EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball scored 10 times in the first two innings of game two to salvage a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader split with visiting Truman State University Sunday afternoon at the USI Softball Field.

USI (5-10, 3-5 GLVC) lost the first game, 10-7, before winning game two, 10-1. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) and sophomore second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois) combined to drive in seven runs to lead the Screaming Eagles at the plate, while senior outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) extended her hitting streak to 19 games with hits in both contests.

Game 1: Truman 10, USI 7
After leading 6-1 early in the game and 7-5 heading into the seventh, the Eagles surrendered five two-out runs as Truman State stole the opener, 10-7.

USI answered an early Truman State run with four tallies in the bottom of the first inning to take a comfortable 4-1 advantage. Fair and sophomore pitcher Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) each had RBI-singles to put the Eagles up, 2-1, while Martinez followed with a two-run single to give the Eagles a three-run cushion.

Fair had an RBI in USI's two-run second frame as the Eagles took advantage of a pair of Truman State errors to plate two more tallies and extend their lead to 6-1.

The Bulldogs (8-14, 5-7 GLVC), however, scored twice in the third frame and once more in the fifth to cut USI's advantage to 6-4. USI responded with in the last half of the fifth as Fair led off the inning with a double. Junior catcher Courtney Schoolcraft (Crest Hill, Illinois) followed three batters later with an RBI-double to put USI up, 7-4.

Truman State, however, had three hits in the first four batters in the sixth, knocking Goodin out of the game and getting to within two runs at 7-5.

Junior pitcher Maddie Duncan (Lynnville, Indiana) got the Eagles out of a jam in the sixth inning, but a lead-off single followed by a walk to start the seventh inning allowed the Bulldogs to put runners on first and second with no outs.

Duncan (0-1), who was charged with the loss, got a pair of strikeouts to get the Bulldogs down to their last out. However, freshman pinch hitter Shelby Webster hit a double into the left-centerfield gap to push the game tying runs across the plate.

Truman used a single off the bat of sophomore catcher Ellie Weltha in the next at-bat to take the lead, while two-run home run off the bat of freshman second baseman Cameryn Patterson put the Bulldogs up 10-7 heading into the last half of the seventh. USI went down in order in the seventh as the Bulldogs secured the victory.

Game 2: USI 10, Truman 1 (5)
USI exploded for three runs in the bottom of the first and seven more in the second en route to a dominating 10-1 game-two win in five innings.

The Eagles took advantage of a lead-off walk to get things going offensively in the first inning as freshman centerfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) stole second and advanced to third on an error after reaching base via the free pass.

Sophomore shortstop Jordan Rager (Fishers, Indiana) followed with an RBI-single to put USI on the scoreboard. Fair drove in the second run on a fielder's choice, while Martinez's RBI-single put USI in front, 3-0.

USI had six singles and sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning as it scored seven times to extend its lead to seven runs. Junior pitcher Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana), who was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, had a two-run single, while Rager, Webb, Martinez and sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) all had RBI-singles to put the Eagles in the driver's seat.

Truman State broke-up Back's bid for a second-straight shutout with a tally in the fourth inning, but that's all the scoring the Bulldogs would do as the Eagles won the contest via the eight-run rule.

Back (3-4) earned the win in the circle, giving up just one run off four hits in five innings of work. She issued two walks while striking out four batters.

Up Next
The Eagles host No. 11 and GLVC front-runner University of Indianapolis in a conference doubleheader Friday at noon at the USI Softball Field before finishing next week's slate with a GLVC twinbill at McKendree University next Saturday.

Notes
USI racked up a combined 19 hits Sunday after ripping off a combined 22 hits Saturday…USI's team batting average on the weekend was .390, with five players hitting at least .429 during the four-game stretch…while Webb's hitting streak rose to 19 games dating back to the last four games of the 2020 campaign, Bedrick's 10-game hitting streak ended after the freshman lead-off hitter went 0-for-4 in game one.