BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS- Down five heading into the bottom of the eight, the University of Indianapolis baseball team (33-18) picked three runs in the eight and had the tying run at third in the ninth but came up just short, falling to cross-town Butler 7-6 at Greyhound Park Tuesday. UIndy junior
Justin Russell (pictured) went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
A
Ben Sondgeroth walk, an
Aryn Ross double, and a
Dalan Dugger sacrifice fly earned the Hounds the game’s first lead in the second inning, but Bulter (10-28) came right back with three runs in the third to go up 3-1. The Bulldogs used a lead-off triple, three singles and a walk to fuel the rally.
After Greyhound starter
Travis Kempton got his ninth out, UIndy skipper
Gary Vaught opted to go with junior
Greg Johnston. The Sauk Valley transfer faced the minimum through two frames, but ran into trouble in the sixth. The first four Bulldogs reached base and two would score before Johnston got a double-play ball and a strike out.
Sondgeroth smashed a double to the centerfield wall to score
Chris Saroff in the bottom of the sixth, inching the Hounds closer.
Sophomore
Adam Farag took the hill to start the seventh and wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam with no damage. He remained in for the eight and retired two hitters but not before being charged with a pair of unearned runs.
The final Bulldog scores proved large as the Hounds nearly came back from a 7-2 eight-inning deficit only to fall a single run short. Indianapolis got five hits in the eighth and RBIs from Saroff,
Seth Paul and
Tyler Kitchel to cut the margin to a deuce.
In the top of the ninth, Saroff moved to the mound with a man on second and nobody out. The freshman got three quick outs to give the Greyhounds a chance.
Russell took the first pitch of the Greyhound ninth in the back and
Adam Akin coaxed a walk to put the Hounds in business. Saroff moved both runners up with a sac bunt before Russell scored on a wild pitch, making it 7-6. With Akin at third base representing the tying run, UIndy’s comeback attempt ended when Butler hurler Evan DePotter got the final two outs via strikeout.
Bulldog senior Bryan Bokowy pitched seven innings for the win, Kempton picked up the loss for the Hounds, and DePotter earned a four-out save. Ross joined Russell with three hits while Saroff, Sondgeroth, and Paul each tallied one hit, one run and one RBI.
Tuesday’s contest was the final home game for the Greyhounds this season. Indianapolis travels to Missouri-St. Louis for a four-game set this weekend, the final series before the conference tournament. Though it is currently in the playoff picture, UIndy will need a pair of wins at UMSL to guarantee a spot in the GLVC tourney. The opponents will play a single game Friday at 8 pm ET before playing a Saturday twin bill and another single game Sunday afternoon.
