INDIANAPOLIS – With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, scored tied at 10-10,
Cole Hampton became the hero the Greyhounds needed, hammering a ball up the middle for the walk-off and the sweep-clincher against the No. 25-ranked Maryville Saints.
With the victory, the Hounds have put themselves in the driver seat in the GLVC, sitting at 23-5 in conference play, two games ahead of the Drury Panthers who sit in second.
Hampton becomes the second Hound this season with a walk-off, his fellow Missouri S&T transfer
Dakota Sill being the other with his series opening decider against Quincy just a weekend ago.
For Hampton, it was also a career day, as he went 4 for 5 from the plate, including four RBIs and three runs scored. He was joined by both Sill and
Nick Lukac who each recorded a pair of ribbies on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardiac Hounds, as they had in both games of the doubleheader yesterday, faced an early deficit in the runs column. The Saints jumped all over
Dawson Gabe in his return to the mound, amounting to a five-run lead by the third frame.
But, as the Saints learned through the first three games, no lead is ever safe when you face the Hounds. An RBI single by Champ, an error and a Sill RBI double brought it to 5-3.
The Hounds and Saints traded homers, with
Easton Good getting the lone UIndy homer of the series in the third.
In the later half of the ballgame, the visitors were able to keep the Hounds just enough away as they tacked on runs in the fifth and seventh to leave it 9-8.
But the eighth is where it all changed for the Hounds, as a bases loaded hit-by-pitch by Hampton followed by back-to-back walks by Vaughn and Lukac gave the Hounds the 11-9 advantage.
The Saints finally got the blow they needed in the top half of the ninth versus
E.J. White, tying the game with one swing.
A trio of walks, one intentional to
Drew Donaldson, set the stage for Hampton's heroics.
HOUND BYTES
UP NEXT
Short rest for the Hounds as they load the bus to Findlay, Ohio for a midweek bout with the Oilers.
