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at Southern Indiana (27-19, 16-14 GLVC): 1, 5
Wisconsin-Parkside (6-44, 5-29 GLVC): 5, 4
-HTML Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2

EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Freshman first baseman Elizabeth Prince hit a solo home run and senior designated player Kristen O'Haver had a walk-off, RBI-single as the University of Southern Indiana softball team rallied from a one-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 5-4, in the second game of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader Saturday at the USI Softball Field.

The win gives Head Coach Sue Kunkle her 300th career, making her the first coach in school history to reach 300 wins at USI.


After suffering a 5-1 setback in the opening game, the Screaming Eagles (27-19, 16-14) found themselves in a must-win scenario to keep their GLVC Tournament hopes alive in the nightcap.

O'Haver got USI (27-19, 16-14 GLVC) going early in game two as she doubled to lead off the home half of the second inning before scoring the contest's first run on an RBI-single by freshman second baseman Kara Werner.

UW-Parkside (6-44, 5-29 GLVC), which snapped a 14-game skid with its win in the opener, answered in the top of the third inning when sophomore hurler Kristin Kleinmeyer hit a two-run home run over the leftfield fence to stake the visiting Rangers to a 2-1 advantage.

O'Haver, who was 3-of-4 at the plate in game two, tied the contest at 2-2 when she launched her seventh home run of season over the leftfield fence in the last half of the third inning. Junior shortstop Stephanie Bittner broke the tie in the fifth inning with a solo home run, her team-leading eighth of the season, as USI took a 3-2 lead.

The Rangers, however, answered in the sixth with four hits and two runs to retake the lead and put the Eagles back against the wall. Despite the runs in the sixth, UW-Parkside missed a golden opportunity as it had the bases loaded with no outs after scoring both runs. Freshman pitcher Brooke Harmening, however, recorded three straight outs to end the threat and keep USI's hopes alive.

Prince took the pressure off the Eagles immediately in the seventh inning as she hit her first-career collegiate home run over the leftfield fence to lead the frame off. Freshman catcher MacKenzie Dorsam reached on a two-base error in the next at-bat before being lifted for a pinch-runner—freshman outfielder Breanne Lahart.

After Lahart reached third on a wild pitch, O'Haver swung and made contact on the first pitch she saw. Her hit snuck through the infield as Lahart easily crossed the plate to give the Eagles the victory.

In the opener, the Rangers scored three times in the top half of the first inning to build a 3-0 lead the Eagles could not recover from. UW-Parkside tacked on two more tallies on a two-run shot by freshman pitcher/first baseman Kelynn Sporer in the fifth inning.

Bittner had an RBI-double in the seventh inning, but it was not enough as the Eagles suffered the loss.

Harmening (16-12), who had nine strikeouts on the day, took the loss in the first game after surrendering five runs off nine hits and three walks in seven innings of work. She picked up the victory in game two as she held the Rangers off the scoreboard in two innings of work.

USI, which wore pink uniforms to participate in the NFCA's Strikeout Cancer initiative, finds itself in a must-win scenario Sunday when it hosts Lewis University in a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. The Eagles, who will honor O'Haver following the noon doubleheader as part of their Senior Day festivities, must sweep the Flyers in order to qualify for the next weekend's GLVC Tournament.