Box scores
GVSU 4, UIndy 3
GVSU 3, UIndy 2
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio- The University of Indianapolis baseball team saw its 2009 season come to a close Sunday with a pair of losses in the finals of the NCAA DII Midwest Regional. Grand Valley State topped UIndy 5-4 and 4-3 to advance to the Division II College World Series, as the Greyhounds finished the season 43-21.
GAME 1
Just as Grand Valley put two first-inning runs on UIndy in the regional opener, the Greyhounds returned the favor here in the championship game. Russell started the rally by extending his hitting streak with a leadoff single, making it 22 straight games with a base hit.
A balk and a sacrifice put him at third base, and after a grounder to third from
Chase Kittinger (Carmi, Ill./Carmi White County), Russell found himself in a run down. But after four exchanges, the speedy leadoff man danced his way out of it as a Laker throwing error allowed him to slide home safely. Kittinger advanced all the way to third on the lengthy play and later scored on a
Travis Capps (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) single, his fifth RBI of the tournament.
The Lakers got one back in the top of the second, however, on a walk and an RBI double from catcher Bobby Wamsley, and went back for more in the third inning.
UIndy starter
Jordan Tiegs (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada/Huron Park) got the first out of the third via a fly ball, but the senior hurler walked the next two Lakers on eight pitches. Grand Valley made him pay with a two-run double from shortstop Brad Raj to give the Lakers a 3-2 advantage.
Tiegs, who threw 40 pitches in an inning and a third Friday night, got the quick hook after three innings of work, as sophomore
Cory Rupert (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) took the mound to start the fourth. Tiegs tossed 59 pitches Sunday, giving up three runs and three walks while striking out one.
Rupert faced the minimum through seven hitters before Raj picked up the first hit off the Greyhound reliever with a sixth-inning single. A two-out walk followed but a ground ball to third ended the threat and kept the deficit at one.
The score remained 3-2 through the top of the seventh as both offenses endured extended scoring droughts, but the Greyhounds changed that after the seven inning stretch.
With two down and Russell on first, shortstop
Adam Akin (Evansville, Ind./North) ripped a pitch down the left field line and hustled all the way to third for a game-tying RBI triple.
Seconds later, the Hounds thought they had scored the go-ahead run as a balk was called on Laker starter Danny Richard, but after a lengthy discussion by the umpires, Akin was ordered back to third and the run was taken off the board.
Richard got the fly ball he needed to end the inning as the game remained tied at three apiece after seven innings.
A scoreless eight gave way to the ninth inning. The Lakers started the frame with a walk. A 3-2 pitch from Rupert just missed the zone to put the leadoff man on first. After a sac bunt, right fielder Matt Nickels delivered a clutch double to score the go-ahead run.
Rupert then intentionally walked all-region second baseman Kyle Gendron before being pulled. The Southport, Ind. native went five and two thirds before allowing his first run with one out in the ninth. Rupert had three walks and three Ks while getting 11 ground-ball outs.
The task of getting out of the jam went to senior
Travis Kempton (Beech Grove, Ind./Beech Grove). The lefty came through with a strikeout – his 36th this season in just 22 innings – to keep the margin at one.
The size of the deficit proved to be moot, however, as the Hounds failed to get a runner past first. A
Casey Potter (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) single was the only UIndy action in the ninth, as the Lakers held on to force a second game.
GAME 2
Junior ace
Cory White (South Fulton, Tenn./South Fulton) got the starting nod for the Hounds in game two. The Rend Lake transfer threw a lofty 131 pitches just two days ago in a winning effort versus Southern Indiana.
Despite the short rest, White kept the Lakers hitless through the first three frames, including 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, but doubles from Kyle Rendron and Casey Robrahn in the bottom of the fourth combined to plate the game’s first run.
White bounced back by sitting the Lakers down in order in the 5th, but GVSU got to him again in the following inning.
The Lakers (45-14-1) tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but unlike their first scoring inning, they didn’t need much power to do it. The frame began with a grounder that found its way through the left side for a hit, and after a bunt single, another well-placed roller got through between third and short to drive in a run. Grand Valley tacked on one more on a soft liner up the middle.
Though White kept the game within reach, his counterpart, Andre Benjamin, one-upped him with a stellar performance. The first team All-Midwest Region selection scattered seven hits and kept the Greyhound offense in check for seven-plus innings of work.
Still down 3-0 in the ninth, the Greyhounds needed base runners and
Danny Collier (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) obliged with a one-out walk. Back-to-back singles from
Matt Murphy (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) and
Erik Rieker (Racine, Wis./Jerome Case) followed, with the latter driving in the Hounds’ first run.
UIndy continued to threaten when pinch hitter
John Dury (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) found the outfield grass to drive in Murphy and bring the Hounds within one.
That marked the end of the Hounds’ scoring, however, as two runners would be stranded in the ninth to ensure a second straight one-run loss for Indianapolis.
Chase Kittinger, Ben Sondgeroth and Cory White made the all-tournament team. Kittinger hit .353 for the tournament and drove in five runs, Sondgeroth had two homers and 6 RBI, while White racked up 17 Ks in 13 innings.