PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball split a doubleheader with #27 University of West Florida Tuesday in Pensacola, Florida. USI took the opener, 6-1, but stumbled in the nightcap, 1-0.
 
The Screaming Eagles, who are 5-3 against ranked teams this season, are 7-4 to start the spring, while UWF is 11-6 in 2022.   
 
Game One:
USI junior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) drove in five runs and junior left-hander Sammy Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) threw six strong innings to lead the Eagles to a 6-1 game one win.
 
McNew drove in the five of USI's six runs on three hits, including a two-run blast to left field in the third inning. The home run was McNew's team-best third of the year.
 
Barnett earned his first win of the season by allowing one Argonaut run on five hits and one walk. The left-hander, who blanked UWF for the first five innings, also struck out six batters.
 
Freshman right-hander Ethan Gibson (Owensboro, Kentucky) and sophomore left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) finished the game by blanking UWF in the final three innings. Gibson allowed a hit in facing four batters in the seventh, while Ciufetelli earned his first save of the season by throwing a scoreless eighth and ninth with two strikeouts.
 
Game Two:
USI was limited to four hits and was shutout in the nightcap, 1-0. West Florida scored the game's only run third inning as the Eagles were shutout for the first time this season.
 
USI sophomore right-hander Parker Maddox (Columbus, Indiana) lost his first start with the Eagles. Maddox (0-1) allowed one run on three hits and four walks, while striking out two.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:
 
USI returns to the friendly surrounding of the USI Baseball Field this weekend to host a three-game set with Davenport University. The USI-Davenport three-game set will run Friday at 2 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.; and Sunday at noon.
 
Davenport is 6-10 overall after going 4-5 on its trip to Florida last week, losing the last five contests. USI is 1-2 versus Davenport all-time after the first series meeting between the two programs at a neutral site in Alabama in 2020.