GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at SOUTHERN INDIANA
Sunday, April 29, 2018, Noon (DH)
USI Softball Field -- Evansville, Ind.
WATCH LIVE (USI Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
SOUTHERN INDIANA SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., April 27)--The McKendree University softball team will wrap up its 2018 regular season on Sunday by heading east to Evansville, Ind., for a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at the University of Southern Indiana. First pitch is set for noon.
Earlier this week, the Bearcats moved back into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II top 25 at the No. 25 spot. McKendree also maintained its No. 4 ranking in the latest NCAA DIvision II Midwest Region ratings released on Wednesday. Sunday's doubleheader will feature a match-up of teams in the regional rankings as Southern Indiana holds down the No. 7 spot in this week's poll.
McKendree is 35-14 overall and 18-8 in GLVC play. The 35 wins for the Bearcats are the most for the program since the 2010 campaign, when McKendree went 35-19. The 18 conference wins represent a new school record for the Bearcats as the team won 16 GLVC contests in each of the past two seasons.
The Gajewski sisters -- senior Brooke and freshman Miranda -- have moved up in the Bearcats' single-season record book. Brooke belted two home runs in McKendree's sweep on Monday at Missouri S&T, giving her 14 round-trippers for the season. That puts her second on the program's single-season list, trailing only Angie Maue, who hit 16 homers back in 2006. Miranda won her 19th game of the season in the opener at Missouri S&T, boosting her win total to 19. Miranda jumped into second place on the Bearcats' single-season victory list. Amy Quirin holds the program record with 28 wins in 2006.
Entering the final weekend of the 2018 regular season, McKendree leads the GLVC in pitching witha team ERA of 2.47, while the Bearcats are fourth in the league in hitting at .303.
Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) is tied with two other players for the league lead in pitching victories with 19. She also leads all qualified pitchers with a 1.75 ERA and ranks among the top 10 in three other categories.
Maci Ingram (Woodlawn, Ill./Nashville Community) continues to hold down the No. 2 spot in the GLVC with six saves.
Offensively,
Rebecca Franke (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) is fourth in the GLVC with a .409 batting average. Franke is second in the league with 61 hits and third in the conference with 61 hits, 26 walks and a .511 on-base percentage.
Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest), who is sixth in the GLVC with a .387 average, is second in the league with her 14 homers and a .522 on-base percentage, is third with a .711 slugging percentage and fifth with 46 RBI. She also leads all conference players with 35 walks.
Following the doubleheader at Southern Indiana, McKendree will begin preparations for the GLVC Championship, which will be held May 3-6 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.
ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA
The Screaming Eagles are 25-20 overall and 13-11 in GLVC play. USI will host the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday ahead of the doubleheader against McKendree. Last weekend, Southern Indiana dropped three of four games in GLVC play, which included a split last Saturday (April 21) at Missouri S&T.
Southern Indiana has four regulars hitting above .300, led by Mena Fulton at .366. Allison Schubert leads the Screaming Eagles with 11 homers and 34 RBI while posting a .350 average. Jennifer Leonhardt has registered a team-leading 13 wins in the circle for USI. Leonhardt is 13-10 overall with a 2.91 ERA and a team-best 163 strikeouts in 137 innings of work.
McKendree and Southern Indiana split their 2017 doubleheader played at Bearcat Field on April 1, 2017. The Screaming Eagles took the opener 7-0 before the Bearcats rebounded to take the nightcap, 4-3.
