ALBERTVIILLE, Ala.—The No. 16 UIndy softball team opened its season Friday at the Charger Chillout, hosted by the University of Alabama Huntsville. The Greyhounds dropped a top-20 matchup versus Lincoln Memorial, 6-4, before exploding for a 14-3 win over Union.
 
GAME 1 | 20 Lincoln Memorial 6, 16 UIndy 4
Freshman Shelby Cook made a lifelong memory in top of the first. Earning the leadoff spot in her vey first collegiate game, the Murphysboro, Ill., native lifted the second collegiate pitch she saw over the right-center fence to give the Hounds the early lead.
 

?? | A homer in your very first collegiate at bat?!

That's how you start a career, Shelby Cook!! ?????? pic.twitter.com/EGf6y5wIFw

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) February 10, 2023

Later, Dominique Proctor broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth with a solo shot to left center, but the No. 20 Railsplitters hung a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth to surge ahead and ultimately hold on for the win.
 
Cook added an RBI triple in the third before sophomore Megan Nichols smashed another solo shot in the fifth to cap UIndy's scoring.
 
Pitching ace Kenzee Smith (0-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up six earned runs while striking out even in a complete-game effort.
 
GAME 2 | 16 UIndy 14, Union 3 (5 innings)
The Hounds pounced on the Bulldogs with 10 tallies in the bottom of the first inning. All-America catcher Lexy Rees delivered the biggest blow, crushing her third career grand slam to give UIndy the lead. Megan Nichols and Cook added two-run doubles to fan the fire.
 
UIndy piled on with three more runs in the third and another in the fourth. Tori Angles and Cook both had tripled in third inning, while freshman Megan Wineinger later added a pinch-hit RBI single in her first career plate appearance.
 
Sophomore hurler Jayden Casebolt (1-0) got the win, allowing one run and just one hit in 4 1/3 innings while inducing 10 groundball outs. Freshman Alexa Huth came on in the fifth to get the final two outs.
 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds continue play at the Charger Chillout Saturday. Impending weather has pushed up tomorrow's schedule, as UIndy will now face in-region Trevecca Nazarene at 10 a.m. Eastern, followed by a showdown with host and 23rd-ranked Alabama Huntsville at 12:30 ET.