EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After multiple days of waiting for the weekend rain to subside, University of Southern Indiana Softball got back on the field Monday with an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader split against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. SIUE (20-15, 10-4 OVC) took the first game, 8-0 in five innings, before USI (10-18, 7-6 OVC) answered in the second game, 8-0 in six innings.
 
In game one, SIUE kicked off the day's scoring with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. The Cougars went on to tack on another run in the third inning to triple their lead to 3-0. SIUE added five more runs off a few defensive miscues by USI and a pair of RBI singles in the top of the fourth inning.
 
Meanwhile, in the fourth inning, senior pitcher Josie Newman recorded her fifth strikeout of the game to collect career strikeout number 700. Newman is second in USI's all-time strikeouts list behind Jennifer Leonhardt, who has 787 strikeouts.
 
The Cougars closed out game one after the fifth frame, holding USI to two hits in the game. Sophomore infielder Sydney Long had both of USI's hits, registering a double in each of her first two at-bats in the contest.
 
Newman (6-11) pitched the first four frames, allowing eight runs – two earned – with five strikeouts. Junior pitcher Maddison Depencier pitched a scoreless fifth inning in relief.
 
SIUE totaled six hits in game one at the plate. Freshman pitcher Avery Arwood (7-6) pitched all five innings and struck out eight.
 
In game two, Southern Indiana flipped the tides and scored right away in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double from freshman Jordan Mackey to take a 1-0 advantage.
 
USI's lead increased to 4-0 in the home half of the second inning when sophomore outfielder Kate Satkoski hit a two-RBI triple and junior outfielder Caroline Stapleton singled in another run.
 
While the third and fourth innings went scoreless and USI freshman pitcher Kylie Witthaus was dealing once again, the Screaming Eagles opened the game up to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Satkoski collected her second triple of the game and cleared the bases.
 
USI had the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. The Eagles walked off the game on an RBI hit-by-pitch by sophomore catcher Alyssa Mumaw, who also had a single and two runs scored in the contest.
 
Southern Indiana notched 11 hits in game two, as Satkoski led the way by going 3-3 with a career-high five RBIs in the batter's box. Satkoski became the seventh player in USI history to hit two triples in the same game, matching a USI single-game record. The three in the batting order each had two-hit games, including the second two-hit game of the day for Long.
 
For Witthaus (4-6), the left-hander hurled her second consecutive shutout, fourth consecutive complete game, and fifth quality start in Ohio Valley Conference action. Witthaus surrendered only two hits and struck out four in the six innings of work on Monday.
 
SIUE's freshman pitcher McKayla Anderson (4-5) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs – three earned – in an inning and a third. The Cougars used four pitchers in the second game of the doubleheader.
 
Following Monday's double-dip against SIUE, Southern Indiana stands in fifth place in the OVC and SIUE exits the day tied for second. USI will take on another team toward the top of the conference standings this coming weekend when the Screaming Eagles hit the road to first-place Eastern Illinois University. The series opener is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader to conclude the series on Sunday starting at Noon from Charleston, Illinois.
 
All three games at Eastern Illinois are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+. Additional coverage information can be found on usiscreamingeagles.com.