EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana junior right-handed pitcher Peyton Brown (Clemmons, North Carolina) was named the Ohio Valley Conference co-Pitcher of the Week after leading the Screaming Eagles to a victory over Western Illinois University last Thursday. Brown is the second Eagles' pitcher to earn the honor this season and since USI made the transition to Division I last year.
 
Brown was dominating in his longest start of the season, blanking the Leathernecks over six innings and allowing two hits and two walks. He also struck out four batters and held WIU hitless through 4.2 innings on his way to earning his second win of the season.
 
In 2024, Brown is 2-2 overall and has a 6.30 ERA in 40.0 innings of work. He also has struck out 36 batters and held the opposing teams to a .256 batting average in 18 appearances and nine starts this spring.  
 
Brown and the Eagle start post-season action Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the OVC Baseball Championship, scheduled to run May 22-25 at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. USI, which is the fourth seed in the tournament and received a first-round bye, will play the winner of the fifth-seeded Tennessee Tech University and eighth-seeded University of Tennessee at Martin. TTU and UTM are set to play at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.
 
Also on Wednesday, third-seeded Morehead State University will play the winner of the first-round game between sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois University and fifth-seeded Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville at 7:30 p.m. EIU and SIUE play their first-round game at 12:30 p.m.
 
The four first-round games on Wednesday's games are single-elimination contests. Top-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock and second-seeded Southeast Missouri State University start play in the double-elimination part of the playoff that begins Thursday.
 
Links to follow the Eagles during the 2024 post-season can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and on the USI Baseball Schedule.
 
USI Baseball OVC Championship Notes:
USI lost tough game to open tournament last year: The USI Screaming Eagles earned a trip to the OVC Baseball Championship during its first season of transitioning to NCAA Division I. The Eagles lost a tough opening game, 5-4, to the eventual OVC Baseball Championship winner, Eastern Illinois University. EIU scored four times in the seventh to get the victory.
 
Eagles get 4^th with sweep: The USI Eagles clinched the fourth-seed in the OVC Baseball Championship with a sweep of Western Illinois University. Junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken led the hitters by batting .600 (6-10) and driving in five RBIs during the series. Junior right-handed pitcher Peyton Brown led USI's hurlers with six shutouts innings, holding WIU hitless for 4.2 innings in his longest start of the season.
 
USI has won seven series this year. USI has won seven series this season, including four in OVC play. The Eagles won only four series all of last season.  
 
Comes down to pitching. USI's 25 wins in 2024 (year two of the Division I transition) are eight victories better than last season and pitching has been a major factor. The Eagles have a 5.79 ERA, 1.91 better than last season's 7.70 ERA and the lowest since 2021.
 
Tough one run games. The Eagles have had their problems with one-run games in 2024. USI is just 2-9 in one run games.
 
USI in the OVC tournament field. USI is 10-11 against the OVC Baseball Championship field in 2024. USI hit .291 as a team versus the field and was led by junior infielder/outfielder Thomas Emerich and senior outfielder Ren Tachioka, who hit .424 (14-33) and .412 (28-68), respectively. The Eagles, on the bump, have a 6.24 ERA versus the field.
 
Season leaders at the plate in 2024. Senior outfielder Ren Tachioka is hitting a team best .377 (66-175) in 45 of the 55 games, while senior infielder/designated hitter Tucker Ebest has hit a team-high nine home runs and driven in a team-best 51 RBIs.
 
Leaders on the mound in 2024. USI junior right-handers Gavin Seebold has recorded a team-best six wins this season (6-2). Junior right-hander Gavin Morris, junior right-hander Carson Seeman, freshman right-hander Grant Parson follow with four wins each, while Parson has a team-high 60 strikeouts. Junior right-hander Tyler Hutson has a team-best five saves, while freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit follows with three.
 
Tachioka in the USI record book. Senior outfielder Ren Tachioka ranks 11^th in triples (7) and stolen bases, 19^th in runs scored (126), 21^st in total bases (226), and 22^nd in hits (181).
 
USI in the last 10 games. USI was 6-4 in the last 10 games and was led by junior infielder/outfielder Thomas Emerich, who batted .394 average (13-33), and junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken, who had 12 RBIs. Junior right-hander Peyton Brown led the hurlers with two wins while junior left-hander Will Kiesel had a 2.57 ERA in four appearances.
 
At a neutral site in 2024. USI was 0-2 at a neutral site in 2024, losing to Lamar University and the University of North Alabama to start the year. Senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest led the way at the plate with a .714 average (5-7) and two RBIs.  
 
Multi-hit/Multi-RBI Games. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen leads the Eagles with 25 multi-hit games (23 with 2; 2 with 3), followed by senior outfielder Ren Tachioka has 21 (14 with 2; 6 with 3; 1 with 4). Senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest has a team-high 14 multi-RBI games. Sophomore infielder Caleb Niehaus has the top RBI game of the season with five versus Southeast Missouri State University.
 
In the OVC statistically. USI, as a team, is fourth in the OVC in pitching with a team 5.79 ERA and sixth in the league in hitting with a .280 team batting average. Senior outfielder Ren Tachioka is second in the OVC with a .377 batting average, while freshman right-hander Grant Parson and junior right-hander Gavin Seebold are fourth and fifth in the league with 3.90 and 4.14 ERAs. Parson also is sixth in the league with 60 strikeouts.
 
In OVC Games Only. USI is fourth in the league with a .297 team batting average and a 5.69 team ERA in OVC games only. Senior outfielder Ren Tachioka is tied for second in the OVC only games with a .396 batting average, while junior right-hander Gavin Seebold is fifth in the league with a 3.88 ERA.