EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball landed four players on the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) and National Fastpitch Coaches' Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region teams in respective votes by the Midwest Region's sports information directors and softball coaches.

Junior pitcher/designated player Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) was named second-team on both the NFCA and D2CCA teams as a utility/pitcher, while sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) was named second-team by the NFCA. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) and freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) each collected second-team All-Midwest Region honors.

Goodin, a unanimous first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree, is currently 13-2 in the circle with a 2.10 ERA and .220 opponent batting average. At the plate, she is hitting .350 with three doubles, a triple, five home runs and 28 RBI. This is Goodin's first-career All-Region awards.

Bedrick is collecting All-Midwest Region by the NFCA for the second straight season after earning first-team honors a year ago. She is currently hitting .367 with three doubles, two triples, 16 RBI and is 17-of-19 in stolen base attempts.

Like Goodin, Fair is earning her first-career All-Region award after hitting .382 with 17 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 48 RBI. She leads the GLVC in doubles and has been hit by a pitch a league-high 20 times.

Newman joins Fair and Goodin in earning D2CCA All-Region honors after posting a 14-3 overall record and 11-0 mark in conference play during the regular-season. She posted a 0.95 ERA, 120 strikeouts and a .114 opponent batting average in GLVC play. Overall, Newman finished the regular-season with a 1.84 ERA, 165 strikeouts and a .170 opponent batting average.

In addition to the All-Region awards, USI jumped five spots to No. 10 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 poll after winning its fifth GLVC Tournament title.

The Screaming Eagles (43-10) begin the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament Thursday at 2:30 p.m. when they host Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champion Saginaw Valley State University at the USI Softball Field. USI is the No. 1 overall seed in the Midwest Region, while the Cardinals (34-18) are the No. 8 seed.

Lindenwood University (35-11), the No. 4 seed, takes on Drury University (36-15), the No. 5 seed, in the opening round Thursday at noon at the USI Softball Field.

No. 2-seeded University of Indianapolis is hosting the NCAA II Midwest Region #2 Tournament in Indianapolis. The winners of the two tournaments will meet at the highest remaining seed in the NCAA II Midwest Super Regional May 19-20.

This week's NCAA II Midwest Region Tournaments will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network, while USI's games can be heard 95.7 The Spin and on ESPN 97.7 The Ref. Live Stats, audio and video links can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.

USI Softball Notes
• Eagles back in NCAA post-season. USI Softball returned to the NCAA II Tournament for the first time since 2019 and the 10th time in program history. It is the first time in program history that USI has garnered the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament. USI is 23-17 all-time in the NCAA II Tournament and 22-13 under Head Coach Sue Kunkle.
 
• USI hosting for second time. This is the second time USI Softball has earned the right to host the NCAA II Midwest Region and first since 2017.
 
• Eagles looking for third regional title. USI has won the Midwest Regional and Super Regional in both 2017 and 2018. The Eagles were national champions in 2018.
 
• USI wins fifth GLVC crown. The Eagles won the GLVC Tournament for the fifth time in program history when they defeated Indianapolis, 1-0, in the championship game Sunday. USI also won the GLVC Tournament in 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2018.
 
• GLVC Tourney leaders. Senior designated player Katie Back (Indianapolis, Indiana) led the Eagles at the plate last week, going 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI. Junior pitcher Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) was 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBI, while freshman pitcher Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) had a home run and two RBI. Sophomore first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) went 3-of-9 with a double, home run and six RBI.
 
In the circle, Goodin went 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work, while Gotshall was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.
 
• Eagles move into Top 10. USI jumped five spots to No. 10 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The Midwest Region has three teams in the latest poll. UIndy dropped from No. 3 to No. 5, while Grand Valley State remained No. 21.
 
• USI enters tourney on hot streak. The Eagles bring a 12-game winning streak into the NCAA II Tournament and have won 30 of their last 32 games.
 
• Kunkle named GLVC Coach of the Year. USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle was named the GLVC Coach of the Year for the third time after leading the Eagles to the GLVC regular-season championship. Kunkle, who directed the NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year in 2018 and NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017 and 2018, also was the GLVC Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2017.
 
• Six Eagles net All-GLVC honors. USI placed six players on the All-GLVC team in 2022, including Goodin, who collected first-team honors as a utility/pitcher. Back (designated player) and Fair were named to the second team, as was freshman pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana), sophomore catcher Sammie Kihega (Indianapolis, Indiana) and sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana).
 
• Four Eagles net All-Region honors. Fair, Goodin and Newman all earned second-team D2CCA All-Midwest Region honors in a vote by the Midwest Region Sports Information Directors, while Goodin and Bedrick earned second-team NFCA All-Midwest Region accolades  in a vote by the region's coaches.

• Season leaders. Back took over the team lead with a .389 batting average, while Fair (.382) leads the GLVC with 17 doubles and 20 hit-by-pitches. Fair also has three triples, nine home runs and 48 RBI.
 
In the circle, Newman is 14-3 with two saves, a 1.84 ERA, .170 opponent batting average and 165 strikeouts in 118 innings of work. Goodin is 13-2 with a 2.10 ERA and .220 opponent batting average in 113 1/3 innings of work, while Gotshall (8-0) and Back (6-1) have combined for a 14-1 record.
 
• 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. Back has had hit in a team-leading five straight games, while the longest streaks (11) of the year belong to Bedrick and junior second baseman Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois).
 
• Record watch. USI is five wins away from matching the 1998 USI Softball team that went 48-17. The Eagles, who have set program records for triples (24) and RBI (285), need six runs to match the 2017 team's program record (316). They also are 15 doubles shy of the program record of 93 (2016).
 
• 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.
 
• OUCH! Fair has been hit by a pitch a league-high 20 times this season. 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, is tied with Fossett for No. 2 on USI's all-time list behind Fulton (37).
 
• 15-plus Ks. Newman has three games under her belt with at least 15 strikeouts. She fanned 17 batters in USI's game-two win over Quincy and struck out 16 in USI's game-two win over Missouri-St. Louis. She also had 15 strikeouts in USI's game-two win over McKendree.