BOCA RATON, Fla. – University of Southern Indiana Softball fell in its first two games of the FAU Joan Joyce Classic on Friday, opening the weekend with a 9-1 loss against the University of Kansas before an 11-0 loss against Florida Atlantic University.
USI Softball (1-8) started the day well in a competitive battle through three innings against Kansas (9-5). After the Jayhawks scratched across a run in the bottom of the third inning to take a one-run lead, Kansas posted a crooked number in the fourth inning with six runs to surge ahead 7-0.
The Screaming Eagles got a run back in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by freshman infielder
Abbey Booher, but the Jayhawks scored two more in the next frame to end the game in six innings.
USI totaled five hits against Kansas, with two coming off the bat of junior infielder
Sydney Long. On the pitching side, sophomore pitcher
Kylie Witthaus (0-2) was charged with the loss after going 3.2 innings before handing the ball off to freshman pitcher
Elly Robbins for 1.2 innings in relief.
Kansas racked up 13 hits offensively, and Jayhawks starting pitcher Lizzy Ludwig (1-0) got the win with four shutout innings.
Florida Atlantic (9-5) got off to a fast start in USI's second game of the day. The Owls struck for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, tacked on another in the second frame, and tallied a six-spot in the third inning to lead 11-0. Meanwhile, USI could not generate much momentum on the offensive side, as the Owls ended the game in five innings.
Freshman pitcher
Anna Kemp (1-3) was dealt the loss, totaling 1.2 innings of work. Witthaus and Robbins combined for 2.1 innings in relief.
Florida Atlantic starter Makenna Lee (3-0) recorded the win after three innings pitched. Lee was one of three FAU pitchers to combine no-hit USI in the evening contest.
Next, USI Softball will take the field for day two of the tournament on Saturday, starting at 12:30 p.m. CT against the University of Massachusetts before meeting Florida Atlantic again later in the day at 5:15 p.m. CT.
The first game against Massachusetts on Saturday can be seen with a subscription through FloCollege, powered by FloSports, while the matchup against Florida Atlantic can be seen through FAUSports.com. Additional coverage and live stat links are available on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.