EVANSVILLE, Ind .— Number one versus number two is how the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles will start their NCAA Division II title defense this week when they travel to the University of Tampa for a three-game series February 13-15. The first pitch Friday and Saturday is slated for 5 p.m. (CST), while Sunday's series finale is set for 10 a.m (CST) in Tampa, Florida.
Coverage of the Eagles' games at Tampa, including live stats and audio broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com.
The Eagles open the 2014 home schedule February 20 when they start a three-game series with Grand Valley State University at the USI Baseball Field. USI and GVSU will play at 2 p.m. February 20, 1 p.m. February 21, and noon February 22.
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES: USI Baseball won second national title in 2014. The Eagles, who were 49-13 overall record and 29-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference's East Division in 2014, won their second national championship in five seasons last spring. USI had to defeat the number one, two, number three, and number four team nationally to win the national championship.
Eagles ranked preseason number one by Collegiate Baseball. USI was ranked preseason number one nationally by
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in December, while the NCBWA placed the Eagles in the number three slot with five first place votes.
The GLVC in 2015. USI is picked to win the GLVC East Division in a preseason vote of the league's 16 head coaches. The Eagles will be seeking their fifth division title and second GLVC Tournament championship since 2007.
New pitching rotation in 2015. The USI pitching staff will have a new look to the starting rotation after the graduation of three of the four 2014 starting pitcher. The lone returning starter is senior right-hander
Ben Wright (Newburgh, Indiana), who was 7-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 15 starts last season, including the national championship game. Wright is 18-12 and has a 2.51 ERA in his first three seasons with the Eagles.
Eagle hitters look to continue production. USI hit .281 last season as a team, averaging 5.4 runs per contest in 2014. The Eagles averaged only 3.6 runs per contest in five games of the NCAA II National Finals.
Leading returning hitters. USI junior centerfielder
Hamilton Carr (Evansville, Indiana) led USI in hitting for the second-straight season last year, batting .347. Junior rightfielder
Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) followed Carr with a .342 average, but had a team-high 51 runs scored, 21 doubles, four home runs, and 36 RBIs.
Returning from 2014's line-up. The Eagles return six of the 10 starters from the line-up that took the field in the 2014 national championship game. Returning are senior right-hander
Ben Wright; junior catcher
Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana); junior first baseman
Andrew Cope (Evansville, Indiana); senior shortstop/closer
Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico); junior centerfielder
Hamilton Carr; and junior rightfielder
Kyle Kempf. Departing due to graduation are third baseman
Matt Bowles; second baseman
Caleb Eickhoff; leftfielder
Brad Wannemuehler; and designated hitter
Brent Weinzapfel.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason honor. Junior rightfielder
Kyle Kempf was named a
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Player to Watch this spring.
Archuleta at the helm. USI Head Coach
Tracy Archuleta has a USI record of 312-150 (.675) in eight seasons and is 460-274 (.627) in 13 seasons as a head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships. He also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014).
Tampa in 2015. The Spartans of the University of Tampa are 6-0 to begin 2015. Tampa swept a pair of three-game series from Bentley University and Georgia College and State University. Tampa outscored Bentley and Georgia College, 53-20, in the six games.
USI vs. Tampa. Tampa leads the all-time series with USI, 2-1, but the Eagles won the last meeting, 4-3, in the first game of the NCAA II National Finals last May. The Spartans won the first match-up, 5-4, in the 1983 regular season and second match-up, 8-1, in the semifinals of 2007 NCAA II National Baseball Finals.
