EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball returns home to USI Softball Field for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against Tennessee Tech University Friday and Saturday.
The series was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, but it was moved up a day to avoid bad weather in the forecast later in the weekend. Friday will feature a doubleheader starting at Noon with Saturday's series finale also slated for Noon.
The series is also Women's History Month Celebration weekend and Women's USI Faculty and Staff Appreciation.
The weekend series against Tennessee Tech (10-20, 4-5 OVC) kicks off a six-game homestand for Southern Indiana (6-17, 3-5 OVC). USI comes back to USI Softball Field for the first time in three weeks after a stretch of what ended up being six straight road games.
Most recently, USI was on the road at Morehead State University last weekend. The Screaming Eagles went 1-2 in the series, claiming the series finale 14-4 in five innings. The 14 runs were a season high and it was the first run-rule victory of the season for USI. In fact, it was the first time this season that USI scored 10 or more runs in a game.
Freshman catcher
Jordan Mackey once again led USI in run production for the second week in a row. Mackey batted .375 with two runs, a double, two home runs, and four RBIs while slugging 1.250 in the Morehead State series. Mackey recorded her first multi-home run game in the series finale win. Overall, Mackey is hitting just below .300 but tops the squad with four home runs and 15 RBIs.
Mackey has had quite the offensive surge as of late. In the last six games, Mackey is hitting .500 (9-18) with three doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBIs. The freshman had only two RBIs through 17 games going into the game at Indiana University on March 12. Mackey has three games in the last six with three or more RBIs.
Junior outfielder
Caroline Stapleton also had a solid series last week at Morehead State. Stapleton hit .556 with three runs. Stapleton is batting .365 on the campaign with a team-high 15 runs scored.
On the pitching side, freshman pitcher
Kylie Witthaus (2-6) has a team-best 3.95 ERA in 49.2 innings with 28 strikeouts this season. Witthaus tossed her fourth complete game in the middle game of the Morehead State series. Witthaus struck out three and gave up only two earned runs in the start. Senior pitcher
Josie Newman (4-10) has thrown the most innings with 80.2 innings pitched, including 10 complete games. Newman still leads the team and the OVC with 121 strikeouts this year.
Tennessee Tech heads into the series looking for its first true road result of the season, as the Golden Eagles are 0-7 in true away contests. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 1-0 midweek loss against the University of Chattanooga on Tuesday. Prior to Tuesday, Tennessee Tech swept Western Illinois University at home last weekend. Tennessee Tech took the series opener in extra innings, 5-4, before securing back-to-back run-rule wins, 14-6 and 12-3.
Senior utility Abby Shoulders paces Tennessee Tech with a .362 batting average and 20 runs. Senior infielder Sydney Kirby leads the squad with 17 RBIs while hitting just below .300. Sophomore utility Abbee Klinefelter has 15 RBIs with two home runs and is also batting just below .300. In the pitching circle, sophomore pitcher Emily York (4-5) has been the primary starter for Tennessee Tech, recording a 3.02 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of work.
USI leads the all-time series against Tennessee Tech, 4-2. The Screaming Eagles last beat Tennessee Tech last May in the OVC tournament, 10-9 in 10 innings. The Golden Eagles took two of three in Cookeville, Tennessee last March. USI went 2-0 in Tennessee Tech's last visit to USI Softball Field in 2023.
The three-game series will not be available on ESPN+ but can be heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.
