EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball settled for a doubleheader split with William Jewell College to open its 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule Saturday at the USI Softball Field. The No. 10 Screaming Eagles earned an 8-0, five-inning win in their home-opener, while the Cardinals stunned USI with a 7-6, nine-inning win in game two.

USI (18-4, 1-1 GLVC) returns to action Sunday at noon when it hosts Rockhurst University in a GLVC doubleheader. The Hawks (12-12, 2-0 GLVC) swept a conference twinbill from Bellarmine University Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.

Southern Indiana (18-4, 1-1 GLVC) 8, William Jewell (8-10, 1-1 GLVC) 0
Sophomore second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) went 2-for-3 with a double and a career-high five RBIs as USI Softball cruised to an 8-0, five-inning victory over William Jewell in the opening game.

Johnson's three-run double in the last half of the second inning put the Eagles up, 3-0. Freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) followed with an RBI-double in the next at-bat as USI extended its lead to 4-0.

Senior outfielder Grace Clark (Indianapolis, Indiana) had an RBI-single in the third inning to put the Eagles up, 5-0, while Leonhardt staked the Eagles to a 6-0 advantage with a sacrifice fly moments later. Johnson's two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning ended the game via the eight-run rule.

Leonhardt (9-1) earned the win in the circle after scattering two hits and seven strikeouts throughout five innings. She allowed just two walks as she earned her third complete-game shutout of the year.

William Jewell 7, Southern Indiana 6
Senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) hit her program-record tying 38th career home run to cap off a five-run seventh inning as USI Softball rallied from six down to tie William Jewell, 6-6, and force extra innings.

The Cardinals (8-10, 1-1 GLVC), however, got a run in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly and a close play at the plate; and shut down the Eagles' offense in the last half of the eighth and ninth innings to upend USI, 7-6.

William Jewell scored runs in the second, third, and fifth innings to build a commanding 6-0 lead, but USI responded with a tally in the sixth on an RBI-double by junior first baseman Marleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana).

Trailing 6-1 in the seventh, the Eagles capitalized on a pair of William Jewell errors to get back into the contest. Senior outfielder Grace Clark (Indianapolis, Indiana) hit a two-run jack over the leftfield fence to cut the Cardinals' advantage to 6-3; then, after an error and a sacrifice bunt by Leonhardt put junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) at second base, senior shortstop Lexi Reese (Lebanon, Indiana) had an RBI-single to get USI to within two tallies with Hodges due up next.

Hodges didn't disappoint as she tied Rachel Bowling's all-time school home run mark, sending a 1-1 offering over the centerfield fence to tie the score.

William Jewell, however, took advantage of a pair of lead-off singles in the ninth inning to forge a one-run lead they would not relinquish. USI went down in order in the bottom of the ninth as it saw its season-best 10-game win streak come to a close.

Earlier in the game, the Cardinals capitalized on a pair of USI errors to plate their first run in the second frame. They had a three-run home run off the bat of freshman Emily Hoover in the third frame and scored two more in the fifth to build a 6-0 lead.

Sophomore utility player Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) was charged with the loss after giving up three runs off seven hits in five innings of work. She came on in relief to begin the fifth inning.