EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Southern Indiana baseball team begins the second half of the 2012 Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule needing to gain a lot of ground in the final month of the regular season if it hopes to make it to the post-season for a sixth-straight year.
The Screaming Eagles (15-16, 6-12 GLVC) start the stretch run of the conference calendar Saturday and Sunday at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (11-19, 5-13 GLVC) for a four-game series in Kenosha, Wisconsin. First pitch for the doubleheaders is noon each day.
Live statistics are available at gousieagles.com for Sunday's games only.
USI has struggled over the last 12 games, posting only two wins and dropping three series. The Eagles labored on the mound through the first seven of the 12-game stretch, posting an ERA of 10.08, but have come around in the last five games with an improved ERA of 2.85.
The offense also has struggled, producing a .268 batting average and 4.8 runs per game during the last 12 contests. The Eagles hope the 12-run explosion that helped them salvage the series finale against Bellarmine University has broken offensive slump.
A bright spot for the Eagles offensively has been the production of junior catcher
Colton White (Springfield, Illinois). White, who leads the team this spring with a .330 batting average and 23 RBIs, is hitting a team-best .387 with five runs scored, eight RBIs, and a home run in the last eight games.
The Rangers of UW-Parkside also have had their difficulties over the last three weeks, winning only once in the last 10 games. UW-Parkside, which is under the direction of former USI assistant coach Joel Weaver, started their week with a 14-10 win over Cardinal Stritch University Tuesday in Kenosha.
USI leads the all-time series with UW-Parkside, 23-22, and has taken 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools.
Following the four-game series in Kenosha, the Eagles return home for a seven-game homestand at the USI Baseball Field. The homestand starts with a two-game series April 17-18 against Kentucky Wesleyan College; continues with a four-game set April 21-22 with Lewis University; and concludes with single-game April 24 against Oakland City University.
