EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball returns to action in Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend, March 25-26, with three games on the road at Southeast Missouri State University.
 
Saturday will feature a single game at 4 p.m., while Sunday will be a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
 
Southern Indiana is 10-11 overall following a 4-1 start to Ohio Valley Conference play within the last two weeks. Most recently, USI swept a Sunday doubleheader against Lindenwood University, winning 8-0 in game 1 and 7-4 in game 2. USI has now won three straight games.
 
In the two games against Lindenwood, senior Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) led USI with five hits, batting .625 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. She also extended her hitting streak to a career-best 10 games. Junior first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) had two three-run home runs, six RBIs, four runs, and batted .600. Senior infielder Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois) drove in three runs and hit her first home run of the season.
 
In the pitching circle, sophomore pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) pitched her fourth shutout and seventh complete game of the season on her way to earning her eighth overall win and fifth straight. The right-hander struck out eight in 6.2 innings, as Newman also picked up her first save of the season in the second game against Lindenwood. Newman was rewarded with the OVC's Pitcher of the Week honor for the second consecutive week.
 
Overall, Newman has a team-best eight wins, a 2.18 ERA, and 79 strikeouts. She has made 10 starts in 13 appearances, recording 67.1 innings of work.
 
Offensively, Goodin leads the Screaming Eagles with a .422 batting average and 10 doubles. She is tied with Fair for a team-high 12 RBIs. Fair leads USI with four home runs. Junior outfielder MacKenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) is hitting .323 and leads the team with 15 runs scored.
 
Following her two home runs on Sunday, Fair entered the top-10 in USI's all-time charts for career home runs. With 19 career home runs, Fair is two home runs away from moving into the top-five. Fair is also approaching USI's all-time hit-by-pitch record. With two HBPs this season, Fair has been hit by a pitch 34 times in her career, sitting second all-time and three shy of tying the all-time mark of 37 set by Mena Fulton.
 
Junior catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) is tied for fourth all-time in USI Softball history with 72 career walks. She is three base on balls away from third. Kihega's career-best on-base streak reached 19 games on Sunday against Lindenwood.
 
Southeast Missouri (11-8, 4-1) is coming off a 1-1 weekend at Tennessee State University in conference play. The Redhawks fell in the first game, 3-0, before taking the second game, 9-2. SEMO's last two games have been canceled due to weather, including the series finale at Tennessee State. The Redhawks' midweek contest scheduled for Wednesday against Southern Illinois University was also canceled. This season, SEMO is hitting .264 with 39 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases. The pitching staff has a 2.49 ERA, and opposing batters are hitting .208.
 
Southeast Missouri leads the all-time series against USI, 6-1, having won the last six previous meetings. All seven previous matchups fell between the 1990 and 1991 seasons. USI won the first all-time meeting, 3-0, on the road in 1990. SEMO won the last all-time contest, 8-1, in Evansville in 1991.
 
All three games can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.