EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana baseball team exploded for 25 hits and climbed above the .500 mark for the first time in 2015 with a 19-0 win over McKendree University Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles saw their record rise to 20-19 overall and 16-15 in the GLVC, while the Bearcats finish the doubleheader 9-33, 8-23 GLVC.
 
The Eagles, have a hold on second  place in the GLVC East Division with their 16-15 league mark, a half-game ahead of Bellarmine University and the University of Illinois Springfield. Bellarmine and UIS are tied for third with a 16-16 conference record. 
 
USI scored in seven of its eight innings at the plate, beginning with a five run second inning. The Eagles would go on to score one in the third; two in the fourth; eight in the fifth; and one in the sixth, seventh, and eighth for their 19 runs.
 
Junior catcher/first baseman Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) led the Eagle hitters with four hits, three runs scored, four RBIs, and a double. Bertram was followed by junior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana), who drove in three runs and had a two-run blast in the fourth. The home run was Gunn's team-high fifth of the season.
 
On the mound, junior right-hander Tyler Nichols (Newburgh, Indiana) was dominating through six innings for the Eagles. Nichols (3-4) scattered five hits and struck out six to earn his third win of the year. The Eagles also got a scoreless inning each from junior right-hander Zach Webster (Toronto, Canada), freshman right-hander Mitchell Powers (Newburgh, Indiana), and freshman right-hander Colin Hudson (Henderson, Kentucky) to finish the contest.
 
The Eagles and the Bearcats conclude the four-game series Sunday at noon with Senior Day for USI's seven seniors. Senior Day activities begin at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
 
USI also ends the 2015 home schedule and the six-game homestand Tuesday when it hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College for a 6 p.m. single game.