EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball completes its five-game road swing Tuesday with a visit to Ball State University before starting a seven-game homestand that begins this weekend versus the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The first pitch at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, is slated for 2 p.m. (CDT), while home series with Little Rock starts Friday at 6 p.m. The USI-Little Rock series starts Friday, continues Saturday at 3 p.m., and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
Saturday's game is
Jersey Day at the USI Baseball Field. Fans wearing a jersey to the game will receive a free popcorn and will have a chance to win St. Louis Cardinals tickets in a sixth-inning drawing.
Following the USI-Little Rock series, the homestand continues next week with the Screaming Eagles hosting Northern Kentucky University April 1 and concludes with a three-game series against Morehead State University April 4-6.
With the ever-changing weather in March, USI encourages fans to watch for potential schedule changes on
USIScreamingEagles.com,
X, and
Facebook.
Links to follow the Eagles all season can be found on
USIScreamingEagles.com and the
USI Baseball Schedule.
USI Baseball Notes:
USI wins opening OVC series. The USI Screaming Eagles (10-13, 2-1 OVC) opened the 2025 OVC schedule with a 2-1 series win over Western Illinois University last weekend. USI lost the opening game, 15-5, but bounced back to win 8-6 and 6-4 in the final two games. Junior first baseman
Kannon Coakley led the Eagles at the plate with a .571 mark (4-7) in the first two games, while junior designated hitter
Cole Kitchens hit .400 (6-15) with two RBIs and two doubles. Sophomore outfielder
Cameron Boyd drove in a team-high four RBIs during the series.
USI last week. The Eagles were 2-2 last week overall, losing to Austin Peay State University and taking two of three from WIU. Junior first baseman
Kannon Coakley hit .545 (6-11) for the week, while junior shortstop
Clayton Slack and sophomore outfielder
Cameron Boyd drove in four RBIs each.
Kitchens, Coakley have hot sticks. Junior designated hitter
Cole Kitchens has had the big bat for USI the last 10 games, hitting .523 (23-44) with eight runs scored, five doubles, a triple, a home run, and nine RBIs. Junior first baseman
Kannon Coakley is batting .419 (13-31) with four runs scored, three doubles, and eight RBIs.
Overall Eagle leader at the plate. USI junior designated hitter
Cole Kitchens is the top hitter at USI and the OVC with a .449 batting average (35-78). The OVC batting average leader also leads in home runs (3) and RBIs (17); and second in doubles (9).
On the mound: Junior right-hander
Blake Kimball led the USI starters in the opening weeks with a 2-3 record and a team-best 4.36 ERA. Junior right-hander
Andres Gonzalez has a team-best 22 strikeouts this season. Kimball is sixth in the OVC in ERA through March 23.
USI in the OVC. USI ranks second in the OVC with a .305 team batting average. On the bump, the Eagles are eighth in the league with a 7.54 ERA.
Eagles in the OVC. Junior designated hitter
Cole Kitchens and junior first baseman
Kannon Coakley are one-two in the OVC in batting average, boosting a .449 and .405 average, respectively.
Hitting Streaks. Junior designated hitter
Cole Kitchens and junior utility player
Patrick McLellan start this week with 12-game hitting streaks.
USI visits BSU. USI visits Ball State University to finish the road trip next week. BSU is 16-9 in 2025 after being swept by Xavier University last weekend. The Cardinals lead the series with the Eagles, 4-0, with all games being played since 2023.
USI starts homestand with the Little Rock series. USI opens a seven-game homestand Friday when the University of Arkansas at Little Rock visits the USI Baseball Field. Little Rock is 9-15 overall this season and started OVC play by going 0-3 versus Tennessee Tech University. The Trojans lead the all-time series with USI, 5-1, after taking three of four last spring. Little Rock swept the regular season series in 2024, while USI won the meeting in the 2024 OVC Tournament, 2-0, in Marion, Illinois.
