EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team opens its 2011 home schedule Sunday at the USI Softball Field when it hosts the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a Great Lakes Conference doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. Ticket information as well as live stats and audio for the game can be found at gousieagles.com.

USI (12-8, 3-1 GLVC) has won eight of its last 12 games and is 7-1 against teams from the Midwest Region after opening its conference schedule by winning three of its first four games.

The Screaming Eagles are on fire at the plate this season, posting a blistering .319 team batting average with 13 home runs and 116 runs scored (5.8 per game). USI also has a GLVC-best 70 walks and 37 stolen bases this season.

To put that in perspective, the Eagles attempted to steal just 22 bases in the last two seasons combined and 48 bases in the last three seasons.

Sophomore pitcher/infielder Stephanie Bittner and senior first baseman Brittany DeWeese are leading the Eagles offensively. Bittner is hitting .429 with a GLVC-best six home runs and is tied with DeWeese for the conference lead with 20 RBIs. DeWeese is hitting .422 with six doubles and a home run.

As a team, the Eagles have eight players, with a minimum of 20 at-bats, that are hitting better than .300 this season.

Defensively, the Eagles have been getting strong performances from freshmen pitchers Madeline Brink and Kelsey Jankowski. Brink (5-2) is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA and a save in her last six appearances inside the pitching circle, while Jankowski (4-2) has not given up an earned run in her last 14.1 innings of work.

Missouri-St. Louis (4-8, 0-0 GLVC), which visits Kentucky Wesleyan College Saturday, has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight after opening the season with a 3-1 record.

The Eagles, who lead the series 21-15 since 1990, have lost seven straight games to the Tritons dating back to the 2008 season. The Tritons defeated the Eagles, 7-6 and 11-3, last year in St. Louis.

Sunday's doubleheader is the first of six straight home games for the Eagles. USI hosts Bellarmine University in a GLVC twinbill on March 26 and Kentucky Wesleyan in a conference doubleheader on March 27. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the USI-Bellarmine games as the two teams help raise breast cancer awareness.