MARION, Ill.— The Drury Panthers advanced to the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game with an 11-4 win over Indianapolis in Game 12 of the league tournament at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, Illinois.
The start of Drury's game was pushed back to a 9:40 pm first pitch after the first game on Saturday endured a weather delay and lasted 14 innings. The Panthers recorded the final out at 1:08 am on Sunday morning.
The Panthers will play Quincy for the conference championship at 1:30 pm on Sunday.
Drury, the sixth seed in the tournament, advances with a 30-23 record, while Indianapolis, the fifth-seeded team in the tournament, was eliminated with a record of 34-19.
The Panthers struck quickly against Greyhounds starter Brady Ware, who fired a no-hitter against Drury on April 7. This time, the Panthers got to him with the game's second hitter as
Brooks Sunny put his team on the board with a solo home run, his 10
th of the year.
Indianapolis answered with a run in their half of the first, and the game was tied 3-3 going into the seventh inning when Drury took the lead for good. With runners at first and third and two out,
Kellen Williamson singled to left, driving in one run, while another run would score on an error in left field to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead. Another Indianapolis error allowed Williamson to score from second, putting Drury in front 6-3.
The Panthers tacked on five runs in the top of the ninth and closed out the night for an 11-4 win.
Mason Majors (2-0) pitched 2.2 innings in relief to get the win,
Tyler Bastunas earned his second save, and Ware (4-2) took the loss for Indianapolis.
Williamson finished the game 2 for 4 at the plate with two runs, two RBI's and a double.
Greydon Miller, who made his first start of the year a night earlier, also went 2 for 4 with a pair of runs, two RBI's and a double.
Drury, who won their 500
th game in program history earlier in the tournament and are now 501-362-1 all-time, will be seeking their fourth conference championship and they are in the title game for the sixth time in team history.
#allweDUiswin
