USI takes opening series with 5-4 win Niehaus has four RBIs in the victory

MILLINGTON, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball used a three-run eighth inning rally to defeat Western Illinois University, 5-4, Sunday afternoon at USA Stadium in Millington, Tennessee. The Screaming Eagles take the opening series of the year and pushed their record to 3-1, while the Leathernecks go to 1-3.
 
USI freshman second/third baseman Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana), who led the way for the Eagles by going three-for-four with two runs scored and four RBIs, gave USI an early 1-0 lead in the third on his second home run of the season. The lead was short lived as Western Illinois responded with three unanswered runs to lead 3-1 after four innings.
 
The Eagles got a run back in the top of the fifth when junior shortstop Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) singled up the middle to score Niehaus and make the score 3-2. The WIU 3-2 lead would stand up until the eighth inning when Niehaus struck again.
 
The freshman infielder stroked a three-run triple to right field for a 5-3 Eagles’ lead. Western Illinois would get a run in the bottom half of the eighth after loading the bases with no one out, while USI junior right-hander Cory Anderson (Linton, Indiana) finished the game by striking out the only batter he would face with the bases full of Leathernecks in the ninth for his first save of the year.
 
USI junior right-hander Carter Stamm (Jasper, Indiana) picked up the win in relief, entering the game in the fifth. Stamm (1-0) pitched three scoreless frames, allowing two walks and striking out four.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:
The Eagles continue the season opening road swing with a visit to Lipscomb University Tuesday for a 3 p.m. first pitch. Lipscomb opened the 2023 with a three-game series win over the University of Notre Dame, taking games one (5-4) and three (4-20) and falling in the middle game (8-4).
 
Lipscomb leads the series, 11-1, with USI winning the last meeting after splitting a doubleheader in 1980.
 
USI opens the 2023 home schedule February 24-26 when the Eagles host Bellarmine University at the USI Baseball Field. The series opens with a 3 p.m. start February 24; continues with a 1 p.m. game February 25; and concludes with a noon contest February 26.