EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball settled for a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader split with the University of Illinois Springfield Friday afternoon at the USI Softball Field.
The Screaming Eagles (15-14, 4-6 GLVC) earned a 2-1 win in the opener before dropping game two, 6-0.
USI returns to action Saturday when it hosts Lewis University in a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field. First pitch has been moved up to 10 a.m. due to rain in the forecast Saturday afternoon.
Game 1: USI 2, Illinois Springfield 1
Sophomore pitcher
Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) gave up just one run off two hits to earn a complete-game victory.
Leonhardt (7-7), who fanned six batters in the win, put the Eagles up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI-double. She scored the second run of the contest three batters later as senior third baseman
Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana) extended her hitting streak to eight games with an RBI-double.
Illinois Springfield (21-10, 8-2 GLVC) scored on a wild pitch in the top half of the second inning and got a lead-off double in the third frame; but Leonhardt retired the final 15 batters she faced to ensure the win for USI.
Game 2: Illinois Springfield 6, USI 0
Despite a strong five-inning effort from junior pitcher
Courtney Atkisson (Bringhurst, Indiana), the Eagles could not get anything going offensively as the Prairie Stars handed USI its first shutout of the year.
Illinois Springfield broke a scoreless tie in the top half of the fourth inning as a lead-off single led to the first tally of the contest. Sophomore outfielder Bree Derhake gave the Stars a 2-0 advantage with a two-out home run in the fifth frame.
The Stars scored once more in the sixth and three times in the seventh, while junior pitcher Jaycee Craver (6-2) limited the Eagles to just three hits, one of which was a one-out double off the bat of Fulton, who increased her hitting streak to nine games.
Atkisson (5-4) took the loss after giving up two runs off six hits in five innings of work. She finished with four strikeouts and no walks.
