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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana softball team opens GLVC Tournament play Friday at noon against top-seeded University of Indianapolis at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.
Game coverage, including audio and live stats, can be accessed at www.gousieagles.com; while ticket prices and other tournament information can be found at www.glvcsports.com.
USI (19-24, 15-12 GLVC) enters the GLVC Tournament as the eighth seed and is squaring off against the Greyhounds for the second time this season.
The Eagles split a GLVC doubleheader with the defending NCAA II Midwest Region champions earlier this season and have won three of the last four meetings with Indianapolis dating back to the end of the 2009 regular season.
Indianapolis (34-13, 22-6 GLVC), which defeated USI in the Eagles’ last trip to the GLVC Tournament in 2008, captured the number one seed by winning its last four games, including a doubleheader sweep of No. 20 and second-seeded Quincy University to end the regular season. The Greyhounds have won 15 of their last 17 games entering post-season play.
In addition to the USI-Indianapolis match-up, the eight-team double-elimination tournament features the following first round games: fourth-seeded Northern Kentucky University against fifth-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis (10 a.m.); third-seeded Lewis University and sixth-seeded Missouri University of Science and Technology (noon); and seventh-seeded University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Quincy (10 a.m.).
A total of eight games will be played on two separate fields at the EastSide Centre on Friday. Each team will play at least two games Friday, while a team must win at least once to play into Saturday.
Leading the Eagles into the post season is junior first baseman Brittany DeWeese as well as junior centerfielder Reva LeDune-Bourgasser and junior third baseman LeAnn Collins. DeWeese, who hit .393 against GLVC competition this season, leads the Eagles with a .364 batting average, 11 doubles, seven home runs, and 36 RBIs.
LeDune-Bourgasser is hitting .313 with six home runs and 25 RBIs, while Collins has a .320 batting average with five home runs and 23 RBIs. LeDune-Bourasser came on strong in April, hitting .351 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
Senior catcher Tara McConnell also has played a big role in getting the Eagles back into the post season. McConnell, who is hitting a career-best .327 with a home run and 16 RBIs, has racked up a blistering .382 batting average and 13 RBIs since March 31.
In the pitching circle, freshman Stephanie Bittner leads USI with a 7-3 mark and 3.31 ERA. As a starter, however, the Mater Dei High School graduate is 7-2 with a 2.17 ERA and a .220 opponent batting average.
If the Eagles win their first round game, they would play again at 4 p.m. on Friday. A loss would send them into the elimination bracket where they would play at 2 p.m. on Friday.