USI begins NCAA II Tournament play Thursday EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The eighth-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team hopes playing at home will be the key as it start NCAA Division II Midwest Regional play Thursday at 7 p.m. USI is the top seed and is slated to play sixth-seeded and GLVC-foe University of Indianapolis in the first round.
In addition to USI (41-11) and UIndy (30-23), the regional features second-seeded and 17
th-ranked Grand Valley State University (37-11); third-seeded Drury University (41-11); fourth-seeded Wayne State University (35-15); and fifth-seeded Lake Erie College (31-19).
The first game Thursday is between GVSU and Lake Erie at 11 a.m., while the 3 p.m. contest has Drury taking on Wayne State. Links to follow this week's regional games, which run May 15-18, can be found at gousieagles.com.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:Archuleta wins number 300 at USI. USI Head Coach
Tracy Archuleta was the GLVC Coach of the Year and picked up his 300
th win as the head coach of the Screaming Eagles in 2014. Archuleta has a USI record of 303-148 (.672) in seven-plus seasons and is 441-272 (.619) 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 ranked nationally. The Eagles are ranked eighth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top 25 poll (the final poll of 2014) and are 19
th in the
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 poll (as of May 12). GVSU is ranked 17
th in the NCBWA and 22
nd Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls, while Drury is ranked 18
th in the
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings.
USI tops in the Midwest Region. The Eagles finished the 2014 as the top-ranked team in the NCAA II Midwest Region for the second time since 2010.
Best winning streak of 2014. USI tied a 2010 record by winning 15-straight games during the regular season. The Eagles also have won 27 of their last 31 games since the end of March. Home is where the wins are. The Eagles are an incredible 24-2 at the USI Baseball Field, winning 23-straight. USI has not lost at the USI Baseball Field since dropping a pair of games to Grand Valley State University in February. Pitching continues to dominate. USI pitchers are sixth in the NCAA Division II and first the GLVC with a 2.52 ERA in 450.2 innings of work this spring. The Eagles also are leading the GLVC in opponent batting average, holding opposing hitters to a .243 mark.
ERA leader. USI senior right-hander
David Toth (Danville, Illinois) ranks sixth nationally with a 1.09 ERA in 58.0 innings of work (13 games and eight starts). Toth is 0.27 ahead of the USI ERA record of 1.36, set by Dave Sensennbrenner in 1979 and tied by Nathan Arnold in 2006.
Win leaders. Senior right-hander
Matt Bowles (Mt. Washington, Kentucky) and senior right-handed pitcher/designated hitter
Jonathon Wandling (Evansville, Indiana) are tied with a team-best eight victories.
Strikeout leader. Senior right-hander/designated hitter
Jonathon Wandling has struck out a team-best 75 batters this year. He is six off the single-season record pace of 81, set by Kylan Stuck in 2001.
Leader in the pen. USI junior right-handed closer
Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) has a 3-0 record and 11 saves in 16 appearances out of the bullpen. The 11 saves ranks 13
th nationally and first in the GLVC.
At the plate in 2014. Sophomore outfielder
Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) leads USI hitters with a .354 batting average and is 17 hits short of the Eagles' single-season record of 97, set by Darin Mastroianni in 2007. He also leads the team with 31 RBIs, 18 doubles, two triples, and three home runs. Sophomore catcher
Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) follows with a .352 batting average.
At the USI Baseball Field. Sophomore outfielder
Kyle Kempf led the Eagles through the home schedule with a .435 batting average, 24 runs scored, 13 RBIs, 12 doubles, two triples, and a home run. On the mound, senior right-hander
David Toth (Danville, Illinois) had a 0.94 ERA, while senior right-hander
Jonathon Wandling was 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA.
Eagles at the USI Baseball Field. The Eagles are 178-57 (.757) when playing at the USI Baseball Field since 2007 and 258-138 (.652) since 2000.
USI in the NCAA II Tournament. USI is appearing in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 11
th time in the history of the program. The Eagles, who won the NCAA II National Championship in 2010 and were a semifinalist in 2007, are 21-20 overall in the NCAA II Tournament and 15-17 in Midwest Regional action.
Eagles versus the Midwest Regional field. The Eagles have a 76-62 overall record and a 6-3 mark this season against the Midwest Regional field. USI was 1-2 versus GVSU; 2-0 versus Drury; and 3-1 versus UIndy in 2014.
THE NATIONAL POLLS 
