EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball struck early with runs in each of the first three innings on Friday afternoon at USI Softball Field to claim a 6-2 victory in the series finale over Morehead State University.
USI Softball improved to 11-21 overall and 8-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference with Friday's win, snapping a six-game skid. Morehead State dropped to 4-25 on the season with a 3-12 record in conference play.
The Screaming Eagles got the offense going early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning off a pair of RBI singles from freshman infielder
Jadyn Tinsley and sophomore designated player
Grace Huffman. USI tacked on another run in the second inning to grab a 3-0 advantage.
USI doubled its lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning. The first run of the frame came on a bases-loaded walk to sophomore third baseman
Jordan Mackey. In the next two at-bats, USI's slap-hitting outfielders, freshman
Katelyn Marx and senior
Caroline Stapleton, each put the ball in play and drove in a run to add insurance to the Screaming Eagles' lead.
Stapleton finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Marx also posted two hits and had an RBI. Tinsley led the USI offense with three hits and notched an RBI. USI totaled eight hits in the game.
Meanwhile, sophomore pitcher
Kylie Witthaus was in a groove in the circle following the early run support from the offense. Witthaus kept Morehead State hitless until the fifth inning.
Despite Morehead State scratching across a run in the fifth and sixth innings, Witthaus finished off her second-straight complete game to improve to 3-6 on the season. The left-hander struck out three and allowed only four hits.
Morehead State used three pitchers in the contest. Starting pitcher Rylie Burney (0-6) was charged with the loss after surrendering three runs in two innings of work.
The Screaming Eagles begin a two-week road swing in Ohio Valley Conference play next week, traveling to Tennessee Tech University for a three-game set on Saturday and Sunday. The series starts with a Noon doubleheader on Saturday, followed by the finale at Noon on Sunday. Coverage and live stat links for next week's series are available on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.