BOX SCORE

SAUGET, Ill.- In a game that ended at 2:30 a.m. local time, the University of Indianapolis baseball team made it 2-for-2 at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a 18-5 drumming of Bellarmine at GCS Ballpark late Friday night.  After a lengthy rain delay pushed back the game's start time to nearly midnight, UIndy plated 12 runs in the final three innings to pull away from the Knights and remain in the winners' bracket.

As the designated home team, the Knights hung an unearned tally on the board in the bottom of the first, only to see the Hounds put up five runs an inning and a half later.

UIndy (39-17) started the third inning with a walk, a single, and a walk to load 'em up.  Shortstop Adam Akin garnered the first Greyhound RBI on yet another a walk before Chase Kittinger tacked on another with a sacrifice fly, leaving two on for senior Ben Sondgeroth.

The Greyhound clean-up man took the first pitch he saw to the opposite field, clearing the wall in right to give the Hounds a 5-1 advantage.

Later down 6-1, the Knights (33-23) crept back in it.  UIndy starter Cory Rupert allowed just one hit through the first four and a third, but Bellarmine notched two runs in both the fifth and sixth frames to pull within one.  Knights' catcher Kyle Roden mashed a pair of homers in that span to account for three of the four runs.

The beginning of the end came for Bellarmine in the top of the seventh, however.  BU was still just one run down with two outs, but a dropped foul pop by Roden keyed a three-run rally that proved too much for the Knights to overcome.

The Hounds piled on with six runs in the eighth inning and three more in the ninth to finish the game with 12 unanswered runs.  Akin started the first rally with a two-run double, while Casey Potter and Sondgeroth each added three-run homers in the eighth and ninth frames, respectively.

Sondgeroth finished 3-for-5 with four runs and a career-high eight driven in.  The All-GLVC First Team honoree needs just eight more RBI to break the school's single-season record and nine to break the program's career mark.  Both milestones are held by UIndy Assistant Head Coach Al Ready.

Ryan Burlas was credited with the win, upping his record to 3-2.  Relievers Travis Kempton and David Early combined to K four hitters in three scoreless innings of work.

Tonight's win coupled with Thursday's victory versus Rockhurst could go a long way in keeping UIndy in the NCAA picture.  The Greyhounds entered the conference tourney as the fifth-ranked team in the Midwest Regional poll, with Rockhurst at No. 4 and Bellarmine at No. 8.  The top six teams from the Midwest will compete for the regional championship starting next week.

Indianapolis matches up with the region's 6th-ranked squad, Northern Kentucky, in Saturday's first game.  The contest was originally scheduled for noon Central, but due to Friday's late start, the game has now been pushed back to 2:00 p.m. local time.  NKU and UIndy are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the tournament, putting tomorrow's winner in the driver's seat to take the 2009 GLVC crown.  The two rivals finished the regular season with identical 18-6 divisional records after splitting a four-game series head-to-head, one that featured three one-run games.

In addition to live stats, an NKU audio broadcast will be available for tomorrw's meeting with the Norse.