INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) and senior third baseman Mary Bean (Schaumburg, Illinois) hit two-run home runs in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, as University of Southern Indiana Softball rallied for a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader split with No. 5 University of Indianapolis Friday afternoon.
 
The No. 17 Screaming Eagles (31-9, 17-1 GLVC) saw their 18-game win streak come to an end with a 4-3 setback in the opener before earning a 4-3 win in the nightcap.
 
Indianapolis (35-5, 15-3 GLVC) scored twice in the bottom of the first inning of game one to take a 2-0 lead. The Greyhounds added two more in the fifth to extend their lead to 4-0.
 
USI, however, got three straight runners on base to lead off the top of the sixth before an RBI-single by senior designated player Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) broke up the shutout bid. Sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) followed with a bases-loaded walk as the Eagles cut UIndy's lead in half without an out on the board.
 
Bean was hit by a pitch two batters later to push across another run as USI had the tying run at third base with just one out.
 
UIndy, however, got two straight outs to end USI's threat. Junior pitcher Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) kept the Greyhounds off the board in the bottom of the sixth, but USI was unable to score in the top of the seventh as UIndy held on for its 11th straight win.
 
Goodin (7-1) was charged with her first loss of the season after giving up four runs off nine hits in six innings of work.
 
In game two, the Greyhounds once again struck first with a solo home run in the home half of the second to take a 1-0 advantage. UIndy got a 2-run double in the fourth and the Greyhounds led 3-0 before the Eagles were able to get a hit on the board.
 
USI, however, broke up the no-hit bid with a Kihega single in the fifth, then got a two-run home run by Fair in the sixth to break up the shutout bid.
 
The Eagles got a lead-off walk by Kihega in the seventh to put the tying run on base. After a pop-up by freshman pitcher Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) in the next at-bat put UIndy within two outs of a sweep, Bean stepped up and hit her second home run in the last six days to give USI its first lead of the afternoon.
 
Gotshall gave up a single to lead off the bottom of the seventh, but a groundball double play in the next at-bat put USI within an out of the split. After a walk, USI went back to freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana), who got a strikeout for the game-clinching third out.
 
Newman picked up her first career save despite starting the game in the circle, while Gotshall (7-0) earned the win in relief after blanking the Greyhounds through 2 1/3 innings of work. Newman gave up three runs off two hits and seven walks before being pulled from the circle in the fifth.
 
USI, which maintains a two-game lead in the GLVC standings following the split, returns to action Saturday at noon when it hosts McKendree University in a GLVC doubleheader at the USI Softball Field.
 
The Bearcats (16-20, 8-12 GLVC) have lost three straight games and four of the last five.
 
Notes:
• Bean has racked up 10 RBI in the last four games, pushing her total to a career-high 20 on the season. USI has seven players with 20 or more RBI on the year and nine players with at least 11 or more RBI.
 
• Fair hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season Friday. She also leads USI with 13 doubles and 37 RBI.
 
• While USI was unable to extend its win streak, the Eagles did put themselves in position to clinch a spot in the GLVC Tournament Saturday. USI needs just one win to secure a berth in the league's post-season tournament after missing the event a year ago.