University of Southern Indiana Baseball will host Indiana University in an exhibition game October 20 at historic Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana. The 4 p.m. exhibition game will benefit the fight against Friedreich’s’s ataxia (FA), a degenerative neuro-muscular disorder that affects one in 50,000 people in the United States.
Most individuals have onset of symptoms of FA between the ages of 5 and 18 years, but can occur anytime during adulthood. The Friedreich’s’s Ataxia Research Alliance is supporting research that will improve the quality and length of life for those diagnosed with FA and will lead to treatments that eliminate its symptoms. More information about FA can be found at CureFA.org.
Tickets for the exhibition game, which go on sale September 10, are $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at the following locations: USI Athletics, Indiana Baseball Office, Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC) baseball programs, and all Banterra Bank Evansville/Newburgh locations. Fans also can purchase tickets on-line at curefa.org/baseball.
USI is coming off its fifth NCAA Division II Championship Series appearance and Midwest Regional Championship. The Screaming Eagles, who were 36-23 last spring, are under the direction of Head Coach Tracy Archuleta, who has directed the Eagles to a pair of NCAA II National Championships (2010, 2014) in his 11 year tenure.
The Eagles return senior right-hander Austin Krizan (Mt. Vernon, Indiana), who was 3-4 last spring with a 3.99 ERA and 63 strikeouts, and senior second baseman Jacob Fleming (Evansville, Indiana), who finished the season with a .301 average and a 20 stolen bases.
Indiana, who is under the direction of new Head Coach Jeff Mercer, was 40-19 in 2018 and has appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament three of the last four seasons. The Hoosier also feature sophomore catcher Drew Ashley and sophomore outfielder Elijah Dunham from Evansville and junior pitcher Cal Krueger, son of former USI and 1992 All-Midwest Regional catcher Blake Krueger.
