EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball will open the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball Championship Tournament against No. 1 University of North Georgia Thursday at 10 a.m. (CDT) at the James Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia.

The Screaming Eagles (36-23) enter this week's tournament as the No. 8 seed, while the Night Hawks are the top seed.

USI, which is 9-1 in the postseason, is in the NCAA II Championship for the second consecutive year after making its first-ever appearance at nationals in 2017.

UNG (61-2) carries a 19-game winning streak into the NCAA II Championship after capturing the national championship in 2015.

In addition to the USI-UNG contests, other first round games include No. 4 seed Angelo State University versus No. 5 seed West Chester University; No. 2 seed Saint Anselm College against No. 7 seed Southern Arkansas University; and No. 3 seed Chico State University versus No. 6 seed St. Leo University.

If USI wins Thursday, it will take on the winner of the Angelo State-West Chester contest Friday at 10 a.m. (CDT), while a USI loss would pit the Eagles against the loser of the Angelo State-West Chester contest Friday at 3 p.m.

WSWI 95.7 The Spin will carry this week's games on the radio, while NCAA.com will stream the games live. Live stats, audio and video links will be available at GoUSIEagles.com.

USI Softball Notes
• USI Softball wins second straight Midwest Region title. USI Softball won its second consecutive NCAA II Midwest Region championship by sweeping No. 19 Illinois Springfield in the NCAA II Midwest Super Regional. The Eagles won the opening game, 2-0, before earning a 3-0 win over the Prairie Stars in game two.

• Last week's leaders. Sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert and junior second baseman Claire Johnson each hit .500 to lead the Eagles at the plate against Illinois Springfield. Schubert had a pair of doubles and three RBIs, including the game-winning RBIs in both contests, while Johnson scored three runs. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt went 2-0 with a pair of complete game shutouts, a .167 opponent batting average and 18 strikeouts to lead USI in the circle.

• Post-season leaders. Senior outfielder Olivia Clark-Kittleson is hitting .417 with a double, home run and three RBIs to lead the Eagles, who are 9-1 in the post-season. Senior first baseman Marleah Fossett is hitting .393 with two home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs, while Johnson is hitting .379 with five RBIs and 11 runs scored. Schubert has driven in a team-high 11 RBIs, while Leonhardt is 7-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 56 strikeouts during the post-season.

• Return trip to nationals. USI is one of two teams in the 2018 NCAA II Softball Championship Tournament bracket that is making its second straight trip to nationals. In addition to USI, Angelo State also participated in the 2017 NCAA II Softball Championship Tournament. This marks the second trip to nationals in program history.

• Leonhardt breaks strikeout record. Leonhardt broke USI Hall of Famer Karianne Osowski's single-season program record for strikeouts when she recorded her 231st of the year with her second strikeout in USI's 3-0 NCAA II Midwest Super Regional win over Illinois Springfield. Leonhardt, who is the second pitcher in program history and the first since 1995 to reach the 200 strikeout plateau, enters the NCAA II Softball Championship Tournament with 237.

• Eagles win GLVC Tournament. The Eagles GLVC Tournament win was their first since 1998 and the fourth in program history.

• Back in the NCAA II Tournament. USI is in the NCAA II Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and fifth time in the last six seasons. The Eagles, who captured their first-ever Midwest Region title a year ago, have advanced to the NCAA II post-season eight times, including six under Head Coach Sue Kunkle.

• All-Region honors. Leonhardt and Schubert each earned All-Midwest Region honors this post-season. Schubert earned second-team accolades from the NFCA and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association; while Leonhardt was named second team by D2CCA.

• All-GLVC honors. Senior third baseman Mena Fulton earned first-team All-GLVC honors, while Leonhardt and Schubert were named second-team All-GLVC last week. It is the first All-League honors for both Fulton and Schubert, while Leonhardt was first-team All-GLVC as well as the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2017.

• Kunkle grabs 500th win. USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle became the first coach in USI history to earn 500 career wins when she recorded her 500th victory with USI's 4-0 GLVC Tournament win over Indianapolis. She is currently 508-361-1 (.585) all-time during her 17-year career at the helm of the Eagles.

• USI vs. No. 1-ranked teams. The Eagles are no strangers to playing top-ranked teams as USI has squared off against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation 10 times in six years. USI is 3-7 in those contests, with the most recent being a meeting with defending national champion and top-ranked North Alabama to begin the 2017 season. USI also played defending national champion Minnesota State Mankato on the same day the Mavericks dropped from No. 1 to No. 9 earlier this season.

• Familiar settings. USI, Grand Valley State and Indianapolis found themselves together in the same NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament bracket for the third consecutive year. Grand Valley State prevailed in 2016; while USI won in 2017 and 2018.

• USI-Grand Valley meet in NCAA II Tournament for fourth straight year. USI's meeting with Grand Valley State in the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament marked the fourth straight year that the Eagles and Lakers have played in the NCAA II Tournament. USI earned wins in 2015, 2017 and 2018; while the Lakers were victorious in 2016 and 2018.

• Three title holders. USI was one of three conference champions to play in the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament. Grand Valley State won the GLIAC Tournament, while Hillsdale, won the GMAC Tournament.

• Historic senior class. USI's senior class—Clark-Kittleson, Fossett, Fulton and infielder Alex Logan—is the first senior class in program history to advance to the NCAA II Tournament four times and is the winningest senior class in program history, compiling a 156-69 overall record and a 77-35 mark in GLVC play. The 2018 senior class surpassed the 2001 senior class (152) for most wins at the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament.

• Clark-Kittleson goes deep. Clark-Kittleson hit her first collegiate home run in USI's 4-2 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the GLVC Tournament title game Saturday. It marked her first extra-base hit since April 2, 2016; a span that saw her record 98 singles.

• Fossett hits second-career grand slam. Fossett recorded her second-career grand slam in USI's 6-1 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the GLVC Tournament. She also hit a grand slam off of Missouri-St. Louis All-American Hannah Perryman as a sophomore in 2016.

• Leonhardt earns GLVC Pitcher of Week honors. Leonhardt claimed her fourth-career GLVC Pitcher of the Week award and first of the 2018 campaign following her efforts in USI's wins over Rockhurst and William Jewell earlier this season. She was 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA, 19 strikeouts and a .163 opponent batting average in 13 2/3 innings of work.

• Schubert joins elite club. Schubert is the seventh player in program history to hit 10 or more home runs in a single season and is two RBIs shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to record 50 in a single campaign. Her 11 home runs in 2018 are currently tied for fifth on USI's single-season list, while her 48 RBIs are seventh.

• Hitting streaks. Johnson and Schubert each are tied for the longest current hitting streak (2); while Johnson's 11-game hitting streak remains the longest streak of the year for the Eagles. USI has had nine different players record hitting streaks of at least five games this year.

• Record book watch. Several USI players are in the USI career record books:
–Caitlyn Bradley is fifth all-time in hit-by-pitches (16) and tied for 17th in home runs (12);
–Marleah Fossett is second all-time in hit-by-pitches (30), third in putouts (1,051), tied for third in grand slams (2), tied for 12th in home runs (15) and 13th in RBIs (94);
–Mena Fulton is first all-time in hit-by-pitches (36) and tied for 21st in home runs (10);
–Claire Johnson is fourth in triples (11);
–Jennifer Leonhardt is fourth in strikeouts (428), fifth in wins (50) and shutouts (18), and is seventh in complete games (49) and innings pitched (427.1);
–Allison Schubert is tied for 14th in home runs (13).