MACOMB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Softball claimed both games of Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Western Illinois University, winning 4-2 and 15-4 in five innings to secure a series victory.
USI Softball (8-15, 5-1 OVC) bounced back from Friday's series-opening loss by taking both games of Saturday's twin bill. It was USI's second OVC series win through two weekends of conference play. Western Illinois (6-15, 1-4 OVC), which won the series opener 5-3 on Friday, suffered its second OVC series loss.
In the first game on Saturday, USI opened up the scoring in the top of the second inning when junior catcher
Alyssa Mumaw doubled and drove in a pair to give the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 advantage.
The Eagles doubled their lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman pitcher
Elly Robbins, who was in a groove on the pitching rubber, helped her own cause at the plate with a two-RBI double.
Even though Western Illinois cut the USI lead in half in the bottom of the sixth inning, 4-2, the Screaming Eagles closed out the win and forced a series rubber match after sophomore pitcher
Kylie Witthaus came into the game and picked up the save.
Each team totaled seven hits in game one. Sophomore designated player
Grace Huffman had two of USI's hits and also scored a run.
Robbins collected her first win of the day and third of the season in game one, logging 5.1 innings of work. Witthaus recorded her second save of the season after finishing the last 1.2 innings.
Western Illinois starting pitcher Lillie Wools (1-3) was charged with the loss after allowing two runs in two innings.
In game two of the afternoon and the series finale, USI's offense picked up even more steam. Junior infielder
Sydney Long and freshman infielder
Jadyn Tinsley each drove in a run in the first inning to quickly give the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead, which then grew to 4-0 in the top of the second when senior outfielder
Caroline Stapleton and freshman outfielder
Katelyn Marx each recorded RBI knocks.
USI's hit parade took off in the third inning, as the Screaming Eagles batted around in the frame to score six runs and increased the lead to 10-0. Freshman infielder
Abbey Booher started the third-inning explosion with an RBI single. A couple of batters later, sophomore first baseman
Lilly Brown singled in a run. Later in the inning, Marx brought in two runs. A two-RBI single by Huffman capped off the big inning.
While Western Illinois responded with three runs in the home half of the third to cut the USI lead down to seven, 10-3, the Eagles answered right back with four more runs in the top of the fourth inning. Stapleton drove in the first two runs of the inning with a single, and a few at-bats later, Tinsley and Huffman registered back-to-back sac flies to push USI's advantage to 11, 14-3.
Each side tallied a run in the fifth, with junior infielder
Shelby Stivers driving in USI's run of the frame. The 11-run margin through the fifth ended the game via the run-rule.
The scoring frenzy in the series finale led to the most runs scored for the program in the Division-I era. Plus, the offensive outburst by the Screaming Eagles amounted to 18 hits, which is also the most for USI in the program's D-I era. Both totals are the most overall for the Eagles since the 2022 campaign, USI's last season at the D-II level.
Stapleton set the tone at the top of the lineup with a 3-3 game, three RBIs, and four runs scored. Marx went 3-4 with three RBIs and three runs. Brown also went 3-4 with an RBI and a run. Long had two hits and an RBI, Booher tallied two hits with two runs and an RBI, and Mumaw collected two hits with three runs scored. Tinsley had a hit and two RBIs, while Huffman had a hit with three RBIs.
Witthaus and Robbins combined for a strong five-inning outing. Witthaus took a no-decision, going 2.2 innings. Robbins (4-5) was credited with the win, her second of the day, after hurling 2.1 innings in relief.
Western Illinois had to use four pitchers in game two. The Leathernecks' starting pitcher Libby Spaulding (4-7), who had a complete-game win on Friday, was dealt the loss after surrendering four runs – three earned – in only two innings pitched.
The Screaming Eagles look to add on to their conference momentum when they return home to USI Softball Field next weekend, March 21-22, against Southeast Missouri State University. The three-game series coincides with Alumni Weekend. Coverage information is available on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
