EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana baseball senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) set a new all-time record for hits as the Screaming Eagles swept Saint Joseph's College, 4-2 and 9-7, Friday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI saw its record go to 28-16 overall and 15-7 in the GLVC, while Saint Joseph's finishes the day 24-20 overall, 12-10 GLVC.
 
Kempf set the all-time USI record with his 271^st career hit, an RBI-triple in the fifth inning. The hit pushed Kempf by USI Hall of Famer Mike Peerman (1997-2000), who had held onto the career mark since the 2000 season.
 
In the opener, the Eagles jumped out in front early with a pair of runs in the third inning, aided by a pair of Puma errors, to take a 2-0 advantage. The two-run third was highlighted by an RBI-single by senior shortstop Kyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana).
 
USI increased the margin to 3-0 on Kempf's RBI-triple in the fifth and to 4-0 in the sixth on a senior catcher Ryan Bertram's (Zionsville, Indiana) second home run of the season. Saint Joseph's got a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh before USI junior starting pitcher Colin Nowak (Carol Stream, Indiana) and senior right-handed pitcher T.J. Decker (Brazil, Indiana) shut down the Pumas the rest of the way.
 
Nowak (5-2), who has not allowed an earned run in his last four games and 28 innings of work, tied for the team lead with his fifth win of the season after allowing the two unearned runs in seven innings of work. The Pumas were able to get to Nowak for five hits and five walks, while the junior right-hander struck out four.
 
Decker recorded his third save of the season by setting the Pumas down in order in the eighth and ninth, striking out five of the six batters.
 
In the nightcap, the Eagles cruised out to an 8-0 lead before Decker had to close the door for a second game as USI held on for a 9-7 win. Decker posted his second save of the day and his fourth of the season by getting the final two outs.
 
USI scored one in the first and second before exploding for three runs in the third and fourth to lead 8-0. Saint Joseph's scored three in the fifth to cut the advantage to 8-3 before USI scored for the final time in the game to make the score, 9-3, after five innings.
 
The Pumas, however, were not done as they scored once in the sixth and three in the seventh to make it close before Decker came in to close out the victory.
 
Junior right-hander Lucas Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) picked up his fifth win of the year to tie Nowak and junior right-hander Devin Williams (Evansville, Indiana) for the team lead. Barnett (5-4) gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out five in 5.1 innings of work.
 
At the plate, Kempf led the way with three hits with three runs scored and one RBI, while Griggs and Bertram had two RBIs each in the win. Kempf finished the day with a team-high five hits.
 
The doubleheader sweep moves the Eagles into a first place tie with the University of Indianapolis, which split a doubleheader with the University of Illinois-Springfield this afternoon.
 
The Eagles and Pumas are slated to conclude their four-game series with a noon doubleheader Saturday. With rain is in the forecast Saturday, fans can track all weather-related schedule changes and/or announcements at GoUSIEagles.com or on the social media outlets at @USIAthletics. Live coverage of the final two games of the homestand can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.