MARION, Ill. — Indianapolis scored six times over the first two innings and rode a complete-game effort from starting pitcher Ryan O'Born to a 12-2 win over
Drury in seven innings, ending the Panthers' quest for their fourth
Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Championship title Thursday evening at Mtn Dew Park.
O'Born (7-2) limited the fourth-seeded Panthers to two runs on seven hits over his 7.0 innings, holding Drury hitless through the first two innings. He allowed single tallies in the third and fourth innings, but avoided major damage in each instance and cruised to the seventh, when the No. 3 Greyhounds put the game away with a four-run rally to invoke the 10-run rule.
The Greyhounds (33-20) pounced on Drury early, striking for four runs in the first inning after four of their first six hitters drew walks. UIndy also cashed in on a Panther error and the first of Garrett Rusch's three hits to put Drury in an early four-run hole.
UIndy added to its lead with two more runs in the second on back-to-back RBI-singles from Brayton Bowen and Luke Smock to build a 6-0 lead.
Drury (32-21) broke through against O'Born with its first three hits of the game, starting with
Xander Schmitt's leadoff single. Base hits by
Colin McClure and
Luke Matschiner loaded the bases, and
Jackson Crider put the Panthers on the board with a sacrifice fly to right. Matschiner then swiped second for his 34th steal of the year, breaking the Panthers' single-season mark for stolen bases, previously held by Nick Thimesch (2014).
Following a leadoff infield hit from
Greydon Miller in the fourth, Schmitt drove an RBI-triple into the gap in left-center to chase home what would prove to be the final Drury run of the night.
UIndy added a single run in the third and another in the sixth, before erupting for four runs in the seventh -- the final three coming on Smock's bases-loaded triple -- to seal the victory.
Schmitt led the Drury offense, matching a career high with three hits in three trips to the plate.
Smock drove in five runs and was one of three Greyhounds to log three-hit performances, along with Rusch and Gavin Duran.
UIndy advances to face the loser of Friday afternoon's semifinal matchup featuring No. 1 Missouri S&T against No. 2 UMSL.
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