EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball returns to action on the road this weekend, traveling to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee State University Tigers in a three-game series in Ohio Valley Conference play. The three-game set begins Saturday 5 p.m. and concludes Sunday with a doubleheader at 12 p.m.
Southern Indiana heads into the series with a 16-19 overall record and a 9-8 conference, which is good for fourth in the OVC standings. Tennessee State is 15-21-1 this season and 6-8 in the OVC, as the Tigers sit in fifth place and will try to draw closer to the Screaming Eagles in the league table.
The Screaming Eagles are coming off a close series loss at home last weekend to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. USI came from behind to win the series opener in walk-off fashion, 4-3, as senior
Allie Goodin (Evansville, Indiana) hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning before sophomore outfielder
Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana) had the walk-off hit in the seventh inning. The win also marked the first time this season that Southern Indiana won a game while being outhit by its opponent. USI dropped the last two games, 5-3 and 4-3, respectively, including the series finale in 10 innings. The Cougars outscored USI by a narrow 12-10 margin in the series. The back-to-back home losses to SIUE marked the first time that USI dropped two consecutive home games since near the end of the 2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference season.
Senior infielder
Jordan Rager (Fishers, Indiana) led USI in batting average at the plate against SIUE, hitting .500 with an RBI, a run, and a double. Senior infielder
Rachel Martinez (Chicago, Illinois) and junior outfielder
Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) each hit .300 with an RBI in the series. Goodin batted .273 but accounted for four RBIs with a home run and a double. In the pitching circle, sophomore pitcher
Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) went 1-1 with two complete games, striking out 10 in 17 innings pitched.
Overall, Goodin leads the Screaming Eagles with a .413 batting average, 14 doubles, and 29 RBIs. Her numbers rank among the top-3 in the OVC, and her batting average and doubles total are top-50 and top-20, respectively, in the nation. Junior first baseman
Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) leads the team with four home runs and is second in RBIs with 21. Bedrick is hitting .327, leading the team with 26 runs scored. Newman leads the rotation in the pitching circle with a 13-8 record, 2.31 ERA, 128 strikeouts, and 14 complete games.
Tennessee State has fallen in three straight games and is 2-8 in the last ten games. The Tigers fell 11-2 against Middle Tennessee State University on Wednesday, as MTSU had a quick start at the plate and increased the early advantage. Tennessee State returns to OVC competition after a bye last weekend. Last time out in OVC play, TSU dropped two of three games against SIUE back on April 7-8. The Tigers won the series opener before falling the last two games.
As a team, TSU is batting .240 with 78 extra-base hits, which includes 10 triples and 17 home runs. The Tigers also have 23 stolen bases. Freshman Onnika Spencer paces the Tigers with a .311 batting average, eight home runs, and 24 runs batted in. The pitching staff has a 4.38 ERA with 113 strikeouts, and opposing hitters are batting .297 against Tennessee State pitching. Sophomore pitcher Caitlyn Manus leads the pitching rotation with an 11-12 record and a 3.90 ERA with 73 strikeouts. She has 12 complete games and has tossed 131.2 innings.
The weekend series will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
All three games can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links are on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
