#13 Lewis (23-9, 13-5 GLVC): 8, 7
at Southern Indiana (13-21, 10-10 GLVC): 5, 5
Game 1 Box Score (5 inn.) | Game 2 Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team dropped both ends of a GLVC doubleheader to No. 13 Lewis University Saturday afternoon at the USI Softball Field. The Screaming Eagles lost the first game, 8-5 in eight innings, and the second game, 7-5.
In game one, the Eagles (13-21, 10-10 GLVC) rallied from a 4-0 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. USI sent 10 batters to the plate and recorded six hits to tie the contest, which eventually went into extra frames.
Senior catcher Tara McConnell had a two-run single to start the scoring for the Eagles, while senior designated player Sara Loete and junior first baseman Brittany DeWeese followed with RBI-singles.
USI, however, left the bases loaded to end the fifth inning and it would come back to haunt the Eagles later in the contest. Overall, the Eagles left nine runners on the base path, including seven runners in scoring position.
Lewis (23-9, 13-5 GLVC), which got a two-run home run off the bat of first baseman Stephanie Harmon in the third inning, capitalized on a one-out error followed by a double to get a pair of runners in scoring position for Harmon in the top of the eighth inning.
The Eagles elected to walk Harmon to load the bases and create a force play at any base. Lewis second baseman Kayla Smith, who was 0-for-3 at the time, made USI pay as she hit a grand slam in the next at-bat to give the Flyers an 8-4 cushion.
Freshman rightfielder Katherine Belsito had a sacrifice fly to score freshman pitcher Stephanie Bittner in the bottom half of the eighth inning, but that was the only tally the Eagles could come up with as Lewis picked up the game-one victory.
Bittner (3-2), who went 3-for-4 at the plate, took the loss after giving up eight runs, seven earned, off eight hits in eight innings of work.
The Eagles took advantage of an error in the first inning of game two to jump out to a 1-0 lead, but Lewis came back with three runs in the second inning and two more in the fifth frame to build a 5-1 advantage.
McConnell had a run-scoring triple in the last half of the fifth inning to cut USI's deficit to three runs, while junior third baseman LeAnn Collins drove McConnell in with a double in the next at-bat to trim Lewis's advantage to 5-3.
After seeing Lewis increase its lead to 7-3 with two tallies in the seventh inning, the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the last half of the inning. USI, which left six runners on base in the second game, were only able to create two runs out of the situation as the Flyers completed the two-game sweep.
Sophomore pitcher Hadley Clark was charged with the loss after giving up seven runs, six earned, off 11 hits in 6.1 innings of work. She falls to 5-12 with the setback.
USI returns to action Sunday at noon when it hosts the University of Illinois-Springfield in a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. The Eagles will honor their three seniors—Loete, McConnell, and outfielder Lindsay Raikes—as part of their Senior Day festivities following the conclusion of game two.
