MONTICELLO, Ark.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team watched a pair of 3-0 leads slip away Sunday as it lost to Ouachita Baptist University, 4-3, in eight innings and to the University of Arkansas-Monticello, 4-3.

Against Ouachita Baptist (8-3), the Screaming Eagles racked up three hits and took advantage of an error to plate a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Sophomore third baseman Amanda Brendel (Salem, Illinois) led the fifth inning off with a shot over the rightfield fence to stake the Eagles to a 3-0 lead.

The Eagles (0-6), who committed five errors, gave up an unearned run in the fifth inning and two more unearned runs in the last part of the seventh inning as the Tigers extended the contest to extra frames.

After holding the Eagles scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, Ouachita Baptist took advantage of the international tie breaker rule, which places the last batter of the previous inning on second base, to push across the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth frame.

Sophomore hurler Dawn McClellan (Valparaiso, Indiana) was pinned with the loss despite not giving up a hit to the only batter she faced. Ouachita Baptist third baseman Aspen Gram put down a bunt to advance the go-ahead run from second to third, but an errand throw by Brendel sailed over the head of USI second baseman Dani Finkelstein (Windsor, Colorado), who was covering first base, and allowed OBU rightfielder Korrine Cook to score the game-winning run.

Junior pitcher Kambria Current (Indianapolis, Indiana) went the first seven innings and pitched brilliantly throughout the first five frames. Current, however, gave up five of the Tigers' eight hits in the sixth and seventh innings as she gave up three unearned tallies.

Against host Arkansas-Monticello (12-0), Brendel gave USI a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when she hit a two-out blast over the rightfield fence. The Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning when Finkelstein hit a two-out, two-run single to rightfield.

McClellan (0-4), who was charged with the loss against Arkansas-Monticello, took a shutout into the bottom half of the seventh inning, but the Cotton Blossoms loaded the bases and got a one-out, three-run single off the bat of rightfielder Becca Tipton to tie the contest at three.

Arkansas-Monticello loaded the bases, once again, later in the inning before a two-out walk by senior hurler Stephanie Schneider (Birdseye, Indiana) sent the game-ending run across the plate.

USI, which has lost three straight games in the final at-bat and four of its first six contests by one run, returns to action February 20-22 when it competes at the University of Alabama-Huntsville Charger Chillout.