EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball opens Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament play Thursday at noon when it takes on the No. 3 seed, University of Indianapolis, in the opening round at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.
The Screaming Eagles (27-22) enter this week’s tournament as the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular-season in a three-way tie for fifth with Truman State University and William Jewell College.
Truman had the tie-breaker between the three teams to earn the fifth seed, while the Eagles held the tie-breaker over William Jewell.
USI’s next win also will be USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle’s 500th career victory at the helm of the Eagles program. She is currently 499-360-1 (.581) throughout her 17-year career at USI.
Live stats and GLVC Sports Network coverage for all of the games this weekend can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Softball Notes
• Recapping last week. USI Softball began the week with a doubleheader sweep of Missouri-St. Louis before suffering a doubleheader sweep to No. 25 McKendree.
• Last week’s leaders. Junior catcher Lindsey Barrled USI with a .417 batting average, a double, home run and four RBIs this past weekend, while senior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson hit .364 with a run scored. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt went 1-1 in the circle with a 1.83 ERA, 18 strikeouts and a .186 opponent batting average.
• Season leaders (at the plate). Senior third baseman Mena Fulton leads the team with a .364 batting average and is second on the team with 10 doubles. Sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert is hitting .344 with a team-best 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 37 RBIs, while junior second baseman Clarie Johnson is hitting .317 with six doubles, seven triples, four home runs and 20 RBIs.
• Season leaders (in the circle). Leonhardt continues to lead the Eagles with a 14-11 overall record, a 2.80 ERA, a .214 opponent batting average and 181 strikeouts on the year. Junior pitcher Haylee Smith is 5-5 with a 3.28 ERA, while junior pitcher Courtney Atkisson is 7-5 with a 3.28 ERA and a .292 opponent batting average.
• USI vs. GLVC-only competition. Fulton is hitting a blistering .405 with seven doubles, four home runs and 15 RBIs in GLVC play this year; while Leonhardt is 10-5 with a 2.18 ERA, a GLVC-best 118 strikeouts and .195 opponent batting average.
• Senior Day. USI honored its four seniors—Fulton, Clark-Kittleson, first baseman Marleah Fossett and infielder Alex Logan—following Sunday’s doubleheader against McKendree. The Eagles’ senior class has posted a 147-68 overall record and a 77-35 mark in GLVC play. USI’s senior class is five wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest class in program history–the 2001 senior class won 152 games, while the 2000 class won 146 games–and is trying to become the first class in program history to advance to four NCAA Division II Tournaments.
• USI in the regional rankings. The Eagles held their spot at No. 7 in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region Rankings. USI is one of seven GLVC teams in this week’s rankings, with No. 17 Illinois Springfield leading the way at No. 2. Grand Valley State is No. 1, followed by UIS, Indianapolis (3), McKendree (4), Missouri-St. Louis (5) and Saginaw Valley State (6). William Jewell (8) was behind USI, followed by Ashland (9) and Truman State (10).
• USI in the GLVC Tournament. The Eagles are making their fourth straight trip to the GLVC Tournament and fifth in the last six years. USI was third in the GLVC Tournament in 2016 and finished fifth a year ago. USI went 6-8 during the regular season against the GLVC Tournament Field this year.
• Kunkle closing in on milestone. Head Coach Sue Kunkle is just one win shy of becoming the first coach in USI history to reach the 500-win plateau. She is currently 499-360-1 (.581) all-time during her 17-year career at the helm of the Eagles.
• Leonhardt earns GLVC Pitcher of Week honors.Leonhardt claimed her fourth-career GLVC Pitcher of the Week award and first of the 2018 campaign following her efforts in USI’s wins over Rockhurst and William Jewell earlier this season. She was 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA, 19 strikeouts and a .163 opponent batting average in 13 2/3 innings of work.
• Schubert joins elite club. Schubert is the eighth player in program history to hit 10 or more home runs in a single season. Her 11 home runs in 2018 are currently tied for fifth on USI’s single-season list.
• Hitting streaks. Fulton saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end in USI’s game-one loss to McKendree Sunday. She also had a nine-game hitting streak earlier in the year. Leonhardt and Johnson each have hit safely in the last three games, while Leonhardt is trying to become the ninth player this year to record a hitting streak of at least five games for the Eagles. Johnson’s 11-game hitting streak was the longest of the year.
• Record book watch. Several USI players are in the USI career record books:
–Caitlyn Bradley is fifth all-time in hit-by-pitches (16) and tied for 17th in home runs (12);
–Marleah Fossett is second all-time in hit-by-pitches (29), third in putouts (994), tied for 14th in home runs (13) and 15th in RBIs (85);
–Mena Fulton is first all-time in hit-by-pitches (32);
–Claire Johnson is fourth in triples (11) and tied for 21st in home runs (10);
–Jennifer Leonhardt is fifth in strikeouts (372), tied for fifth in wins (43), is tied for sixth in shutouts (14) and is ninth in innings pitched (378.2);
–Allison Schubert is tied for 14th in home runs (13).
