PEORIA, Ill. – On Tuesday, the University of Southern Indiana Softball had three Screaming Eagles earn postseason All-Ohio Valley Conference honors for the 2025 season.
Freshman pitcher Kylie Witthaus and freshman catcher/infielder Jordan Mackey were named All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team, and junior outfielder Caroline Stapleton was selected All-OVC Second Team for the second year in a row.
Witthaus had a strong freshman campaign for the Screaming Eagles and really hit her stride during the OVC season. Overall, Witthaus (6-7) led Southern Indiana with a 2.91 ERA. The left-hander totaled 52 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched and held opponents to a .263 batting average. Witthaus had nine complete with three shutouts, making 15 starts and 19 total appearances. During conference play, Witthaus went 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 61.1 innings of work. In 10 OVC starts, the southpaw tossed eight complete games with three shutouts and held opponents to below .250 at the plate. Witthaus ranked top 10 in the OVC in ERA, fewest runs allowed, complete games, shutouts, and opposing batting average.
Witthaus pitched beyond her years in the OVC this season, turning in a stretch of seven consecutive quality starts. During that span, Witthaus recorded five wins with a 1.47 ERA in 47.2 innings. Between March 14 and April 27, Witthaus went the distance in all seven starts and allowed three earned runs or fewer. The freshman had back-to-back shutouts on March 28 against Tennessee Tech University and April 7 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Witthaus picked up her third shutout in four starts on April 18 against the University of Tennessee at Martin. On April 13, Witthaus struck out a career-high seven batters against Eastern Illinois University.
Making 34 appearances in her debut season with USI, Mackey was second on the team with a .295 batting average but paced the squad with four home runs and 24 RBIs. The freshman also led USI with nine doubles and a .864 OPS (.534 slugging percentage, .330 on-base percentage). Mackey had a strong second half of the season and found much success during the OVC slate, batting .317 with three home runs, five doubles, and 19 RBIs.
Mackey totaled eight multi-hit games during the season, including one three-hit outing. The hometown native also had seven games with multiple RBIs, including two four-RBI games against Tennessee State University and Morehead State University in March. Mackey notched her first career multi-home run game against Morehead State on March 22.
Stapleton picks up All-OVC Second-Team laurels after her first selection last year in 2024. In 2025, Stapleton led USI with a .367 batting average, 44 hits, and 19 runs scored. Stapleton also swiped a team-high eight stolen bases and tied for second on USI with 11 walks. The outfielder’s batting average ranked inside the top 10 in the OVC. During the conference season, Stapleton hit .375 with nine runs. The left-handed hitter also had an on-base percentage of over .400.
Starting all 39 games this season, Stapleton had a team-best 12 multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit games against St. Bonaventure University on March 1 and against Southeast Missouri State University on April 27. Stapleton had three games with multiple runs scored and recorded a pair of outfield assists during the season. The junior had a career-best nine-game hitting streak during the middle of March.
USI Softball begins tournament play Wednesday at the 2025 OVC Softball Championship. The Screaming Eagles are the no. 4 seed after going 16-23 overall and 13-11 in the conference season. USI gets a first-round bye and will play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., awaiting the winner of the 5/8 matchup between UT Martin and Lindenwood early Wednesday.
