ALLENDALE, Mich.—University of Southern Indiana Softball rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the University of Indianapolis, 8-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region #1 Tournament Thursday afternoon.
 
After surrendering a run to the Greyhounds (39-19) in the bottom of the first inning, the Screaming Eagles found themselves facing a perfect game bid against UIndy sophomore hurler Lauren Honkomp.
 
USI (32-22) had gone down in order throughout the first four frames, but things changed in the top of the fifth inning as sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) hit a seeing-eye single between third base and short to wreck the bid for a perfect game.
 
Senior third baseman Mena Fulton (Bloomington, Indiana) followed with a base hit to opposite field and advanced to second on the throw as the pinch runner, freshman Jessica Tucker (Georgetown, Kentucky), made it to third on the play.
 
With no outs and a base open, UIndy elected to walk senior first baseman Mareleah Fossett (Brownsburg, Indiana), who terrorized opposing pitchers a week ago at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. With the bases loaded and no outs, a ball got passed the glove of catcher Julia Liceaga, allowing Tucker to score the tying run.
 
After another walk, USI failed to add any more runs in the next two at-bats, but with two outs and the bases loaded, junior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) hit a ball down the right field line that went off the glove of UIndy outfielder Hailey Foster, allowing three runs to cross the plate and give USI a commanding 4-1 lead.
 
Schubert had sacrifice flies in both the sixth and seventh frames as the Eagles extended their lead to 6-1, while back-to-back bases-loaded walks—one to Fossett and the other to senior pinch-hitter Alex Logan (Carleton, Michigan)—capped off a three-run seventh frame that put the game out of reach for the Greyhounds.
 
UIndy loaded the bases in the seventh, but sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) induced a fly ball for the third out, giving the Eagles their fifth straight victory.
 
Leonhardt (18-11) earned the win in the circle after surrendering just one run off six hits. She racked up five strikeouts in the victory.
 
USI, the No. 5 seed, returns to action Friday at 10 a.m. (CDT) when it takes on the No. 8 seed, Hillsdale College, in the winner's bracket. The Chargers (25-14) earned their ninth consecutive win Thursday as they knocked off top seed and tournament host Grand Valley State University, 1-0, earlier in the day.
 
In the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament, which is being played in Springfield, Illinois, it was No. 2 seed University of Illinois Springfield defeating the No. 7 seed, Saginaw Valley State University, 9-0; while the No. 6 seed, University of Missouri-St. Louis, earned a 4-0 win over the No. 3 seed, McKendree University.

Note: With the win, USI's senior class—consisting of Fulton, Fossett, Logan and outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson (Carbondale, Illinois)—matches USI's 2001 senior class for the most wins in program history (152).