Box score
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- On the strength of a complete game from junior
Donovan Drake, the UIndy baseball team advanced at the NCAA Midwest Regional with a 5-2 win versus Ashland. The sixth-seeded Greyhounds won the loser-go-home contest to remain alive in the double-elimination tourney, thanks in part to nine strong innings from Drake.
In a game that featured head coaches that have combined to win nearly 1600 games, UIndy starter
Donovan Drake was dealing. The all-region pitcher fanned five of the first six batters he faced, including striking out the side in the first. He surrendered his first hit in the third, but managed to keep the Eagles scoreless through the first four frames.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis pushed a run across in the second inning on an RBI single from
Travis Capps, but later with Capps on third and two down, Ashland pulled off the hidden ball trick to abbreviate the rally.
The Eagles (34-22) finally got to Drake in the fifth inning, as a walk, a passed ball and a double led to an unearned run. With runners at second and third and just one out, Ashland looked to take the lead, but a failed suicide squeeze and another strikeout from Drake – his eighth – kept the score at 1-1.
Senior first baseman
Danny Collier started a sixth-inning rally with his second double of the game. After Capps was hit by a pitch, the Hounds positioned runners at second and third for
Kaleb Cunningham. The Greyhound shortstop pulled an 0-1 offering to the right side, but an Eagle error allowed the ball to get to the outfield.
The error proved costly, as
Matt Maringer, who pinch ran for Collier and later stayed in to play left, crossed the plate just before Capps, giving the Hounds a 3-1 advantage.
Ashland nearly got both runs back in the ensuing bottom half, but a fine defensive play kept the UIndy lead intact. AU right fielder Ryan Avery drove in one run with a double to left, but with Jacob Petkac trying to score from first base as well, Maringer and Cunningham teamed up to cut down the potential tying run at the plate.
The Hounds' fourth run came in the top of the eighth, as senior
Chris Ulrey launched the first pitch of the inning over the right-center wall to make it 4-2 Hounds.
The Hounds picked up another insurance tally in the ninth on an RBI single from Capps.
Drake sat the Eagles down in order in the ninth, going the distance to earn his sixth complete of the year. He tossed a five-hitter, allowing one earned run while striking out nine and walking just two. The win upped his mark to 7-4.
Ross scored twice while Capps garnered a pair of RBIs.
The Greyhounds (35-21) await the loser of the Grand Valley State/Northern Kentucky game later today. UIndy takes the field tomorrow at 4 p.m. EDT.
* UIndy head coach Gary Vaught entered the game with 711 career wins, while Ashland head man John Schaly owns 879 victories.
