HUNTSVILLE, AL.--- The University of Southern Indiana softball team used powerful hitting to claim wins over University of Montevallo and Midwest Region opponent Ferris State University Saturday afternoon at the Charger Chillout in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Screaming Eagles began the day with a dominating 10-1 win over the Falcons, which featured two homeruns by senior
MacKenzi Dorsam (Dubois, Indiana) and sophomore
Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana), before handing the Bulldogs a 6-1 decision.
With two outs and two on, in the opening inning of game one, junior
Janna Green (Glenwood, Indiana) sent the ball to left field for an RBI, allowing senior
Brooke Harmening (Whiteland, Indiana) home for USI's first run.
The Eagles took a 4-0 lead following Dorsam's homerun in the top of the second, and saw another two from an RBI-double by Harmening, in the fourth, which caused a pitching change by the Falcons.
Montevallo prevented a shutout by USI after pinch-runner Celestia Davila worked the bases, first stealing second, advancing to third off a single to right field, and racing home off a throw to second base.
USI tallied four more runs in the sixth, extending its lead to 10-1 and enabling the eight-run mercy rule, putting pressure on the Falcons to pursue more runs to keep the game going into the seventh.
Unable to send any runners home in the bottom of the sixth, the Falcons surrendered a 10-1, six-inning game.
In her collegiate debut, freshman
McKenzi Jordan (Crawfordsville, Indiana) picked up her first win in the pitcher's circle, allowing three runs, one hit and striking-out three batters in four innings of work. Junior
Devon Rutherford (Newburgh, Indiana) came in as relief for the final two innings, totaling 39 pitches.
Montevallo saw a shared circle, too, with Kelsey King (0-1) ultimately taking the loss for the Falcons after 3.2 innings of work.
In USI's nightcap against Ferris State, freshman
Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) got the ball rolling with an RBI-single in the top of the second, sending Green home for a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles went on a scoring run in the fifth tallying five RBIs off four at-bats, leaving Ferris to trail 6-0. The Bulldogs scored a run off a wild pitch in the final inning to end the game at 6-1.
Harmening improved to 2-0 in the circle, totaling eight strikeouts in a full seven innings work.
The Eagles face tournament host University of Alabama Huntsville Sunday at 11 a.m. before ending the weekend with a 1 p.m. meeting against University of North Alabama.
