EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team finds itself in an intense battle for post-season positioning as it gets set to host No. 13 Lewis University Saturday and the University of Illinois-Springfield Sunday. Both doubleheaders are slated for noon starts at the USI Softball Field.
USI will honor its three seniors—designated player Sara Loete, catcher Tara McConnell, and outfielder Lindsay Raikes—following Sunday's games as part of its Senior Day festivities.
The Screaming Eagles (13-19, 10-8 GLVC) are currently seventh in the GLVC standings, but are only six percentage points behind fifth-place. Only 62 percentage points separate the fifth-place team and the 11th-place team in the league standings.
With 10 games remaining in their GLVC schedule, the Eagles need to finish strong if they want to qualify for the GLVC Tournament for the first time since 2008.
Pitching will play a major factor for the Eagles, who averaged eight runs per game last week. Freshman hurler Stephanie Bittner went 3-0 last week with a 1.84 ERA to lead the squad in the pitching circle.
Loete and McConnell each played a major role last week for the Eagles, who went 4-2 during the six-game stretch. Loete hit .500 with three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBIs, while McConnell hit .333 with three doubles, three sacrifice bunts, and three RBIs.
Freshman outfielder Katherine Belsito hit .556 with a pair of doubles and five RBIs, while junior shortstop Dani Finkelstein hit .500 with three doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.
For the season, junior first baseman Brittany DeWeese leads the Eagles with a .344 batting average, eight doubles, five home runs, and 29 RBIs.
Lewis (21-9, 11-5 GLVC) is coming off a pair of losses to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The Flyers had won 20 of their last 24 games prior to the losses to UW-Parkside on Wednesday.
Illinois-Springfield (9-25, 3-17 GLVC) is in its first season as a GLVC institution and has posted wins against teams that are all in the thick of the GLVC Tournament hunt. The Prairie Stars visit Robert Morris College (Springfield, Illinois) Thursday and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday before traveling to Evansville to take on the Eagles on Sunday.
