EVANSVILLE, Ind. — In a battle of the “Southerns,” the University of Southern Indiana Baseball visits Southern Illinois University Tuesday and before hosting Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for an Ohio Valley Conference three-game set this weekend. The Screaming Eagles head over to SIU for a 6 p.m. Tuesday in Carbondale, Illinois, before hosting SIUE Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at the USI Baseball Field.
Links to follow the Eagles (19-25, 8-10 OVC) during the 2024 season can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and on the USI Baseball Schedule.
USI Baseball Notes:
USI goes 3-1 last week. The USI Screaming Eagles were 3-1 last week last week, taking a mid-week game from Belmont University, 4-3, in 11 innings at home and took two of three from Eastern Illinois University in a road/home series due to weather. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka led the Eagles with a .471 average (8-17), while junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken and junior first baseman Thomas Emerich followed by batting .467 (7-15) and .438 (7-16), respectively. Junior right-handers Carson Seeman, Adam Weihe, and Gavin Seebold posted the victories for USI.
USI won 5th series of the year. USI won its fifth series of the season after taking two-of-three from EIU last weekend. The Eagles won only four series all of last season.
USI manufactured a win vs. Belmont. The Eagles scored four times without the aid of a hit in the 4-3, 11 inning, win over Belmont. USI, which had eight hits in the game, used nine walks, two hit batters, and two sacrifice flies in the win.
USI in the OVC. USI is tied for seventh in the OVC standing (8-10) after winning the series and tiebreaker with EIU. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka leads USI at the plate in conference play, batting .418 (23-55). Senior first baseman Tucker Ebest has a team-high 17 RBIs in league action and is tied with senior designated hitter Jack Ellis with team-best three home runs in OVC play.
USI in non-conference. In the 26 non-conference games, senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka leads the Eagles with a .359 average (28-78), while senior first baseman Tucker Ebest has a team-high 24 RBIs. Ebest also is tied with senior designated hitter Jack Ellis with a team-best four home runs outside of the OVC. Four pitchers have a team-best two victories each in the non-conference schedule.
Season leaders at the plate in 2024. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka is hitting a team best .383(51-133) in 34 of the 44 games, while senior designated hitter Jack Ellis and senior infielder/designated hitter Tucker Ebest have hit a team-high seven home runs. Ebest has driven in a team-best 41 RBIs.
Leaders on the mound in 2024. USI junior right-handers Gavin Seebold has recorded a team-best six wins this season (6-2). Freshman right-hander Grant Parson and junior right-hander Gavin Morris follow with three wins each, while Parson also has a team-high 51 strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit leads USI hurlers with a team-low 3.27 ERA in 33.0 innings this season.
At home versus the road. USI, as a team, is hitting .289 at the home (20 games), compared to .273 on the road (22 games). Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka is hitting a team-high .420 (21-50) at the USI Baseball Field, but .351 on the road. On the opposite side, junior leftfielder Adam Euler is batting a team-best .355 on the road, compared to .130 at the USI Baseball Field.
Multi-hit/Multi-RBI Games. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen leads the Eagles with 20 multi-hit games (18 with 2; 2 with 3), followed by sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus has 16 (12 with 2; 4 with 3). Senior first baseman/designated hitter Tucker Ebest has a team-high 12 multi-RBI games. Niehaus has the top RBI game with five versus Southeast Missouri State University.
In the OVC statistically. USI as a team is third in the OVC in pitching with a team 5.83 ERA and fifth in the league in hitting with a .279 team batting average. Junior right-hander Gavin Seebold is tied for second in the OVC with six wins and sixth in with a 4.12 ERA, while freshman right-hander Grant Parson is seventh with a 4.25 ERA and seventh with 51 strikeouts.
In OVC Games Only. USI is fourth in the league with a .296 team batting average for OVC games only, but sixth with a 6.20 team ERA.
SIU in 2024. The Salukis of Southern Illinois University are 25-19 overall in 2024 after losing two of three with Indiana State over the weekend.
USI vs. SIU. The Eagles dropped both sides of a home-and-home series last season. USI lost at home, 16-9, and on the road, 14-3.
SIUE in 2024. The Cougars of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are 18-25-1 overall and 10-8 in the OVC this season. The 10-8 record puts the Cougars in a five-way tie for second in the OVC. SIUE is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.
USI vs. SIUE. The Cougars lead the all-time series with USI, 58-45, after taking two of three from the Eagles last spring.