The University of Indianapolis baseball team was on their way to St. Louis for GLVC matchup with Maryville University in mid-March when the bus pumped the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. Moments later, Head Coach Al Ready informed the team that they were turning around and that their season had been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greyhounds ended with a 12-3 overall record on the season.

UNEXPECTED ENDINGS
On March 20, the Great Lakes Valley Conference officially released the decision to cancel the remainder of spring sports.
 
"I saw that as the end of my career," senior third baseman Hunter Waning said. "It was similar to when you lose the last game of the year and they tell you to go home, except we were on a bus with teammates getting ready to go play a conference game. It went from gearing up to start the tougher portion of the season to everything being over in a matter of minutes."
 
Ready's second season as the Greyhound head coach did not end as expected.
 
"We hadn't even begun to play up to our potential," Ready said "We hadn't played how I knew we were going to play.
 
"But the core group of that team is back this year. We're really excited to see these guys over a full season."
 
ANOTHER YEAR
As spring athletes across the country were stripped of nearly a full season in 2020, the NCAA announced its decision to grant another year of eligibility to the affected athletes. For UIndy, the allowance gave eight Greyhounds – including Waning and right-handed pitcher Reid Werner –  the opportunity to suit up one more time.
 
"It was really tough, but we were able to come back," said Waning. "We have a really good team (this year). We got a lot of our guys back, especially pitchers, and it feels really good to have them back on the mound."
 
Werner, a native of nearby Greenwood, Ind., threw 97 innings over the last two springs, posting a 3.35 ERA in 2019 to earn All-GLVC Second Team recognition.
 
"Pitching and defense is our strength," noted the right hander. "I can't speak enough on our pitching and our infielders and outfielders. They give 100 percent all the time."
 
MOVING FORWARD
With the additional year of eligibility, the 2021 Greyhound roster is built with experience and depth, essential ingredients for success in the always-tough GLVC.
 
"Usually, your senior class moves on and doesn't get to share their experiences with the incoming class," Waning said. "This year was have a whole class of freshmen and essentially two full classes of seniors to work with them and help them develop."
 
Coach Ready and the Hounds welcome in 10 new freshmen and a pair of transfers to the program for the coming season.
 
Offensively, the Greyhounds put up a .318 team batting average in 2020, scoring 123 runs on 156 hits. On the bump, the UIndy pitching staff tallied 71 strikeouts and held opponents to .221 batting average.  
 
"Some of the new guys coming in will provide stability to our team that we are looking for," said Ready. "We're buttoning up our weaknesses for this season."
 
While the 2021 campaign will look slightly different for the Greyhounds, the team looks forward to getting the chance to suit up and get back on the diamond.