QUINCY, Ill. – For the second consecutive weekend, the Greyhound baseball team turned to senior pitcher Matthew Kaplanis to keep their tournament hopes alive. Just as he did in his last start, Kaplanis answered the bell with a dominant performance, allowing just five hits over eight innings in a 4-1 win over Hillsdale in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional.
 
The Fort Wayne, Ind. native needed just 100 pitches to retire 24 Chargers. Kaplanis fanned two and didn't walk a batter, improving to 10-1 on the year as UIndy moved to 38-20 overall and earned another game in the regional tournament.
 
Kaplanis had all the cushion he needed before he ever toed the rubber as the Greyhounds scored twice in the top of the first. After loading the bases with one out, UIndy got the ice breaker when Alex Ritchie came in to score on a wild pitch. Later in his at bat, Storm Joop made it 2-0 Hounds with an RBI ground out that scored Colin Hawk from third.
 
Hillsdale got their lone run in the bottom of the second. Ethan Wiskur led off the inning with a double and scored two batters later when Alex Walts singled up the middle to cut the Hounds' lead in half. It was as close as the Chargers would come to evening things up, as Kaplanis settled in and retired 16 straight after the RBI single.
 
The Greyhound offense added an insurance run in the top of the third. Anthony Asalon led off the inning with a single and came in to score later in the frame on a sac fly from Colin Hawk. Just for good measure, the Hounds tacked on another in the ninth after Macy Holdsworth tripled into the right field corner and scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to make it 4-1.
 
UIndy turned things over to Dylan Stutsman in the bottom of the ninth. The Greyhound closer earned his 12^th save of the year in efficient fashion, needing just 11 pitches to send the Chargers home.
 
Holdsworth went a team best 3-for-4 with a run scored on the afternoon. Ritchie and Kyle Orloff were the other Greyhounds to record multiple hits, each going 2-for-4 against Charger pitching.
 
Next up for the Greyhounds is another elimination contest, this one coming on Saturday at noon ET against either Quincy or Southern Indiana. Check back with UIndyAthletics.com to learn who the Hounds will oppose in their next contest.