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Video: Eckerle's blastDETROIT – The UIndy softball team (44-12) used a crippling six-run rally in the fourth inning to hand Grand Valley State a season-ending
7-3 defeat in Saturday's second elimination game at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional 2. The win vaulted the Greyhounds into tomorrow's regional final versus host Wayne State.
The result more than avenged an 8-0 loss to Grand Valley in yesterday's opening round. The Lakers end their 2014 season with a 30-14 record.
All six runs in the deciding fourth frame came with two outs and were all unearned. The inning started with a throwing error by the Laker catcher, putting
Taylor Russell on second base with nobody out.Â
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After an
Alexa Alfaro walk, Grand Valley recorded two outs before taking any damage, but things snowballed from there as UIndy racked up five hits in its next seven at bats, including a three-run bomb by senior
Cori Eckerle and a double by junior
Sydney Russell.Â
Katie Kelly and
Taylor Russell also picked up RBIs in the frame.
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UIndy starter
Morgan Foley (33-7) more than earned the win in the bottom of the fifth. The Lakers sandwiched a single between two walks to load the bases with no one out, but Foley induced a ground ball and a lazy pop to quickly get two outs.
GVSU senior Tonya Calkins, who homered earlier in the game, drew a walk to score one run, but Foley fanned the next batter on three straight pitches to deny the big inning.
With her first K of the game in the second, Foley recorded her 700th career strikeout. She is just the second Greyhound to reach the milestone, inching her closer to UIndy record-holder
Jennifer DeMotte's career total of 755.
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The Lakers went with Lauren Gevaart in the circle. Gevaart hand-cuffed the UIndy bats in yesterday's shutout win, but the junior hurler was chased in that fateful fourth to finish the season at 13-4.
First pitch tomorrow versus Wayne State is scheduled for 12 p.m. The second-seeded Warriors (43-9) are 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament so the Greyhounds will need to beat them twice Sunday to advance to the Super Regionals.Â
Click here to view the Midwest Regional 2's official homepage
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