WESTFIELD, Ind. – For the sixth time in program history, the University of Indianapolis has laid claim to the GLVC Baseball Championship.
 
The Greyhounds opened up play on Sunday morning with a rematch against William Jewell College in the semifinals for the right to play for the league title. For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Hounds handled the Cardinals, picking up a 7-2 win to eliminate William Jewell and move into the championship game against Rockhurst.
 
The Hawks opened the tournament by downing UIndy back on Thursday, 11-8. In a tense, low-scoring game, the Greyhounds got the big hits when they needed them on their way to a 6-1 victory in the winner-take-all championship game.
 
"Our guys just played hard and they truly deserve this championship," Head coach Gary Vaught said. "This is a really special bunch both on and off the field and we hope we can carry this with us to the regional and maybe even to Cary. This has been a fun bunch to be around and win or lose, I would have said the same thing."
 
"It's crazy that we had two starting pitchers go down early in the year," Colin Hawk added "That forced us to adapt and come together as a team early on and throughout the year. This is our reward for sticking together through all the tough times this year."
 
The Greyhounds move sole possession of first place for the most titles in league history, breaking a tie with Lewis, St. Joseph's and Northern Kentucky. Just as they had done in 2012 and 2001, the Greyhounds captured the league crown after dropping their opening contest of the tournament.
 
GAME ONE: UIndy 7 – William Jewell 2
 
Colin Hawk wasted no time continuing to torment the Cardinals. After driving in four runs against WJC on Saturday night, Hawk opened up the scoring with a one-out double to left in the bottom of the first that brought Alex Ritchie across the dish.
 
William Jewell evened things up in the top of the second when Dylan Christie led off the inning with a home run off Michael Schalasky. It was the last time the Cardinals would plate a run off the Hounds' freshman pitcher for seven innings.
 
The Greyhound offense went to work in support of their young hurler, taking the lead for good in the third when Macy Holdsworth led off the inning with a home run. Hawk added two more runs later in the inning with a double down the left field line to stretch the lead to 4-1.
 
Dylan Jones added another run in the fourth with his fourth home run of the year. Ritchie padded the lead with an RBI double in the fifth and scored later in the inning on a single by Brady Thomas.
 
That was more than enough support for Schalasky (4-3), who was brilliant over eight innings of work. The freshman allowed two runs on six hits with a pair of walks and tied a career high with nine strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO: UIndy 6 – Rockhurst 1
 
Both offenses were held in check early as UIndy's Adam Cornwell and Rockhurst's Michael Lydon-Lorson tossed up zeroes through three innings. After managing just one hit in their first three trips to the plate, the Greyhounds finally broke though in the fourth. Hawk led off the inning with a double before scoring later in the inning on Thomas' RBI groundout.
 
Cornwell got through five innings without issue, but ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. He retired one batter in the frame, but also allowed a double and a pair of walks to load the bases. Connor Mailloux entered the game and allowed a game-tying sac fly to Henry Weiler, but induced an inning ending flyout to keep the game tied at one.
 
With momentum in danger of shifting to the Hawks, UIndy snatched the lead for good in the bottom of the inning. Hawk belted a one-out double and scored the go-ahead run when Brady Thomas hammered a two-out triple into the right center field gap. One batter later, Thomas came in to score on Storm Joop's RBI single to make it 3-1.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, UIndy put the game out of reach. With one out and a man on, Anthony Asalon crushed his ninth home run of the year to make it a four-run game. Later in the inning, Kyle Orloff added another insurance run with an RBI single, capping the scoring.
 
The Hounds turned the ball over to Scott Mitchell for the final two innings, and the senior reliever put the exclamation point on the championship win with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
 
Mailloux (5-5) earned the win after tossing 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in relief of Cornwell, who was lifted after allowing one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.
 
Next up for the Greyhounds is the NCAA Midwest Regional, which gets underway on Thursday, May 19. The Hounds will learn where they'll be heading for the regional and their opening round opponent on Sunday night, when the NCAA unveils the regional bracket during the Division II Baseball Selection Show at 10:00 p.m.