EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball heads out on the road this weekend for a three-game series in Ohio Valley Conference play when the Screaming Eagles visit Lindenwood University on Saturday and Sunday from St. Charles, Missouri.
The three-game set begins Saturday at 3 p.m. and concludes Sunday with a Noon doubleheader at Lou Brock Sports Complex.
USI Softball (10-16, 7-2 OVC) aims to continue a strong start to the OVC season by seeking a fourth OVC series win. Meanwhile, Lindenwood (13-18, 2-7 OVC) has been swept in its last two OVC series against Eastern Illinois University and Tennessee Tech University after beginning the conference slate by taking two of three against the University of Tennessee at Martin.
USI leads the all-time series against Lindenwood, 12-2. The Screaming Eagles won a shortened two-game series at home last season against the Lions before defeating Lindenwood in the OVC Tournament.
The Screaming Eagles are coming off their third series win in OVC play, winning two of three last weekend at home against Southeast Missouri State University. USI won the series opener, 4-3, in walk-off fashion for the third time this season. The walk-off victory was Head Coach
Sue Kunkle's 700
th career win. USI followed and claimed the series with its first shutout of the season, winning 2-0 in the middle game of the series. The Redhawks rallied to salvage the series finale, 10-5.
In last weekend's series, junior infielder
Sydney Long led the Screaming Eagles at the plate, batting .500 with four RBIs. Junior catcher
Alyssa Mumaw collected three RBIs, including the walk-off game-winning RBI in the series opener. The pitching staff posted a collective 2.00 ERA. Freshman pitcher
Anna Kemp led the way with an ERA of zero after giving up zero runs in 6.2 innings of work and helping to combine for the 2-0 shutout win in the middle game.
Overall, senior outfielder
Caroline Stapleton tops the squad with a .347 batting average and 22 runs scored. Freshman outfielder
Katelyn Marx is second on the team with a .317 batting average and 11 RBIs. Sophomore
Grace Huffman has also notched 11 RBIs this season. Long has a team-best 15 RBIs while hitting a few ticks below .300. On the pitching side, Kemp leads the team with a 3.81 ERA and 41 strikeouts. Freshman pitcher
Elly Robbins has a team-best five wins, while sophomore hurler
Kylie Witthaus has pitched a team-high 63.1 innings with 34 strikeouts.
Despite going winless in the last two weekends of OVC play, Lindenwood is coming off a 1-0 midweek victory on Wednesday against Saint Louis University. Last weekend, the Lions fell 5-0, 3-1, and 8-0 in five innings on the road at Tennessee Tech.
The Lions are hitting .286 as a team, with sophomore infielder Anna Sanders leading the squad with a .358 batting average and second on the team with 23 RBIs. Senior infielder Tori Hatton has a team-high 27 RBIs while hitting .310. Senior infielder Emily Geary is batting .282 and has a team-best five home runs with 18 RBIs. The pitching staff is headlined by senior Avery Wapp, who owns a 5-5 record with a 3.61 ERA and an OVC-leading 71 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.
The three-game series between USI and Lindenwood can be seen with an ESPN+ subscription. Additional coverage and live stat links are available on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
