EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball sophomore infielder Sydney Long was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Tournament Team for the second consecutive season on Saturday.
In USI’s three games at the OVC Championship Tournament in Peoria, Illinois, this week, Long started all three games at second base and went 6-11 at the plate for a .545 batting average. Long had two hits in each game and totaled three extra-base hits. Long posted an OPS of 1.545 in the tournament.
The sophomore had a big game to open the tournament in USI’s win over Lindenwood University on Wednesday, adding a run and tallying three RBIs. In Thursday’s game against Eastern Illinois University, Long hit a double and a triple. Later, Long recorded her second triple of the day in USI’s evening contest against Tennessee Tech University.
At the OVC Tournament, Southern Indiana went 1-2 as the No. 4 seed. The Screaming Eagles opened postseason play with a 5-2 win against No. 5 Lindenwood in a rematch of last weekend’s series to conclude the regular season. USI struck first in its second game against No. 1 Eastern Illinois but eventually fell to the Panthers. In a nail-biting elimination game, USI tied Tennessee Tech late, 1-1, but the Golden Eagles narrowly came ahead by a score of 2-1 to end USI’s 2025 campaign.
2025 OVC SOFTBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Karlie McKenzie, Eastern Illinois (MVP)
Kendall Grover, Eastern Illinois
Briana Gonzalez, Eastern Illinois
McKenzie Oslanzi, Eastern Illinois
Anna Henderson, SIUE
Raegan Duncan, SIUE
Kaylynn Salyars, SIUE
Sydney Melton, Southeast Missouri
Madison Winkler, Southeast Missouri
Alina Schlageter, Tennessee Tech
Sydney Long, Southern Indiana
Avery Wapp, Lindenwood
