BOX SCORES AND PLAY-BY-PLAY:
USI 4, Bellarmine 2
SAUGET, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana sophomore right-hander #Josh Schultze# (Evansville, Indiana) and sophomore second baseman #Brad Vance# (Louisville, Kentucky) led the 13th-ranked Screaming Eagles to GLVC Tournament championship with a 4-2 win over Bellarmine University Sunday afternoon at GCS Ballpark. The GLVC baseball title is the first for the Eagles since 1993.
Schultze (7-2) gave USI its fourth straight quality start and won his seventh game of the season. He allowed nine hits and two runs, while striking out three batters in seven-plus innings of work.
Junior left-hander #Scott Handley# (Schererville, Indiana) and senior right-hander/shortstop #Wandy Rosario# (Boston, Massachusetts) finished the game for Schultze. Rosario also recorded his team-best 10th save of the year.
Vance gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning with his seventh home run of the season. He sealed the USI victory with a second RBI in the top of the eighth to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead. The sophomore finished the day two-for-four with a run scored and two RBIs.
USI's middle two runs also came in the top of the eighth. Rosario scored when junior first baseman #Adam Enright# reached on an error, while junior leftfielder #Michael Huling# (South Bend, Indiana) crossed the plate on a RBI-walk by senior third baseman #Wes Fink# (Clarksville, Tennessee).
The Eagles rise to 43-12 overall in 2010, tying the school record for wins which was set by the 2007 squad. Bellarmine fells to 34-24.
The NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament pairings will be announced live tonight at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com. USI, which has been ranked number one in the Midwest by the NCAA all spring, is awaiting word on whether it will host the regional for the first time since 1992. The Eagles have appeared in the NCAA II Tournament three times in the last four seasons.
