INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis baseball team opened their final series of the year on Sunday afternoon, picking up a split against the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars.
 
After dropping a tightly-contested 5-4 game in the opener, the Greyhounds (26-22, 10-16 GLVC) snapped their 10-game slide with a 2-0 win over the Prairie Stars (30-18, 18-8 GLVC) in game two.
 
Storm Joop paced the UIndy offense with three hits and a run scored, extending his lead in the latter category to a team-best 51. UIndy got two exceptional starts from Jake Sprinkle and Jake Shaw, with Shaw picking up the win in game two.
 
Prior to the start of game one, Shaw was joined by Jonathan Bowen, John Eberhardt, Jeff Lavin, Connor Mailloux and Ryan Wood as the six players honored as part of Sunday's Senior Day festivities.
 
GAME ONE: Illinois Springfield 5 – UIndy 4
Down by a run before they made their first trip to the plate, UIndy erased the early deficit with a run of their own in the first. With two outs and the bases loaded, Nick Miller picked up an RBI when he was hit by a 1-0 pitch to even up the game.
 
But the Hounds were unable to add more with the bases loaded in the first. UIndy stranded two more runners in the second, one inning before UIS re-took the lead with a two-run single from Trey Hannam in the third.
 
Both offenses stayed silent until the Hounds grinded out a run in the seventh to pull within a run. Will Smithey led off the inning with a single and advanced to third after a pair of hit batters loaded the bases. Smithey would score when a 1-0 pitch to Dylan Jones skipped to the backstop, cutting the lead to 3-2.
 
In the eighth, the visitors got some insurance when GLVC home run leader Michael Rothmund launched a Sprinkle pitch over the wall in left for his 22nd round-tripper of the year.
 
UIndy answered with a rally of their own in the eighth, starting with an RBI single from Miller that plated Wood. Miller scored later in the inning on Joop's RBI ground out, cutting the lead to 5-4. That was as close as the Hounds would get, leaving the bags full in the eighth and going down in order in the ninth.
 
Sprinkle (5-2) held the high-powered Prairie Stars offense to six hits over a season-high eight innings of work. The Indianapolis-native walked two and set a new career-high for punch outs, fanning nine batters.
 
Adam Gregory (9-2) worked five innings of four-hit ball to earn the win. Brayden Jensen notched his second save of the year, tossing the final four innings in relief.
 
GAME TWO: UIndy 2 – Illinois Springfield 0
The Greyhounds took advantage of some sloppy UIS defense in the first inning to take an early lead. The Stars committed three errors in the opening frame, the last a throwing error from catcher Ben Schanding that allowed Storm Joop to trot home from third for the early 1-0 lead.
 
In the early going, it looked as if that was all Shaw would need as the Fredericton, New Brunswick-native set down the first seven batters he faced and kept the Stars without a hit through three innings. UIS made their first push of the day with one out and runners on the corners in the fifth, but Shaw was able to wiggle out of trouble by forcing pinch hitter Chris Matheiu to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
 
After allowing a leadoff single in the sixth, Shaw was pulled in favor of Dylan Stutsman. UIS would once again put runners on the corners with one out, but couldn't get a run in as Stutsman shut the door with a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning.
 
UIndy added a much-welcomed insurance run in the bottom of the inning. Hunter Waning led off the sixth with a triple to deep center, forcing the UIS infield to play in the rest of the inning. With one out, Waning scored with a great head-first slide around the tag following a hard-hit grounder from Conor White, stretching the lead to a pair.
 
Just as they had done the previous two innings, the Prairie Stars would not go quietly. UIS loaded the bases with a double and two walks, bringing team-batting champion Cole Taylor to the dish. Stutsman slammed the door on a comeback, forcing a game-ending flyout to center field.
 
Making his final start in the crimson and grey, Shaw (5-4) needed 83 pitches to get through five-plus innings. He scattered four hits, walked two and struck out three. Stutsman notched his 10th save of the year, allowing one hit over the final two innings.
 
The 2017 season comes to a close on Monday afternoon with two more games between the Greyhounds and Prairie Stars at Greyhound Park. First pitch of the twin bill is set for noon.