EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball makes its Ohio Valley Conference debut this weekend, opening the OVC season on the road Saturday and Sunday with a three-game set at Morehead State University.
Saturday's doubleheader is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT, and Sunday's series finale is also scheduled for an 11 a.m. CT first pitch.
USI is 6-10 heading into conference play, coming off a 3-5 week at The Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida. The Screaming Eagles picked up wins against Holy Cross, Creighton University and Long Island University at The Spring Games.
The Screaming Eagles closed out The Spring Games with a 5-3 win on Wednesday in the back half of a doubleheader against Long Island. USI grabbed a 5-0 lead after a big second inning against the Sharks. Junior first baseman
Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) started the second frame with a solo home run. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, junior outfielder
Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) cleared the bases with a three-RBI double. Even though LIU tallied three runs in the fifth inning, USI sophomore pitcher
Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) recorded her fourth complete game of the season and improved her record to 5-4 on the year. Newman struck out six and allowed one earned run in the full seven innings.
In the eight games played at The Spring Games, Bedrick led USI with a .360 batting average, tallying a team-best nine hits and five runs. Senior
Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) batted .348 with a team-high three doubles. Bedrick and Goodin each had four RBIs. After a slow start to the season, Fair finished the trip strong, hitting a pair of home runs and recording three RBIs in the last three games.
In the circle, Newman went 3-1 with a 1.46 era and 29 strikeouts in 24 innings, tossing two shutouts and three complete games in four starts. In Tuesday's 4-0 win against Creighton, Newman pitched a one-hitter for the second time this season.
On the season, Goodin leads the Screaming Eagles with a .378 batting average and six RBIs. Bedrick is behind Goodin with a .354 average and paces the squad with 10 runs scored. Among pitchers, Newman has a team-best five wins, 2.10 ERA, and 55 strikeouts. Newman has four complete games and three shutouts.
Also noteworthy, Fair is 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. Fair is also moving up the USI all-time charts in career home runs. Fair is currently tied for 12th all-time with 17 career home runs. She is one home run away from entering the top-10 and in a tie for ninth in career home runs.
Junior catcher
Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) is tied for sixth all-time in USI history with 68 career walks. She is four walks away from entering the top-five list. Currently, Kihega's knack for taking good at-bats has led to a 14-game on-base streak, a career best.
Morehead State (4-6) are coming off a trip to Huntington, West Virginia for the Thundering Herd Round Robin. The Eagles went 1-3 with their win coming against Kent State University in a 6-5, nine-inning contest. Last time out, Morehead State fell 3-2 in eight innings against the University of Pittsburgh. While the Eagles have had some offensive struggles, hitting .199 as a team, they have been aggressive on the base paths with 10 stolen bases this season.
Morehead State leads the all-time series against USI, 3-2, taking the last two games against USI back in 2007 in Morehead, Kentucky. USI's last win in the series history came in a two-game sweep at home in 2005.
All three games can be seen with an ESPN+ subscription. Additional coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
