EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Baseball picked up a series victory against Lindenwood following a 14-9 win Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles finished the regular season with a 27-27 record and earned an eighth-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference following a 10-17 conference slate.
After a clean top of the first from senior pitcher
Jake Porter, the Eagles struck first in the bottom of the inning. Senior outfielder
Hunter Miller opened the action with a double down the left field line before moving to third on a bunt single by senior outfielder
Khi Holiday. Miller scored the first run of the contest on a groundout by senior infielder
Patrick McLellan. Holiday later came around to score on a single to left from senior catcher
Micajah Wall, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead after one inning.
USI's offense continued to hum in the second inning. A single from junior infielder
Parker Martin and a hit-by-pitch to both
Zion Stephens and Holiday set up a two-run single from McLellan, putting the Eagles ahead 4-0 heading into the third.
The Lions scratched across two runs in the top of the fourth, trimming the Eagles' lead to 4-2 entering the bottom of the inning. However, USI answered right back. A single from Stephens and a walk by Holiday set the stage for McLellan's fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot that gave him four RBIs on the day.
Lindenwood once again made a push in the top of the fifth, plating one run before junior pitcher
Trey O'Neil escaped a bases-loaded jam to preserve USI's 7-3 lead. Senior outfielder
Noah Foster opened the bottom half of the inning with a triple down the right field line, but the Eagles were unable to bring him home, keeping the score at 7-3 through five innings.
Junior pitcher
Eben Hansen shut down the Lions in a scoreless top of the sixth before the Eagles continued their offensive explosion in the bottom half. Singles from Holiday and McLellan, along with a hit-by-pitch to Wall, loaded the bases for senior shortstop
Clayton Slack, who slipped a two-run single through the left side of the infield. Wall later came around to score on a single up the middle by senior catcher
Charlie Marisca, while Slack advanced to third.
Foster kept the rally going with a single through the right side, scoring Slack and extending the Eagles' lead to 11-3 after six innings.
The Lions answered with four runs in the top of the seventh against senior pitcher
Mason Bell, but graduate pitcher
Nathan Anderson halted the rally to preserve an 11-7 lead. Southern Indiana responded in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases after a walk by Miller, Holiday reaching on an error, and McLellan being hit by a pitch. Wall then drove in junior outfielder
Dane DeWees, who pinch ran for Miller, with a single to center field. Holiday later scored on a fielder's choice by Slack, while McLellan crossed home on a Marisca groundout to cap the seventh-inning scoring.
Sophomore pitcher
Colin Wolfe entered the game at the top of the ninth, allowing two runs on two hits before graduate pitcher
Ian Anderson was tabbed to get the final out of his last home game, closing out the game with a 14-9 Eagles victory.
Porter earned his third victory of the season after tossing three scoreless innings, allowing just three hits against the Lions. The Eagles used nine pitchers in the game, combining to allow nine runs on 14 hits while recording three strikeouts.
At the plate, McLellan and Foster each collected three hits as the Eagles racked up 17 total as a team. McLellan led the way with an impressive six RBIs, including three on his fourth-inning home run, while Slack added three RBIs of his own.
UP NEXT:
The Eagles will begin postseason play Tuesday at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, Illinois, in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. USI is set to face Morehead State University in the tournament's second game, with the first pitch scheduled for approximately 7 p.m.
USI was swept in the regular-season series against Morehead State earlier this season in Morehead, Kentucky. The Screaming Eagles dropped the first two games by one run each before falling 17-13 in the series finale. With a first-round victory, USI would advance to face the tournament's No. 3-seeded Southeast Missouri State University on Wednesday evening. The tournament's double-elimination format begins in the third round on Thursday.
