USI matches up with Lewis this weekend

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - The University of Southern Indiana baseball team begins the final stretch of a 13-game homestand this weekend when it hosts a four-game set with Lewis University April 7-8 at the USI Baseball Field. The four-game series is scheduled to start Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader and conclude Saturday with a noon twin bill.
 
The 13-game homestand will come to an end April 11 when USI hosts Oakland City University for a 6 p.m.
 
Game coverage of the Screaming Eagles baseball games this season can be found on GoUSIEagles.com. Watch Twitter, Facebook, and GoUSIEagles.com for any schedule changes due to weather.
 
SCREAMING EAGLES BASEBALL NOTES:
 
USI posts records in sweep of UW-Parkside. After a rough start to the GLVC schedule, USI (12-13, 4-4 GLVC) bounced back with a four-game sweep of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The Eagles started the sweep with a record-breaking 34-9 win the opener, breaking the USI record for runs in a game. The squad also broke the single-game record for doubles in a game (10); total bases (38); RBIs (30); and hit by pitch (7). USI followed the opening game win with a 7-0 win in game two; a 6-5 extra inning victory in game three; and a 10-0 shutout in the series finale.
 
Johnson earns GLVC Player of the Week, Senior outfielder Buddy Johnson (Shelbyville, Kentucky) was named the GLVC Player of the Week for his efforts in leading the Eagles to a 4-2 week. Johnson, in the six games, batted .520 (13-for-25) with 10 runs scored, 11 RBIs, and six doubles. The senior outfielder also set three USI single-game records in the series opener against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside – 10 RBIs, seven hits, four doubles – in the Eagles' 34-9 victory last Friday.
 
McNamara and Brown lead Eagle hitters last week. Senior first baseman/leftfieler Drake McNamara(Mt. Vernon, Indiana) and senior outfielder Buddy Johnson led USI hitters versus the University of Illinois Springfield and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, batting .591 (13-22) and .520 (13-25), respectively. Johnson also had a team-high 11 RBIs, while McNamara and junior infielder Jayden Beshears (Evansville, Indiana) each had a home run.  
 
USI at the plate this season. Senior first baseman/leftfielder Drake McNamara leads USI hitters in 2018 with a .406 batting average with a team-high 27 RBIs, 13 doubles, and three home runs. Senior outfielder Buddy Johnson followed with a .359 batting average and 26 RBIs, while senior utility player Nick Gobert(Jasper, Indiana), who has seen action at first base, third base, right field, and on the mound, follows with a .315 batting average and ranks third on the squad with 20 RBIs.
 
Moving up the charts. Senior first baseman/leftfielder Drake McNamara  and senior third baseman/shortstop Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) are moving up the USI all-time record book. McNamara is ranked seventh in home runs (19); ninth in total bases (302); 10^th in RBIs (130); tied for 12^thin doubles (41); and 15^th in hits (200). Griggs is 12^th in RBIs (116); 14^th in games started (169); 15^th in total bases (265); and 16^th in hits (199).
 
USI vs. Lewis. USI leads the all-time series with the Lewis Flyers (10-14-1, 4-3 GLVC), 61-58, after splitting a four-game series last spring in Romeoville, Illinois. Senior first baseman Nathan Kuester(Rockport, Illinois) led USI with a .400 batting average in the four games last spring, while senior first baseman/leftfielder Drake McNamara hit .385 with a team-best five RBIs.  
 
USI vs. Kentucky Wesleyan. USI leads the all-time series with KWC Panthers, 97-64, sweeping a home-and-home series last spring, 2-0 at USI and 7-0 in Owensboro, Kentucky. Outfielder Jaylen Quarles led the way for the Eagles with an .833 average (five-of-six), while junior second baseman Jacob Fleming (Evansville, Indiana) batted .429 (three-of-seven).
 
Archuleta at USI. USI Head Coach Tracy Archuleta is USI's all-time winningest coach with a record of 422-226 (.651) in 10-plus seasons and is 570-350 (.620) in 15-plus seasons all-time as a head coach. He has been named the ABCA Division II Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2014) after leading the Screaming Eagles to a pair of national championships and the ABCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year after leading USI to the regional crown in 2016. Archuleta also has earned a pair of GLVC Coach of the Year awards (2011 and 2014) at USI.

Courtesy: USI Athletics