Missouri-St. Louis for a three-game conference series at the USI Baseball Field. The three-game slate is scheduled for a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and single-game Sunday.

Following the USI’s three-game set with UMSL, the Screaming Eagles visit the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College for a rescheduled non-conference game Tuesday (April 30) at 3 p.m. in Owensboro. USI finishes the 2019 regular season slate May 3-4 when Maryville University comes to the USI Baseball Field. Senior Day is May 4, prior to the noon single game.

Coverage of the Screaming Eagles baseball games this season can be found onÂ GoUSIEagles.com.

SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:

GLVC Tournament berth on the line.Â A berth in the GLVC Tournament will be on the line for the Screaming Eagles when they host UMSL and Maryville in the final two weekends of the regular season. USI enters this weekend versus UMSL tied for seventh in the GLVC with Bellarmine University, but has the tiebreaker with the Knights. The Eagles also have a one-game lead over ninth-place Lewis University in the standings. USI’s magic number for a tournament berth is five USI wins and/or Bellarmine and Lewis losses.

Eagles back on track with power surge.Â USI’s bats snapped a four-game losing streak and put the Eagles back on track by swatting four home runs in the 7-1 victory over Oakland City University. Sophomore leftfielderÂ Aaron EulerÂ led the way with a pair of two-run blasts, while junior designated hitter/rightfielderÂ Manny LopezÂ and junior outfielderÂ Zach PateÂ hit solo and two-run bombs, respectively.

Hitting Leaders.Â Sophomore leftfielderÂ Aaron EulerÂ leads USI in hitting with a .343 mark and in home runs with eight. Junior designated hitter/rightfielderÂ Manny LopezÂ follows with a .340 mark, while freshman catcher/third basemanÂ Lucas McNewÂ has a team-high 37 RBIs.

Euler takes over the lead.Â Sophomore outfielderÂ Aaron EulerÂ takes over the USI home run lead with eight round trippers this season after a pair of home runs versus Oakland City, while freshman catcher/third basemanÂ Lucas McNewÂ and junior rightfielder/designated hitterÂ Manny LopezÂ are tied for second with seven bombs each.

Multi-Home Run Games for USI. Three USI hitters â€“ junior rightfielderÂ Manny Lopez, sophomore leftfielderÂ Aaron Euler, freshman catcher/third basemanÂ Lucas McNewÂ â€“ have combined for six multi-home run games this season. Euler has three multi-home run games, while McNew has a pair and Lopez has one.

Pitching Leaders.Â Senior right-handerÂ Austin Krizan, after the win over Oakland City, has moved into a tie with senior right-handerÂ Austin GossmannÂ for the team lead for wins with five each. Gossmann leads the team with a 4.17 ERA, while Krizan has struck out a team-high 58 batters.

Archuleta at USI.Â USI Head CoachÂ Tracy ArchuletaÂ is USI’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 469-255 in 12-plus seasons and is 617-379 in 17-plus seasons all-time as a 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 and the ABCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading USI to the regional crown in 2007, 2016 and 2018. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.

USI vs. Missouri-St. Louis.Â The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Tritons, 54-42, after taking both meetings last season. USI also has won six of the last nine matchups with UMSL.

Missouri-St. Louis in 2019.Â UMSL fell to 9-33 overall and 8-19 in the GLVC after dropping a doubleheader to the University of Illinois Springfield, 12-0 and 4-3, Tuesday afternoon in Springfield, Illinois.

USI vs. Kentucky Wesleyan.Â USI holds a 98-75 lead in the all-time series with KWC after the 12-7 loss on Tuesday. USI holds a 4-2 advantage over KWC at Panther Park since 2013.

Kentucky Wesleyan in 2019.Â The Panthers, who travel to Tiffin University this weekend for a four-game series, are 22-18 overall and enters this Saturday and Sunday’s action on a three-game winning streak.

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