EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball swept a Midwest Region doubleheader from former Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Kentucky Wesleyan College Wednesday night at the USI Softball Field. The No. 10 Screaming Eagles earned an 8-0 win in six innings in game one before defeating the Panthers, 2-1, in the night cap.
 
USI (26-6), which jumped four spots to No. 10 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, returns to GLVC action Saturday when it visits McKendree University for a noon doubleheader in Lebanon, Illinois.
 
Game 1 (6 inn.): Southern Indiana (26-6): 8, Kentucky Wesleyan (18-12): 0
USI scored three runs in each of the first two innings as it cruised to a 6-0 lead over Kentucky Wesleyan. Senior catcher Haley Hodges (Portage, Indiana) had an RBI-double to put the Eagles on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, while senior outfielder Grace Clark (Indianapolis, Indiana) had a two-run double two batters later to put USI in front, 3-0.
 
Sophomore utility player Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) led the second inning off with a solo home run, while junior first baseman Marleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana) had a two-run home run later in the frame to give USI a commanding 6-0 advantage.
 
Junior designated player Alex Logan (Carleton, Michigan) had an RBI-double in the third inning to give USI a 7-0 lead, while freshman outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) drove in the game-ending run with an RBI-groundout in the sixth frame.
 
Freshman pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) earned her sixth complete-game shutout of the season. Leonhardt (14-1) struck out a pair of batters while allowing just two hits in six innings of work.
 
Game 2: Southern Indiana: 2, Kentucky Wesleyan: 1
The Eagles got an RBI from Hodges in the bottom of the first inning and an RBI from junior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois) in the fourth frame to build a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan (18-12) got a run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half. The Panthers had the tying run on first in the top of the seventh inning, but a game-ending double-play ended the threat and gave USI sophomore pitcher Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana) the complete-game victory.
 
Atkisson (9-3) allowed just one unearned run off five hits in seven innings of work to earn her ninth win of the year. She recorded three strikeouts and did not issue a walk.