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Game 1                                                            Game 2
Southern Indiana (13-10, 5-9 GLVC): 4           Southern Indiana: 6
McKendree (10-15, 5-9 GLVC): 3                    McKendree: 3
-Box Score: HTML | Sortable                           -Box Score: HTML | Sortable


EVANSVILLE, Ind.--- The University of Southern Indiana softball team combined for a total 16 hits and 10 runs as it earned its first Great Lakes Valley Conference sweep Saturday afternoon at the USI Softball Field, defeating East Division opponent McKendree University 4-3 and 6-3.
 
The Screaming Eagles improve to 13-10 overall, 5-9 in conference action, while the Bearcats fall to 10-15 overall, 5-9 in the GLVC.
 
Junior MacKenzi Dorsam (Dubois, Indiana) set the tone for the Eagles in game one, tallying a leadoff hit to left field and stolen base. After sophomore Toni Braun (Evanston, Indiana) struck out swinging, freshman Grace Clark (Indianapolis, Indiana) sent an RBI-single up the middle, advancing Dorsam home for the first run of the day.
 
The Eagles held a 1-0 lead until McKendree, who capitalized on multiple errors in the fourth, tallied three runs for a 3-1 advantage. USI was tabbed with three of its four errors in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Dorsam, who went 2-for-3 in game one, came back in the bottom of the fifth to knot the score at 3-3 with an RBI-double to right center, while senior Kelsey Jankowski (Cedar Lake, Indiana) sealed the deal for the Eagles with a homerun to centerfield.
 
Junior Brooke Harmening (Whiteland, Indiana) captured her eighth win in the circle (8-4), totaling three strikeouts and allowing just one walk. The Bearcats used the arms of three hurlers, with the loss eventually going to Susan Goetze (2-4).
 
With one out and two on in the bottom of the first, Harmening cleared the bases with a homerun to left field, pushing USI to an early 3-0 lead in game two.
 
McKendree scored two runs in their next at-bat, but the Eagles would extend their lead to 6-2, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third.
 
The Bearcats had a recipe for a major comeback in the seventh with bases loaded and no outs, following a walk-in run, bringing the score to 6-3. However, after throwing another ball to McKendree, sophomore pitcher Sarah Owens (Indianapolis, Indiana) was relieved by Harmening, who ended the game with three quick outs with the bases still loaded.
 
Harmening earned her second save of the season, while Owens was credited with the win, improving to 5-6 overall.
 
USI plays host to University of Illinois Springfield tomorrow at the USI Softball Field, with the first pitch of the doubleheader matchup being tossed at noon. The Prairie Stars come to Evansville having dropped two to Bellarmine University Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.