EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team concludes its 2013 home schedule Wednesday at 5 p.m. when it hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College in a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at the USI Softball Field.
Wednesday's doubleheader is the final time the Screaming Eagles will meet the Panthers in any sport in a GLVC regular-season contest—the Panthers will play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference beginning in 2013-14.
USI (22-17, 12-14 GLVC) is looking for the regular-season sweep of the Panthers after earning a pair of wins in Owensboro, Kentucky, earlier this month. Junior
Kelsey Jankowski had a pair of solo home runs in the opener as USI earned a 4-3 win; then the Eagles racked up seven runs in the third inning of game two to post a 7-6 victory.
Freshman
Janna Green and sophomore
MacKenzi Dorsam are leading the Eagles with batting averages of .346 and .333, respectively. Dorsam is carrying a season-high tying eight-game hitting streak into Wednesday's games and has reached base safely in 30 of her last 31 games.
Sophomore
Brooke Harmening and Jankowski are pacing the Eagles in the run-production categories. Harmening, who is tied with Dorsam with a team-best 11 RBIs, has a team-best seven home runs and 38 RBIs, while Jankowski has knocked five balls over the fence and is second on the team with 33 RBIs.
Harmening (17-9) also has a team-best 1.62 ERA and .190 opponent batting average in the pitching circle.
Kentucky Wesleyan (17-26, 11-19 GLVC) is led by junior Kelsey Miller, who is hitting .302 with 10 RBIs in 38 games. Freshman Kaci Ovelgoenner has a team-best 11 doubles and 21 RBIs, while senior Ashley Winstead leads the Panthers in ERA (2.86), wins (9-15), opponent batting average (.263), and strikeouts (110).
Following USI's doubleheader with Kentucky Wesleyan, the Eagles conclude the regular-season with Bellarmine University—Saturday in Louisville—and McKendree University—Sunday in Lebanon, Illinois. First pitch for Saturday's GLVC doubleheader is 11 a.m. (CDT), while Sunday's conference twinbill is slated for a noon start.
The Eagles also are looking for a season-sweep of Bellarmine after besting the Knights in a GLVC doubleheader last month at the USI Softball Field. USI won the first game, 4-1, before taking game two, 2-1.
Saturday's doubleheader could go a long way in determining who earns the third seed from the GLVC East Division. The Knights, who host McKendree Wednesday and Kentucky Wesleyan Sunday, enter the week with a 24-22 overall mark and a 16-13 record in league play.
McKendree (9-26, 7-20 GLVC) split its doubleheader with the Eagles last month at the USI Softball Field. The Bearcats scored five times in the top of the first inning of game one as they earned a 5-3 win, while USI earned a 3-2 victory in 10 innings in the nightcap.
Coverage from this week's games, including live stats, audio, and video, can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
