EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball returns to Ohio Valley Conference action when the Screaming Eagles head to Tennessee State University Friday and Saturday for a scheduled three-game series.
The series was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday but was pushed up due to bad weather in the weekend forecast in Nashville, Tennessee. Friday's doubleheader is slated to start at Noon with Saturday's series finale scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch.
Southern Indiana (4-14, 1-2 OVC) heads into the series off a narrow 6-5 midweek loss at Indiana University on Wednesday. USI struck for the game's first three runs, thanks to a two-run double by freshman catcher
Jordan Mackey in the second inning and an RBI double from senior third baseman
Whitley Hunter in the top of the fifth. The Eagles led by four, 5-1, through the top of the sixth, but Indiana rallied in the home half of the sixth. The Hoosiers scored five runs, including a grand slam, to pick up the comeback win.
Seven of USI's starting offensive nine tallied a hit in Wednesday's road contest. Mackey led the offense with two hits and three RBIs. Freshman first baseman
Lilly Brown had a hit with two runs and fellow freshman
Grace Huffman recorded a hit and a run.
Prior to the IU game, USI went 1-2 to open OVC play last weekend at home against Western Illinois University. Brown and Hunter led USI over the weekend against Western Illinois with a .429 batting average and a double for each corner infielder. Brown tallied two RBIs and Hunter had one. In the pitching circle, senior pitcher
Josie Newman and freshman hurler
Kylie Witthaus each recorded a complete game during the series. Witthaus earned her first career win on Saturday against the Leathernecks. Newman totaled 18 strikeouts in two appearances.
Overall, junior outfielder
Caroline Stapleton leads USI with a .328 batting average this season among qualifying batters. Stapleton also has a team-best 11 runs. Brown has been a strong bat as of late, producing a .455 batting average with three two-hit games in the last two weeks. Sophomore infielder
Sydney Long tops the squad with seven RBIs, two ahead of Mackey and senior outfielder
Kennedy Nalley.
Newman (3-8) and Witthaus (1-5) have been the primary starting pitchers, registering a 4.37 ERA and 4.58 ERA, respectively. Newman has an OVC-best 102 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched. Witthaus has tossed 36.2 innings.
Tennessee State (11-7, 2-1 OVC) has won two games in a row and six of its last seven games. The Tigers won a midweek game against Bucknell University, 10-2, in six innings on Wednesday. Last weekend, Tennessee State won two of three games in its OVC-opening series against Tennessee Tech University, bookending the series with wins.
On the season, three Tigers are hitting .350 or higher. Junior Onnika Spencer leads the team with a .389 batting average and a 1.210 OPS. Spencer also has a team-high five home runs and 18 RBIs. Graduate student Anayah Baker-Rowell is behind Spencer with a .382 batting average and 17 RBIs. Senior pitcher Reina Castillo headlines the pitching staff with a 9-3 record and a 3.77 ERA in 12 starts and 14 appearances. Castillo has 32 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched.
Southern Indiana leads the all-time series against Tennessee State, 6-2, including a 2-1 mark in the first series meeting in Nashville in 2023. The two sides last met on the third day of the 2024 OVC tournament. USI struck for four first-inning runs before the game finished out in a pitcher's duel. Long had three hits and Hunter had two RBIs in the game. Newman allowed only three hits and hurled a complete game.
No ESPN+ or radio coverage is scheduled for the series. Live stats and additional coverage for the entire series can be found on usiscreamingeagles.com.
