EVANSVILLE, Ind .—  The University of Southern Indiana baseball team hits the road this weekend in search of a berth in the GLVC Tournament when it concludes the 2015 schedule in a four-game series at the University of Illinois-Springfield May 1-3. The first pitch for Friday's single game is 2 p.m., while Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's finale is set for noon starts. Live stats are available on GoUSIEagles.com.
 
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES VS. ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD:
 
USI and the GLVC Tournament. The Screaming Eagles start the final weekend of the 2015 GLVC schedule with a grip on second place in the GLVC East Division with a 17-15 GLVC mark. USI is one-game ahead of Bellarmine University and Illinois Springfield, which are tied for third with 16-16 conference records, and a game-and-a-half ahead of Saint Joseph's College, which is 15-16-1 in league play. Three victories clinch a spot for USI in the GLVC Tournament, while a split forces the Eagles to ask for help to secure a berth in the post-season. A series loss to Illinois Springfield this weekend would likely eliminate USI from the post-season.
 
USI on season-best winning streak. USI finished the 2015 home schedule with a homestand sweep and a season-best six-game winning streak. The Eagles sandwiched a four-game sweep of McKendree University between single game victories over Oakland City University and Kentucky Wesleyan College. Junior catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) and senior catcher Austin Edge (Whitesville, Kentucky) led the Eagles during the homestand with .588 (10-17) and .500 (4-8) batting averages, respectively. Bertram also had a team-high 13 RBIs. Senior shortstop/pitcher Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) also had a good homestand on the mound, posting a 2-0 mark, and at the plate, hitting .440.
 
Eagles hope to eliminate road woes. The Eagles hope to get on track during this road trip. USI, which lost its last two on the road at Lewis University, is 6-12 on the road in 2015. Junior outfielder Jaylen Quarles (Indianapolis, Indiana) leads the Eagles on the road with a .444 batting average. USI also hopes to get senior right-hander Ben Wright (Newburgh, Indiana) on track after losing all four of his road starts this year (he was 3-2 away from the USI Baseball Field last year).
 
Wright in the record book. USI senior right-hander Ben Wright (Newburgh, Indiana) has been moving up in the Eagles' record book. Wright, currently, ranks first in games started, second in innings pitched, tied for six in wins, and 10^th in strikeouts all-time at USI.
 
Chavarria moving toward all-time record for ERA. Senior right-hander/shortstop Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) is attempting to break the 40-year old USI career-record for ERA. Chavarria, currently, has a 1.55 career ERA, 1.10 better than the John Warner's (1972-75) mark of 2.65.
 
Kempf closing on top 10 for hits. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) is closing in on the USI top ten all-time for hits. Kempf starts this weekend with 195 career hits, 15 shy of Noah Wetzel and Alex Thieroff, who are tied for 10^th with 210 hits.
 
USI doubles home run production in 2015. USI doubled its home run production in 2015 over 2014, hitting 20 round trippers this spring. Junior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana) leads the Eagles this year with five home runs (a career-best for Gunn), while junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf is second with four blasts this season.
 
Archuleta at the helm. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta has a USI record of 334-169 (.664) in eight-plus seasons and is 482-293 (.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. Illinois Springfield. The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Prairie Stars, 11-0, after sweeping all five contests last year (four at the USI Baseball Field during the regular season and one at Bosse Field in the GLVC Tournament). All 11 games between the two programs have been played since 2008 when Illinois Springfield joined the GLVC. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf led USI against the Prairie Stars in 2014, hitting .619 with six runs scored, three doubles, a home run, and five RBIs. Kempf was followed by junior third baseman Trent Gunn and junior catcher Ryan Bertram, who batted .500 during the series and the conference tournament.