EVANSVILLE, Ind.— The University of Southern Indiana baseball team opens the 2014 home schedule with a three-game series against Midwest Region rival and sixth-ranked Grand Valley State University, beginning Friday at the USI Baseball Field. The first pitch Friday is 2 p.m., while the start times Saturday and Sunday are slated for 1 p.m. and noon, respectively.
Coverage of the Screaming Eagles' games is available at gousieagles.com. The three-game series with GVSU is the start of a 13-game homestand for the Eagles that includes the Dunn Hospitality Classic.
USI (1-2) is coming off a season opening road swing to California State University Stanislaus. The Eagles came up short in the first two games of the series, 3-0 and 8-5, but were able to salvage the series finale, 8-1.
The GVSU Lakers are opening their 2014 campaign at the USI Baseball Field after a run to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Championship Series last spring. GVSU, which is making its first appearance at the USI Baseball Field since falling to the Eagles in the 2010 regional, was 38-19 overall in 2013 after advancing to the championship series for the sixth time in 11 years.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
Bowles tops rotation with best start. Senior right-hander Matt Bowles (Mt. Washington, Kentucky) had USI's best outing of the first weekend, pitching seven strong innings to get the first USI win of the season. Bowles allowed one run on six hits and struck out three in seven innings of work.
Eagle hitters look for consistent production. The Eagle hitters bounced back after being shutout in the opener with 13 runs in the next two games. USI hit .314 in the final two games of the series and had an on-base percentage of .429.
Leading hitter. Sophomore outfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) got off to a good start in California, batting .533 in the first three games. He also scored three times and had a team-best three RBIs.
Archuleta at the helm. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta has a USI record of 264-139 (.655) in seven-plus seasons and is 402-263 (.605) in 12-plus seasons as a head coach. He was named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year after leading the Screaming Eagles to the 2010 national championship.
Eagles at the USI Baseball Field. The Eagles are 154-55 (.737) when playing at the USI Baseball Field since 2007 and 234-136 (.632) since 2000.
USI vs. GVSU. The Eagles hold a 7-3 all-time series lead over the Lakers since 1994. The last time USI and GVSU matched-up was in the 2010 NCAA II Midwest Regional when the Eagles bounced back to win the final two games of the series to advance to the NCAA II Championship Series where they became the eventual national champions.
