LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team salvaged a split with Bellarmine University, topping the host Knights, 7-0, in the second game of a GLVC doubleheader Friday. The Screaming Eagles lost the opener, 8-3.

USI (9-25, 1-7 GLVC) used five hits to score four times in the top of the third inning and open a 4-0 advantage over Bellarmine in game two. USI got RBIs from sophomore infielder/pitcher Amanda Brendel (Salem, Illinois), sophomore first baseman Brittany DeWeese (Evansville, Indiana), and junior designated player Sara Loete (Pekin, Illinois) to build the four-run cushion.

Brendel drove in another run in the next inning to give the Eagles a commanding 5-0 advantage; then sophomore pitcher/utility player Dawn McClellan (Valparaiso, Indiana) hit a solo home run in the sixth frame to extend USI's lead to six runs.

Senior outfielder Lacey Ligmanowski (Homer Glen, Illinois) had an RBI-single in the seventh to finish USI's offensive explosion.

McClellan (3-9) picked up the victory for the Eagles after scattering six hits throughout seven innings to earn her third complete-game shutout of the season.

In the opener, senior shortstop Ally McKinley (Sullivan, Indiana) became the fifth player in school history to record her 100th career RBI when she drove in junior catcher Tara McConnell (Henderson, Kentucky) with a two-out double to give the Eagles a 2-1 edge in the top half of the third inning. McConnell gave USI a 1-0 lead in the first frame with her second home run of the year.

Bellarmine (14-22, 6-6 GLVC), however, answered with a pair of runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. The Knights tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to take an 8-2 advantage heading into the final inning.

The Eagles took advantage of a walk and back-to-back hits, including an RBI-single by Ligmanowski, to lead off the seventh inning. USI, however, left runners at first and third as the next three batters went down in order to end the contest.