Saint Cloud State (8-7): 15
Southern Indiana (5-11): 10
Box Score
New Haven (1-0): 5
Southern Indiana: 1
Box Score
KISSIMMEE, Fla.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team ended the Division II Rebel Spring Games with a pair of setbacks Saturday, first losing a 15-11 slugfest to Saint Cloud State University before dropping a 5-1 decision to the University of New Haven.
USI (5-11), which has lost five straight games, fell behind 5-1 after three innings against Saint Cloud State before junior first baseman Brittany DeWeese hit a two-run home run over the centerfield fence in the top of the fourth inning.
The Huskies (8-7), however, answered with six runs in the bottom half of the fourth frame to take a commanding 11-3 lead.
USI got two-run homers from DeWeese and junior second baseman Amanda Brendel in the fifth inning to bring USI to within four runs, but another offensive outburst for the Huskies in the last half of the fifth stanza pushed the contest out of reach for the Screaming Eagles.
DeWeese, who extended her hitting streak to a career-high 11 games against Saint Cloud State, drove in two more runs in the sixth inning with a single. She finished the game by going 3-of-4 from the plate with a career-high six RBIs.
Senior catcher Tara McConnell, who was 3-of-5 against Saint Cloud State, had a pair of RBIs in the loss, while junior leftfielder Heather Swarts had an RBI-single in the seventh inning.
Sophomore pitcher Hadley Clark took the loss for USI after giving up 11 runs off 14 hits in 3.2 innings of work. Clark falls to 3-5 with the decision.
Illegal pitches and walks spelled doom for the Eagles against New Haven in the night cap. Junior hurler Dawn McClellan threw four illegal pitches and issued six walks in the first two innings as the Chargers scored five times to take a 5-1 advantage. McClellan (2-6) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs off three hits in 1.2 innings of work.
USI’s lone run of the contest came on a bases-loaded walk to DeWeese, who was credited with her team-leading 19th RBI. DeWeese, however, saw her hitting streak come to a close as she went 0-for-2 with a pair of strike outs.
During DeWeese’s 11-game hitting streak, the Memorial High School graduate posted a blistering .543 batting average with four home runs, five doubles, and 17 RBIs. She is currently hitting .417 on the year.
USI returns to GLVC play next Saturday when it travels to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on Bellarmine University in a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for noon.