Southern Indiana (19-24, 15-12 GLVC): 5, 5
at Rockhurst (10-28, 4-19 GLVC): 2, 4
Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2 (8)
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team's GLVC Tournament fate got a boost Sunday as the Screaming Eagles rallied from a late 4-2 deficit in game two to complete a doubleheader sweep of host Rockhurst University.
USI (19-24, 15-12 GLVC) won game one, 5-2, before concluding the regular season with a 5-4 victory in eight innings in the nightcap.
Trailing 4-2 and down to their last strike with runners at second and third in the top of the seventh inning of game two, the Eagles got a two-run single off the bat of junior centerfielder Reva LeDune-Bourgasser.
Senior catcher Tara McConnell, who led the seventh inning off with a single, gave USI a 5-4 advantage with a two-out double to the left-centerfield gap that scored freshman Katherine Belsito from first base.
Sophomore hurler Hadley Clark sent the Hawks down in order in the last half of the eighth inning to complete the comeback and pick up her seventh victory of the season. Clark (7-13) gave up two runs off eight hits and had five strikeouts in eight innings of work to earn her second straight win.
Earlier in the contest, the Eagles grabbed a 1-0 lead on an RBI-single by junior first baseman Brittany DeWeese in the first inning.
Rockhurst (10-28, 3-19 GLVC), however, scored three times in the bottom of the first frame to take a 3-1 advantage.
The Eagles cut into the 3-1 deficit in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of a wild pitch to score their second run of the contest. The Hawks, however, answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth to go up 4-2.
In game one, the Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Belsito hit an RBI-single in the top of the third inning. Rockhurst, however, answered USI's tally with two runs in the bottom of the third frame to take a 2-1 lead.
Junior third baseman LeAnn Collins, who scored the game-tying run in the seventh inning of game two, hit a crushing shot over the outfield fence to lead off the fourth inning and tie the score at 2-2.
The Eagles took advantage of an error and a wild pitch to plate a run and take a 3-2 advantage in the fifth inning. McConnell's single later in the frame put USI up 4-2 heading into the last half of the inning.
USI capitalized on another error in the seventh inning to take a 5-2 lead, then got a couple strikeouts from freshman hurler Stephanie Bittner in the last half of the seventh to hold on for the game-one victory.
Bittner (7-3) got the win for the Eagles after giving up two runs off six hits in seven innings of work. She had five strikeouts and no walks en route to her third win of the week.
With its GLVC Tournament fate still undetermined, the Eagles, who are currently sixth in the GLVC standings, must wait throughout the final week of the season to see if it will qualify for the league's post-season tournament, which takes the top eight teams in the conference standings. The GLVC Tournament is May 7-9 in East Peoria, Illinois.
