ALBERTVILLE, Ala.—University of Southern Indiana Softball saw a 4-0 lead slip away when No. 23 University of Alabama-Huntsville scored five times in the last half of the seventh inning to pull out a 5-4 win. The Screaming Eagles then saw a 10-3 lead slip away when Christian Brothers University scored 10 straight runs, including nine in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 13-10 advantage.
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Unlike the previous game, however, the Eagles still had another turn at the plate.
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USI (2-2) made the most of it, scoring six runs, all with two outs, to pull out an improbable 16-13 win and salvage a split on the second day of the UAH Charger Chillout.
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Senior pitcher Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) had a two-out, three-run double to give the lead back to USI, which had scored twice in the first inning, three times in the second, twice in both the third and fourth frames and once more in the fifth to build the seven-run advantage.
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USI, which sent 12 runners to the plate in the seventh inning, tacked on two more runs when sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) hit a two-run single up the middle of the infield.
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Freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana), who was a combined 6-of-8 with a double and four RBI on the day, got the rally going with a one-out single earlier in the frame. She stole second and scored on an RBI-single off the bat of junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois), who was 4-for-5 with two triples, two RBI and three runs scored.
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After another out put USI’s chances at a comeback in jeopardy, sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) was hit by a pitch while senior catcher Courtney Schoolcraft (Crest Hill, Illinois) drew a walk to load the bases for Back.
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Back (1-1), who had a home run earlier in the game, came through with the three-run double on a 2-2 count to put USI in front, 14-13. Back, who started the game in the circle, was re-inserted in the circle late in the sixth frame and pitched a perfect seventh inning to pick up the win.
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Against Alabama-Huntsville (7-1), the Eagles jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run double from Fair. Nalley had an RBI-double in the third and Bedrick drove in another in the seventh to put USI up 4-0.
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The Chargers, however, got a two-out, three-run double to end the game in the last half of the seventh and steal USI’s chance at the upset.
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Senior pitcher Maddie Duncan (Elberfeld, Indiana) was charged with the loss after giving up two runs off two hits in 0.2 innings of work.
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USI concludes the opening weekend Sunday when it takes on Mississippi College at 10 a.m. and Shorter University at 12:30 p.m.
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Unlike the previous game, however, the Eagles still had another turn at the plate.
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USI (2-2) made the most of it, scoring six runs, all with two outs, to pull out an improbable 16-13 win and salvage a split on the second day of the UAH Charger Chillout.
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Senior pitcher Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) had a two-out, three-run double to give the lead back to USI, which had scored twice in the first inning, three times in the second, twice in both the third and fourth frames and once more in the fifth to build the seven-run advantage.
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USI, which sent 12 runners to the plate in the seventh inning, tacked on two more runs when sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) hit a two-run single up the middle of the infield.
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Freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana), who was a combined 6-of-8 with a double and four RBI on the day, got the rally going with a one-out single earlier in the frame. She stole second and scored on an RBI-single off the bat of junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois), who was 4-for-5 with two triples, two RBI and three runs scored.
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After another out put USI’s chances at a comeback in jeopardy, sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) was hit by a pitch while senior catcher Courtney Schoolcraft (Crest Hill, Illinois) drew a walk to load the bases for Back.
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Back (1-1), who had a home run earlier in the game, came through with the three-run double on a 2-2 count to put USI in front, 14-13. Back, who started the game in the circle, was re-inserted in the circle late in the sixth frame and pitched a perfect seventh inning to pick up the win.
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Against Alabama-Huntsville (7-1), the Eagles jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run double from Fair. Nalley had an RBI-double in the third and Bedrick drove in another in the seventh to put USI up 4-0.
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The Chargers, however, got a two-out, three-run double to end the game in the last half of the seventh and steal USI’s chance at the upset.
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Senior pitcher Maddie Duncan (Elberfeld, Indiana) was charged with the loss after giving up two runs off two hits in 0.2 innings of work.
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USI concludes the opening weekend Sunday when it takes on Mississippi College at 10 a.m. and Shorter University at 12:30 p.m.
