EVANSVILLE, Ind.—As the University of Southern Indiana softball team gets set for the final month of the regular-season, every game will be crucial for a young Screaming Eagles' squad that finds itself in position to make a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament run and a push for an NCAA II Tournament berth.
USI (20-10, 11-5 GLVC) is currently second in the GLVC East Division standings, and second overall when winning percentage is factored in, but the line between being comfortably in the GLVC Tournament and on the outside is dangerously thin as the Eagles get set for perhaps their most daunting challenge of year, eight straight games against two of the top teams in the Midwest Region.
The Eagles begin that challenge Saturday at noon when they play host to No. 2 University of Indianapolis for a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. USI also hosts Saint Joseph's College Sunday at noon in a conference twinbill.
Though the Eagles are currently second in the conference behind Indianapolis, which has the nation's longest current winning streak (22) heading into its doubleheader Thursday against Ohio Dominican University, USI is just a game clear of fourth-place Bellarmine University and two-games ahead of fifth-place Northern Kentucky University.
This year's GLVC Tournament will take eight teams, the top three from the East Division, top three from the West Division, and two wild cards.
Under the direction of Head Coach
Sue Kunkle, who is just seven victories shy of becoming the first coach in school history to reach 300 wins at USI, the Eagles enter the week ranked second in the GLVC in team batting average (.290) and third in team ERA (1.96).
Indianapolis (26-1, 14-0 GLVC), which also hosts USI for a GLVC doubleheader April 7, leads the GLVC in both batting average (.335) and ERA (1.53), while Saint Joseph's (17-8, 8-4 GLVC) is third in batting average (.283) and second in ERA (1.74) heading into its GLVC doubleheader with Lewis University Thursday.
Sunday's games between USI and Saint Joseph's, which visits Kentucky Wesleyan College Saturday, are the first of four straight meetings between the Eagles and Pumas. Saint Joseph's hosts USI April 6 in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Live stats for this weekend's games can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
