QUINCY, Ill.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team won both games of a doubleheader, 4-3 and 4-0, against Quincy University Saturday to notch its 30th and 31st wins of the season. It marks the second consecutive year the Screaming Eagles have reached 30 wins and the eighth time in the last 10 years.
USI (31-14, 13-5 GLVC) moves into third place in the GLVC standings with the victories and could move into second with a pair of wins and a Lewis University loss on Sunday.
In game one, the Eagles scored four runs in the first three innings and then held off a comeback by the host Lady Hawks to secure the victory. Sophomore third baseman
Kristin Eickholt (Van Wert, Ohio) hit a solo home run in the third inning, while junior utility player
Nikki Nichols (Henderson, Kentucky) and senior shortstop
Krista Nugent (Hurricane, Utah) each had RBIs in the second inning. Freshman rightfielder
Lacey Ligmanowski (Homer Glen, Illinois) scored the first run of the game in the first inning on a double steal attempt.
Senior hurler
Lindsey McNaughton (Carmel, Indiana) picked up the victory after giving up three runs off seven hits in seven innings of work. McNaughton (14-8) struck out five batters while issuing three walks.
Quincy (22-22, 7-11 GLVC) cut into USI's 4-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning and two runs in the fifth inning. The Lady Hawks stranded the tying and go-ahead runs at first and third base in the sixth inning before going down in order in the seventh.
In the second game, the Eagles benefited from a three-hit shutout out of senior pitcher
Missy Grover (Mishawaka, Indiana). Grover (17-6) did not allow a runner to reach third base as she won for the ninth time in the last 10 outings.
Offensively, the Eagles put up three runs in the fifth inning after jumping out to a 1-0 lead in with a tally in the first inning. Senior catcher
Angie Davis (Greenwood, Indiana) went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, while sophomore leftfielder
Kathy Wood (Lynnville, Indiana) went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ligmanowski was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
USI, which ranks fourth in the NCAA II Great Lakes Region, finishes its 2006 road schedule Sunday with a GLVC doubleheader at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. First pitch is slated for noon.
