WESTFIELD, Ind. – With their backs up against the wall at the 2016 GLVC Baseball Championship, the University of Indianapolis baseball team turned to their ace to keep their conference championship dreams alive.
 
All Matthew Kaplanis did was strike out a career high 11 batters to keep the Greyhounds alive for another day as UIndy sent Illinois Springfield home from the GLVC Championship with a 7-1 defeat.
 
After surrendering five hits through the first three innings, Kaplanis settled in and allowed just three base knocks the rest of the way. The senior improved to 9-1 on the year after tossing his third complete game of the season.
 
"The first couple innings, I had a hard time getting into a rhythm and our defense came up with some huge plays early on," Kaplanis said. "After that, I started to find a groove and settle in and everything fell into place from there. The last time I faced Illinois Springfield, they hit me pretty hard and I was able to make some adjustments to the way I approached their hitters and it worked."
 
The Prairie Stars got to Kaplanis early, getting back-to-back doubles from Austin Meunch and Trey Hannam to take a 1-0 lead just two batters into the bottom of the first. Following a pair of scoreless frames to open the game, UIndy drew even in the top of the third when Macy Holdsworth led off the inning with a double and scored later on an Alex Ritchie sac fly.
 
UIS had a golden opportunity to re-take the lead in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out following a pair of singles and a dropped third strike. Their rally was stifled when Jake Redlinger hit a line shot that went right to Colin Hawk at first base, allowing him to double off the runner at first to end the inning.
 
The Greyhounds carried that momentum into their next at-bat, taking a 3-1 lead when Storm Joop belted a two run home run. Kaplanis worked out of another tight spot in the fourth, stranding runners on second and third with two outs to end the inning, starting a string of 10 straight Prairie Stars retired.
 
Holdsworth stretched the UIndy lead to 4-1 when he executed a perfect hit-and-run that allowed Joop to score. Kyle Orloff got in on the action with a two-out run scoring single in the seventh and Hawk put the game out of reach with a two-run blast of his own in the ninth, the sixth long ball of the year for the Beech Grove, Ind. product.
 
Joop, Holdsworth and Anthony Asalon all had two hits in the game with Asalon and Joop each scoring twice to lead the Greyhounds.
 
UIndy moves to 33-19 on the year and advances to another elimination game against either Rockhurst or Missouri S&T on Saturday morning. First pitch from Grand Park is set for 9:00 a.m. Check back with UIndyAthletics.com or follow us on Twitter (@UindyAthletics) to learn who the Greyhounds' next opponent will be.