EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball moved up a spot into a tie for No. 16 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Division II Top 25 poll but remained No. 3 in the latest NCAA II Midwest Region rankings.
 
The Screaming Eagles (36-10, 22-2 GLVC) are scheduled to close out the regular-season this weekend with Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheaders at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday at noon and Lindenwood University Sunday at noon.
 
USI, which needs one win this weekend to set the program record for conference victories in a single season, is looking to clinch the top seed in next week's GLVC Tournament. The Eagles lead No. 2 University of Indianapolis (41-5, 21-3 GLVC) by a game and Lindenwood (33-7, 20-4 GLVC) by two games in the conference standings. Indianapolis and Lindenwood also are scheduled to play each other in a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
All four games this weekend will be carried on the GLVC Sports Network and on 95.7 The Spin. Live stats, audio and video links can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.
 
USI Softball Notes
• Eagles match single-season record. USI Softball matched the single-season program record for conference wins by picking up its 22nd GLVC victory. USI was 22-6 in 1998 and 2015 and went 21-9 in 2016. This season marks the fourth time in program history the Eagles have reached the 20-win plateau in league play.

• Eagles remain third in region rankings. USI held its spot at No. 3 in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings. The top seven teams remained unchanged with Indianapolis and Grand Valley State (2nd) holding the top two spots and Drury (4th) and Lindenwood (5th) rounding out the top five. Ohio Dominican (6th) and Findlay (7th) also held their ground, while Northwood debuted in this week's rankings at No. 8. Illinois Springfield stayed put at No. 9, while Missouri-St. Louis slipped two spots to No. 10.
 
• USI moves up on spot in NFCA Top 25. The Eagles moved into a tie at No. 16 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 poll. Indianapolis moved up one spot to No. 2, while Grand Valley State jumped three spots to No. 21.
 
• Seniors honored. USI honored its six seniors—pitcher/designated player Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana), third baseman Mary Bean (Schaumburg, Illinois), pitcher Elissa Brown (Brownsburg, Indiana), outfielder Mikaela Domico (Naperville, Illinois), pitcher Maddie Duncan (Lynnville, Indiana) and catcher Courtney Schoolcraft (Crest Hill, Illinois)—following Sunday's doubleheader sweep of Missouri S&T. This group has helped USI to a 102-56 overall record and a 54-24 mark in GLVC play during the last four years.
 
• USI goes 4-0 last week. The Eagles went 4-0 last week with GLVC doubleheader sweeps of Maryville and Missouri S&T at the USI Softball Field. The Eagles hit .327 as a team, with sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) hitting .545 to lead USI.
 
Junior shortstop Jordan Rager (Fishers, Indiana) hit .500 with a pair of doubles, a home run and seven RBI, while junior pitcher/designated player Allie Goodin hit .429 with two RBI. Freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) paced the Eagles in the circle with a 2-0 record, 0.50 ERA, .109 opponent batting average and 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings of work.
 
• Season leaders. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) is hitting .382 with 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 41 RBI to lead the Eagles, while Back is hitting .378 with seven doubles, two home runs and 24 RBI.
 
In the circle, Newman is 13-3 with a 1.97 ERA and a .171 opponent batting average. In GLVC play, Newman is 10-0 with a 1.00 ERA, .105 opponent batting average and 97 strikeouts.
 
• Walk-off wins. The Eagles have had 11 walk-off victories this season, including six that have been in the seventh-inning or later and four that have been in extra innings. Six of the walk-off wins have given the Eagles victory via the eight-run rule.
 
• Eagles in extra innings. USI is 6-1 in extra-inning games this season, including 4-0 in GLVC play.
 
• Hitting streaks. Fair and junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois) each have a current three-game hitting streak to lead the Eagles. Martinez and Bedrick each had a team-high 11-game hitting streak earlier in the year.
 
• Eagles back to 30-win plateau. USI cracked the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2019 and the seventh time in the last 10 years. The Eagles were on pace to crack the 30-win plateau in 2020, winning 15 of their first 19 games before COVID-19 canceled the remainder of their season. The Eagles have reached the 30-win plateau 12 times under Head Coach Sue Kunkle and 19 times in program history.
 
• Best GLVC start in program history. The Eagles' 16-0 start to GLVC play this season was the best open to league play in program history. USI's game-one loss to Indianapolis snapped USI's 17-game GLVC winning streak, which dated back to the end of the 2021 campaign.
 
• Win streak. USI's 18-game winning streak matched the program record, which was first set during the 2005 season. USI followed an 0-8 start to the 2005 season with 18 straight wins.
 
• Weekly honors. Both Fair and Newman have collected GLVC weekly honors this season. Fair earned GLVC Player of the Week honors for her efforts in USI's doubleheader sweeps over Illinois Springfield, Truman State and Quincy earlier this season, while Newman was named GLVC Pitcher of the Week after recording a pair of shutouts, including a no-hitter, in USI's doubleheader wins over Drury and Southwest Baptist.
 
• Fair on Player of the Year list. Fair was named to the NFCA's Player and Pitcher of the Year Top 50 list earlier this season. She was one of six players from the GLVC and eight from the Midwest Region to land on the list.
 
• Newman put together impressive run. Newman saw her string of three straight shutouts come to an end during USI's win over Indianapolis last week. She had not given up a run for 20 1/3 innings of work until UIndy's Gianni Iannantone hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
 
• Bean, Rager put up big numbers. Bean and Rager each have posted a six-RBI game for the Eagles this season. Bean drove in seven runs in USI's doubleheader sweep of Southwest Baptist, including a career-high six in USI's game-two victory, while Rager had six RBI, all in one inning, in USI's 11-2 win over Truman State.
 
• OUCH! Fair has been hit by a pitch a league-high 17 times this season, including seven times in the last three weeks alone. She ranks No. 2 on USI's all-time single-season list for being hit by a pitch. Marleah Fossett and Mena Fulton were smacked by pitches a respective 21 and 17 times in 2017, while Caitlyn Bradley was hit 12 times in 2016. Fair, who was hit 10 times as a freshman in 2021, ranks No. 3 on USI's all-time list behind Fulton (37) and Fossett (30).
 
• Kunkle claims 600th win. USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle earned her 600th career with USI's 8-0, game-one win over Quincy. She is the first coach in school history to win 600 games at USI.
 
• Rager gets half a cycle in one inning. Rager had a two-run triple and a grand slam in one inning during USI's 11-2, game-two win over Truman State University last month.
 
• USI breaks triples record. Rager's triple against Truman State was the Eagles' 20th on the year, which set a new single-season school record. The former record (19) was set in 1994 and 1995. The Eagles currently have a GLVC-best 24 triples on the year.
 
• Grand slam club. Rager's grand slam also was USI's third of the month, which tied the single-season school record of three (2017). She joins junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois), who hit a grand slam in USI's 6-2 win over Central Missouri on March 4, and freshman outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana), who had a grand slam in USI's 8-0 win over Lynn on March 7.
 
• 15-plus. Newman has two games under her belt with at least 15 strikeouts. She fanned 17 batters in USI's game-two win over Quincy and had 15 strikeouts in USI's game-two win over McKendree.