LOUISVILLE, Ky.—University of Southern Indiana Softball erupted for 13 hits and seven runs in the second game of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader as the No. 21 Screaming Eagles salvaged a split with rival Bellarmine University Friday afternoon.
USI (31-15, 17-5 GLVC) was held to just one hit in a 3-0 loss in the opener, but bounced back to defeat the Knights, 7-4, in the nightcap.
Game 1
Bellarmine (21-22, 10-12 GLVC) got a pair of solo home runs from Samantha Smith and a one-hit shutout from Sabrina Fussenegger as the Knights upset the Eagles in the opener. Smith broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second with her first home run, while her second solo shot of the day came in the fourth inning to give the Knights their three-run advantage. They also scored in the third inning as well.
USI, meanwhile, was limited to just three base runners as it was unable to get any sort of offense going in the opener.
Junior pitcher
Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) was charged with the loss after giving up three runs off five hits and three walks. Leonhardt (18-6) struck out 11 batters, including seven of the first nine batters she faced.
Game 2
USI finally broke through on the offensive end in the top of the third inning as the Eagles scored four times to take a 4-1 lead. Sophomore first baseman
Haley Shouse (Borden, Indiana), senior catcher
Lindsey Barr (Whitesville, Kentucky), junior outfielder
Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) and junior shortstop
Taylor Ricketts (Georgetown, Kentucky) all had RBIs in the fourth inning as the Eagles took their first lead of the day.
Senior outfielder/pitcher
Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) extended the Eagles' cushion to 6-1 in the fourth inning with a two-run double, while Leonhardt gave USI a 7-1 advantage with an RBI-double in the sixth inning.
Bellarmine rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth and had the tying run at the plate in both the sixth and the seventh inning.
Senior pitcher
Haylee Smith (Florence, Kentucky) earned the win to improve to 6-1 on the year after giving up four runs off five hits in five-plus innings of work. Bradley (3) earned the save after blanking the Knights on two hits in 2.0 innings of work.
Up next
The Eagles return to action April 27 at noon when they travel to Romeoville, Illinois, to take on Lewis University. USI concludes the regular-season April 28 with a trip to No. 9 University of Indianapolis and a doubleheader that figures to impact the top seed in the GLVC standings as well as one of the hosting sites for the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament.