USI Softball Sweeps Stars
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball racked up a combined 19 hits as it earned a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader sweep of visiting University of Illinois Springfield Sunday at the USI Softball Field.
The Screaming Eagles (16-10, 4-0 GLVC) won the opener, 7-0, before rallying for a 5-2 win in the nightcap. Sunday’s games were a rematch of last year’s NCAA II Midwest Super Regional, which USI swept en route to its first-ever national championship, and pitted last year’s GLVC Tournament champion in USI against last year’s GLVC regular-season champion in Illinois Springfield.
USI returns to action Saturday at noon when it travels to St. Louis, Missouri, to take on Maryville University in a GLVC doubleheader.
Game 1: USI 7, Illinois Springfield 0
Sophomore outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) hit rrun-scoringtriples in the bottom of the first and second innings and senior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt(Louisville, Kentucky) took another no-hitter into the sixth inning as USI cruised to the 7-0 win in the opener.
Webb’s RBI-triple in the first inning put the Eagles up 1-0, while an RBI-groundout by Leonhardt gave USI a 2-0 lead heading into the second inning.
The Eagles erupted for five runs in the second frame as senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) hit a two-run double to start the scoring. Webb followed two batters later with a two-run triple to put USI up 6-0, while a Leonhardt RBI-single in the next at-bat gave USI all the scoring it would need.
Leonhardt (10-3) earned the win after allowing just two hits and four base runners. She fanned six batters in six innings of work, while freshman pitcher Katie Back(Indianapolis, Indiana) completed the combined shutout with a scoreless seventh inning.
Game 2: USI 5, Illinois Springfield 2
USI scored five unanswered runs to rally from a 2-0 deficit en route to the victory in the nightcap.
After spotting the Prairie Stars (13-13, 2-2 GLVC) tallies in the first and second innings, USI capitalized on an error to score four times in the last half of the fourth inning. Sophomore first baseman Haley Shouse (Borden, Indiana) had a two-run single to tie the score, while a two-run double by Johnson gave the Eagles the 4-2 lead.
Senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) hit an RBI-double in the fifth inning to extend the Eagles’ lead to three runs.
Bradley (4-3) got off to a shaky start in the circle, giving up two runs, one earned, off three hits throughout the first two frames; but settled down to hold the Stars to just three hits and four baserunners throughout the remainder of the game to earn the win. She finished the contest with three strikeouts and just two walks in seven innings of work.
