EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team extended its home winning streak to 13 games Saturday with a pair of victories over Purdue University-North Central at the USI Softball Field. The Screaming Eagles, who have won 31 of their last 32 home games, won the first game 3-2, in eight innings, before taking the second game, 6-2.
Senior hurler/infielder
Shannon Emmons (Boonville, Indiana) had the game-winning RBI in the first game as she singled in senior second baseman
Brooke Biggs (Osceola, Indiana), who was placed on second at the beginning of the eighth inning due to the international tie-breaker rule.
Fellow classmate
Monica Tepe's (Granger, Indiana) single in the bottom of the second inning pushed Emmons across the plate for the game's first run.
The Eagles (3-4) tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth inning when senior catcher/infielder
Kristen Houseworth (Martinsville, Indiana) doubled to left-centerfield to score Biggs from second base.
PNC (0-4) tied the contest in the top of the seventh inning when junior outfielder Jackie Mellen hit a single up the middle to bring across a pair of runs. Mellen had taken a foul ball off her jaw just a few pitches before hitting the game-tying single.
Emmons (2-2) was credited with the win in the first game after giving up just two runs off seven hits in eight innings of action. She struck out 14 batters while walking just one.
USI waited until the third inning of the second game to put across the game's first runs. Senior shortstop
Nichole Pike (Fairfield, Illinois) hit a single to centerfield to score junior outfielder
Nickole Henson (Princeton, Indiana) before Houseworth's double to centerfield brought in Biggs and Pike for USI's second and third runs. Emmons capped off the four-run inning with a single through the middle of the infield to score Houseworth.
The Eagles tacked on two more in the bottom of the fifth inning before closing the game out with the 6-2 victory.
Sophomore pitcher
Missy Grover (Mishawaka, Indiana) picked up her first victory of the season. Grover (1-2) gave up a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning, while limiting the Panthers to just five hits in six innings of work.
The Eagles will travel to Georgia and Florida this coming week. USI will play doubleheaders at Augusta State University, #17 Georgia College and State University, and Valdosta State University, before competing in the Florida Southern College Tournament March 12-14.
USI's next home game will be its GLVC-opener Saturday, March 20, when it plays Quincy University. The doubleheader is slated for a noon start at the USI Softball Field.
