INDIANAPOLIS—The No. 2-seed and host UIndy softball team took care of business Thursday at the NCAA DII Midwest Regional 2, downing seventh-seeded Findlay, 8-2. The Greyhounds guarded a one-run lead through most of the game until breaking it open with a sixth spot in the bottom of the sixth.
 
UIndy moves on to a winners bracket meeting with three-seed Grand Valley State Friday at 11 a.m. ET. The winner will advance to Saturday's regional final, while the loser will play in an elimination game in the late afternoon on Friday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First-inning rallies from both teams quickly put the score at 2-1 UIndy. Emily O'Connor's two-out single scored Megan Nichols and Lexy Rees to plate the first two UIndy runs.
 
There the score would remain as both pitchers settled in to a groove. Haylie Foster, who relieved starter Kenzee Smith to start the second, came on to pitch five consecutive scoreless innings to protect the lead.
 
Foster may have done some of her best work in the bottom of the sixth. With the score still locked at 2-1, the fifth-year senior pitched around a one-out, second-and-third situation to keep the slim UIndy lead intact. She struck out a pinch hitter looking to get the second out, then some defensive help with a great catch at the wall from her sister Sydnie Foster to escape the jam.
 
The momentum carried over to the bottom of the sixth, as the Hounds piled on with six runs to nearly evoke the run-rule. Eleven batters came to the plate in the rally, amassing two hits, four walks and a hit by pitch.
 
Nichols led the offense with a three-hit, two-RBI day. Foster got the pitching win to move to 23-2 on the season.
 
INSIDE THE BOX
- Both teams finished with six hits.
- Rees' first-inning double was the only UIndy extra-base hit of the game.
- UIndy is making its 14 consecutive NCAA softball regional appearance. Conversely, Findlay is making its first ever.