The University of Southern Indiana softball team lost a pair of games Wednesday at the Division II Rebel Spring Games in Osceola, Florida. The Screaming Eagles lost the first game, 1-0, to 12th-ranked Bloomsburg University and the second game, 10-2, to 23rd-ranked Ashland University as they fell to 2-3 on the season.
In game one, USI freshman hurler
Missy Grover (Mishawaka, Indiana) gave up seven hits and walked one batter but was charged with the loss after giving up just one unearned run in seven innings of work. The Eagles were held to just two hits and could not recover from their first-inning miscue as Grover fell to 1-2 on the year.
USI jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the second game when junior catcher
Kristen Houseworth (Martinsville, Indiana) connected on a two-out double to drive in sophomore outfielder
Sunny Oelling (Valparaiso, Indiana) and junior third baseman
Nichole Pike (Fairfield, Indiana). Houseworth went 2-for-2 from the plate with a walk and the two RBIs.
Oelling went 3-for-3 on the offensive end with a run scored.
The Eagle's 2-0 advantage quickly disappeared as Ashland came back to score three runs in the bottom half of the first inning and another in the bottom of the second inning. Ashland, which racked up 15 hits and held the Eagles to six hits, tacked on two more in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the bottom of the sixth.
Play was halted in the bottom of the sixth inning with runners at the corners and two outs due to the eight-run rule.
Junior pitcher
Shannon Emmons (Boonville, Indiana) was charged with the loss after giving up six runs off 10 hits and a walk. Emmons, who was spelled by Grover in the bottom of the fifth inning, falls to 1-1 on the season.
USI will conclude its action at the Rebel Spring Games today as they take on Wayne State University (MI) and the University of New Haven. The Eagles will travel to Columbus, Georgia, Friday to partake in the Columbus State University Invitational. USI will face five nationally-ranked teams in the two-day event.