RENSSELAER, Ind. - The No. 22-ranked UIndy baseball team wrapped up their first GLVC East series of the season on Saturday afternoon, splitting a pair of games against the No. 18-ranked Saint Joseph's Pumas.
 
UIndy (16-7, 2-2 GLVC) struck early and held the Pumas (16-4, 2-2 GLVC) in check on their way to a 6-1 win in game one. In game two, the hosts' bats woke up, pounding out 18 hits on their way to an 18-8 win and a series split.
 
GAME ONE: UIndy 6 – St. Joseph's 1
Storm Joop led off the day with a double and came in to score later in the inning on a Macy Holdsworth sac fly to give the Hounds an early lead.
 
Two innings later, UIndy loaded the bases with two outs, bringing Kyle Orloff to the dish with a chance to add to the lead. The sophomore slugger stepped into a two-strike pitch, lacing a double into the gap in left center and scoring all three runs to make it 4-0 Hounds.
 
St. Joseph's got on the board in the bottom of the fourth but couldn't close the gap any further. Brendan Dudas added to the lead with a solo shot in the sixth, his first career home run. Holdsworth came in the score later in the inning on a wild pitch to cap the scoring.
 
Making his first start since 2015, Jake Sprinkle (1-0) worked four innings of five-hit ball to earn the win for the Greyhounds. Jake Shaw, Chris Boettcher and Christian Beard combined to allow just two Puma hits over the final three innings.
 
GAME TWO: St. Joseph's 18 – UIndy 8
Trouble reared its head early in the second game as the Pumas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their first trip to the plate. UIndy erased the early deficit with a pair of runs in the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles from John Eberhardt and Dylan Jones.
 
The Pumas began to put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a trio of runs to re-claim their lead. UIndy got one back in the fifth on a run-scoring ground out from Jake Perreira but the hosts put the game out of reach with a seven-run fifth to make it 12-3.
 
UIndy got five back in the sixth with RBIs coming from Conor White, Nick Miller and Joop. The Hounds also plated two tallies on an error and a wild pitch to get within 12-8 by the end of the frame. It was as close as they would come as St. Joseph's scored three runs in the sixth and eighth innings to cap the scoring.
 
Brian Wichman (0-2) lasted three innings on the mound, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout.
 
UIndy will step out of conference play this coming Wednesday when they welcome Tiffin University to Greyhound Park for a mid-week double-header. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.