EVANSVILLE, Ind .—  The University of Southern Indiana baseball team is looking for a strong finish to its eight-game road trip this week when it visits Saint Joseph's College for a four-game series March 28-29. The Screaming Eagles begin the series with the Pumas Saturday with a noon doubleheader before concluding the road swing Sunday with a second noon doubleheader. Live coverage of the USI-Saint Joseph's College series can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
 
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES VS. SAINT JOSEPH'S:
 
USI Baseball is 2-2 to start road trip.  USI has started the road trip by splitting a four-game series with the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Eagles lost the opening game, 7-4, before breaking a five-game losing streak in the first game of a doublehearder, 8-4. After losing the nightcap of the doubleheader, 4-3, USI bounced back to earn a split in the final game of the series, 7-4.
 
Leading hitters on the trip. Junior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana) led the Eagles in their four-game stop at UMSL, hitting .474 (9-19) with three runs scored, three doubles, and three RBIs. Junior second baseman Kyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana) followed with a .375 mark (3-8) and three RBIs, while senior centerfielder Tyler Mikrut  (Edwardsville, Illinois) also had a trio of RBIs to tie for the team lead on the trip.
 
On the mound on the road. Senior shortstop/closer Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) saved both wins at UMSL, while junior right-hander Ben Blaize (Henderson, Kentucky) and junior right-hander Tyler Nichols (Newburgh, Indiana) picked up the wins. The victory for Blaize was his first as an Eagle.
   
Leaders at the plate. Among the active players, freshman leftfielder Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) leads the USI hitters with a .364 average. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) has a team-best 12 runs scored, while senior shortstop/closer Matt Chavarria has posted a team-high 14 RBIs and two home runs.
 
Archuleta at the helm. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta has a USI record of 317-159 (.666) in eight-plus seasons and is 465-283 (.622) in 13-plus 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).
 
USI vs. Saint Joseph's. USI trails in the all-time series with Saint Joseph's, 38-37, despite the Eagles sweeping all three games from the Pumas last year. The Eagles have won 10 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams, but lost three of four in their last trip to Rensselaer, Indiana, in 2013.