EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team travels to Springfield, Missouri, Saturday to take on Drury University in a key Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for noon and live stats can be accessed at
gousieagles.com.
USI (19-17, 8-10 GLVC) is currently sitting in eighth place in the conference standings, just percentage points behind seventh-place Drury heading into the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. Saturday's games will be the last road games of the year for the Screaming Eagles, who finish the regular season with six conference games at the USI Softball Field.
Leading the Eagles into the final two weekends of the regular season is senior first baseman
Brittany DeWeese and senior second baseman
Amanda Brendel. DeWeese is hitting .404 with 10 doubles and 26 RBIs this season, while Brendel is hitting .380 with eight doubles, five home runs, and 18 RBIs.
Brendel, who has reached base safely in every game this season, has a hit in 19 of USI's last 21 games. She is hitting a blistering .452 during that span.
In the pitching circle, the Eagles continue to be led by freshman hurlers
Madeline Brink and
Kelsey Jankowski. Brink, who is 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA in her last four starts, is 9-8 overall with a 3.21. Jankowski, who is 7-3 with a 2.58 ERA this season, also is 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA in her last four starts.
Drury (22-24, 9-11 GLVC), which is 7-3 in its last 10 games, is playing its final home games of the season Saturday. USI leads the all-time series with the Panthers, 5-1, after splitting a doubleheader with Drury last season at the USI Softball Field.
The Panthers are hitting .304 as a team and have five players that are hitting .300 or better. Senior infielder Andi Anti and freshman outfielder Brittany Smith lead the Panthers offensively. Anti is hitting .376 with five home runs and 27 RBIs, while Smith is hitting .345 with six home runs and 31 RBIs.
USI finishes the regular season next week as it hosts doubleheaders with Kentucky Wesleyan College (Wednesday), Rockhurst University (April 30), and Quincy University (May 1). USI twinbill with Quincy is Senior Day for the Eagles.
