USI start GLVC Tournament action Thursday
 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. —  The University of Southern Indiana baseball team starts Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament action Thursday when the fifth-seeded Screaming Eagles take on fourth-seeded Truman State University at 10 a.m. (CDT). The GLVC Tournament is being held at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
 
The Eagles clinched a spot in the GLVC post-season when they swept a four-game series from the University of Illinois Springfield on the road this weekend. USI has won its last 10 games and won 18 of its last 24 conference games to receive a berth in the league tournament.
 
The GLVC Baseball Tournament information, including the bracket, ticket information, and directions to Grand Park, can be found on GLVCSports.com.
 
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL GLVC TOURNAMENT NOTES:
 
USI enters post-season red hot. The Eagles enter the 2015 post-season on a season-best 10-game winning streak and have won 20 of their last 27 games. Junior catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) leads the Eagles during the winning streak with a .500 batting average (12-24), while junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) and junior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana) follow with .476 marks. Kempf has hit a team-high three home runs, while Gunn has driven in a team-best 15 RBIs during the last 10 games.
 
The last 27 games. USI is 20-7 (18-6 GLVC) in the last month of the regular season after starting the year 6-12 and in last place in the GLVC East Division with a 3-9 mark. As a team, the Eagles have raised their team batting average 45 points (.282 to .327) and lowered the team ERA 1.37 runs per game (4.40 to 3.03).  Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf has been the best hitter over the last 27 games, posting a .427 average with 27 runs scored, seven doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 32 RBIs. Junior third baseman Trent Gunn is the top run producer in the last month with a team-high six home runs and 41 RBIs.
 
On the mound, Senior shortstop/right-handed pitcher Matt Chavarria  (Carlsbad, New Mexico) leads the way with a 5-1 record, one save, and a 1.41 ERA in seven games and five starts. Senior right-hander Ben Wright (Newburgh, Indiana) follows with a 4-1 record and a 2.16 ERA, posting three complete games and two shutouts.
 
Kempf takes over power lead with career-best. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf took over the USI team-lead and reached a career-high over the weekend when he hit his fifth, sixth, and seventh home runs of the season. Kempf also is hitting a career-high .382 and has driven in a three-best 40 RBIs.
 
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 205 career hits, five shy of Noah Wetzel and Alex Thieroff, who are tied for 10^th with 210 hits.
 
Career-season for Gunn Junior third baseman Trent Gunn is having his best season as an Eagle, batting .351 (nearly 60 points above his career average) with 25 runs scored, 10 doubles, one triple, six home runs, and a team-high 51 RBIs. He also is on a team-high 15 game hitting streak.
 
 
 
Eagles eliminated road woes versus Illinois Springfield. The Eagles went from 6-12 on the road to 10-12 with a four-game road sweep of Illinois Springfield. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf batted .588 in the four games with three home runs and seven RBIs, while junior third baseman Trent Gunn hit .526 with five RBIs and a home run.
 
Niemeier hits first home run. Junior shortstop Kyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana) hit his first collegiate home run in the season finale at Illinois Springfield.
 
USI more than doubles home run production in 2015. USI has more than doubled its home run production in 2015 over 2014, hitting 28 round trippers this spring.
 
A road win for Wright. USI senior right-hander Ben Wright posted his first road win of the year against Illinois Springfield after starting 0-4 away from the USI Baseball Field this spring. Wright went nine innings to get his first road win of 2015, allowing an unearned run on four hits and striking out three.
 
Wright in the record book. USI senior right-hander Ben Wright has been moving up in the Eagles' record book. Wright, currently, ranks first in games started, second in innings pitched, tied for fifth 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 is attempting to break the 40-year old USI career-record for ERA. Chavarria, currently, has a 1.48 career ERA, 1.17 better than the John Warner's (1972-75) mark of 2.65.
 
Chavarria doing it all for the Eagles. Senior right-hander/shortstop Matt Chavarria is doing it all for the Eagles. Chavarria (7-3) leads the team in wins (7), ERA (1.58), strikeouts (55), and four saves, while batting .329 with 25 runs scored, 12 doubles, three home runs, and 28 RBIs.
 
Holder ends regular season perfect. Junior right-hander Alex Holder (Princeton, Indiana) finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record after posting a win over Illinois Springfield in the final weekend. Holder, who has won five of his eight starts, struck out a season-high 10 batters to get the fifth victory.
 
Nichols coming on strong. Junior right-hander Tyler Nichols (Newburgh, Indiana) has been strong down the stretch for the Eagles as the fourth starter. Nichols is 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA in his last five starts since beginning the year 1-3 with a 6.08 ERA in his first four starts.
 
Archuleta at the helm. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta has a USI record of 338-169 (.667) in eight-plus seasons and is 486-293 (.624) 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. GLVC Tournament field. The Eagles are 5-7 against the GLVC Tournament field (0-4 versus Truman State University; 2-2 versus Bellarmine University; 3-1 versus the University of Indianapolis). USI is batting .305 as a team and have a 5.14 ERA in 12 games against teams in the field.