EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Senior
Taylor Russell etched her name in the UIndy record books Saturday, launching her program record-breaking 43rd home run to lift the second-seeded UIndy softball team to a 7-0 victory in a must-win meeting with No. 4-seed Truman State at the
Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
The victory moves the Greyhounds (40-11) to their second loser-go-home game of the day. They'll face eighth-seeded Rockhurst in an elimination contest at 4 p.m. ET. The winner will then play in the losers' bracket final at 6 p.m. ET in hopes of advancing to Sunday's championship game.
Live stats and a free
video stream will again be available.
UIndy 7, Truman State 0
Russell's 43rd dinger surpassed the program's former career mark set by Jamie Keltz (2007-10). The line-drive shot came in the top of the fourth, plating
Katie Kelly and
Erika Goodwin in the process. Russell finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a run and three RBIs.
Her homer was just one of 14 hits for the Hounds on the day, matching their season high. Junior
Jenny Thompson also went yard, as she deposited the first pitch of the second inning onto the street to give her team the early 1-0 edge.
After Russell gave the Hounds a four-run cushion in the fourth, UIndy pushed across three more in the fifth to break it open. Freshman
Jessie Noone singled to lead off the frame and later scored all the way from second on a wild pitch. Base knocks from Kelly and Goodwin followed before
Casey Williamson drove them in with an RBI single to center.
Pitchers
Morgan Foley and
Coryn Tirpak combined for the two-hit shutout; Foley spun four scoreless innings to start, while Tirpak finished off the Bulldogs (33-14) with three shutout frames.
Kelly and Goodwin, UIndy's No. 9 & 1 hitters, finished a combined 7-for-9 while scoring two runs apiece.
Sydney Russell stepped to the plate five times without an official at bat as she endured two HBPs to go with a pair of sac bunts and a walk.
Additionally, Williamson tied her own single-season walk record, matching the 39 bases on balls she amassed as a freshman in 2012.
Notes: The victory ensured a fourth straight 40-win season for UIndy ... Truman State was ranked seventh in the latest Midwest regional rankings.
