MACOMB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Softball concluded the 2024 regular season with a 5-1 win at Western Illinois University on Sunday afternoon, giving the Screaming Eagles their seventh series victory in Ohio Valley Conference play.
After two quiet frames to start the contest, Southern Indiana broke through first with two runs in the third inning. Senior first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) began the scoring with an RBI double before freshman infielder Sydney Long (Haubstadt, Indiana) brought home a run on a sacrifice.
The Screaming Eagles added on to grab a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning. With two outs, Fair launched a three-run home run to left field, her second of the season. Throughout the series at Western Illinois, Southern Indiana totaled 11 runs scored in the fourth inning.
Western Illinois got one run in the bottom of the fourth, but USI junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) and the Leathernecks’ senior pitcher Emily Price shut out the offenses the rest of the way in the final three innings.
With the win, Newman moved to 19-8 on the year after allowing just one run with five strikeouts in the game. Newman tossed her 27th complete game out of 28 starts in the regular season.
WIU’s Price allowed five runs with six strikeouts in seven innings, taking the loss to drop to 9-19.
https://usiscreamingeagles.com/sports/softball/stats/2024/western-illinois-university/boxscore/11146
At the plate, Fair led USI by going 2-4 with the double and home run, totaling four RBIs. Senior catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) walked three times to come within one of USI’s all-time mark of 99 career walks.
Following Sunday’s game, Southern Indiana finished the regular season 22-20 overall and 16-11 in Ohio Valley Conference play, surpassing its overall and OVC win totals from 2023. USI already clinched its berth in this week’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament and will be the 4-seed. Western Illinois moved to 16-34 overall and 5-22 in OVC play. WIU was previously eliminated from postseason contention.
The Screaming Eagles will next get their sights set on an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship when USI travels to Peoria, Illinois, later this week for the OVC Softball Championship Tournament at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex. Action begins on Wednesday with all games streaming with a subscription to ESPN+. All USI games can also be heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
