(We made a list. We checked it twice. From now until New Year’s Eve, we are counting down the top ten headlines of 2018. Today, we look at #7 on our list.)
7. Southern Indiana makes a run, wins Division II title
Just ask head coach Sue Kunkle or ace pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt; even the Eagles themselves didn’t see themselves as title contenders at the start of the postseason. The squad put together a terrific postseason run, however, en route to the program’s first-ever softball national title.
The Eagles went 4-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament, outscoring opponents 24-3 and earning a pair of victories over postseason stalwart Missouri-St. Louis. A 3-1 record in the regional tournament advanced the program to the Super Regional round, where they earned a pair of shutout victories over Illinois-Springfield to advance to the World Series.
The Championship started off with a bang, as the Eagles earned a tight 1-0 victory over North Georgia, who had just two losses on the season to that point. A shutout of Angelo State followed on day 2 of the championship, after which came a rain-delayed, come-from-behind victory over Saint Leo. In the matchup against then-#25 Saint Leo, the Eagles scored in the bottom of the 6th and 7th innings after the game’s rain-induced restart, forcing extra innings and ultimately making the Eagles the victors with an eighth-inning walk-off.
The semifinal victory over Saint Leo vaulted USI into the tournament’s championship series against Saint Anselm. A 4-0 shutout victory for the Eagles kicked off the final series, punctuated by an 8-3 win in the second game to make the Eagles national champions.
Leonhardt earned the victory in both games of the championship series, working twelve innings in the circle, allowing five hits and collecting eleven strikeouts. She was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after posting a 5-0 record with a 1.44 overall ERA. Opponents hit a miniscule .091 against her in the championship tournament and she finished the tournament with forty strikeouts.
Not only was the championship the first in USI program history, it was the first softball national title to be won in the state of Indiana at the collegiate level. The Eagles went 14-1 in the NCAA tournament, following a 27-22 regular season.
