EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Softball finished off its road series at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Sunday by grabbing a 2-1 victory and earning a series win for the Screaming Eagles.
 
Sunday's rubber game featured a rematch of starting pitchers from Saturday's 16-inning contest to open the weekend set. Like Saturday's game, USI junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) and SIUE senior pitcher Sydney Baalman made it a low-scoring pitcher's duel, throwing complete games just as they did on Saturday.
 
With scoring at a premium, Southern Indiana jumped onto the scoreboard early. USI tallied two runs in the top of the second inning to take an early lead off a passed ball and an RBI single from junior outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana).
 
SIUE got a run back in the bottom of the fourth inning on a leadoff triple and defensive error to trim USI's lead down to 2-1.
 
Despite a scattering of hits the rest of the game, neither side was able to push across any more runs.
 
Offensively, USI posted 10 hits in the game. Sophomore outfielder Caroline Stapleton (Shirley, Indiana) and Newman each recorded two hits.
 
In the pitching circle, Newman extended a career mark with her 22^nd complete game of the season. The right-hander allowed one unearned run on only five hits with a pair of strikeouts, maintaining her OVC-leading marks in innings pitched and strikeouts. The win pushed Newman's record to 15-8 on the season.
 
Baalman went the distance and surrendered two runs – one earned – with five strikeouts. The senior dropped to 4-14 on the season with the loss.
 
With Sunday's win, USI moved into a tie for fourth place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings at 12-9. Plus, the Screaming Eagles got back to .500 on the season with an 18-18 overall record. For SIUE, the Cougars remained eighth in the conference at 7-14 in OVC play and 15-29 on the campaign.
 
The Screaming Eagles will take a brief break from Ohio Valley Conference play with a single non-conference matchup on Tuesday at Butler University. First pitch from Indianapolis, Indiana is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game can be heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.