CRESTVIEW, Ky.—The No. 2-ranked UIndy softball team earned a pair of wins in a mid-week doubleheader at Thomas More Wednesday evening. Fifth-year senior Emily O'Connor headlined a number of notable performances on the day, breaking her own school record for most RBIs in a season.
 
GAME 1 | UIndy 9, TMU 2 (8 innings)
The Hounds battled a pesky Saints club to a 2-2 tie before finally blowing it open in the top of the eighth. UIndy batted around in the fatal frame, racking up seven base hits along the way. Shelby Cook sparked the rally with a leadoff single, with Sydnee Perry later adding an RBI double and Braxton Downs a two-run single.
 
Earlier in the game, the Saints managed a feat few teams have this season: scoring on starting pitcher Kenzee Smith. Coming into the game with a DII-leading 0.21 ERA, Smith surrendered a pair of runs in the fifth – though only one was earned.
 
She later found herself in a bind in the bottom of the seventh. With the score knotted at 2-2, the Saints finagled a hit by pitch and a bunt single to make it first and second with nobody out. A sac bunt moved both runners up, with the game-winning run now on third base. The Greyhound ace remained unfazed, however, fanning the next Saint batter and inducing a lazy flyball to end the threat and force extras.
 
Smith's 127-pitch complete game secured her 27th victory of the season. Her 12 Ks upped her season total to 204, good for 10th in the UIndy single-season annals.
 
Meanwhile, O'Connor drove in three runs in the opener and finished the day at 69 ribbies on the year, surpassing her own school record set just last season. Cook also had three hits as one of five Hounds with multiple hits in the contest. Dominique Proctor's bloop single in the eighth brought home the go-ahead run.
 

?? | A special congrats goes out to Emily O'Connor, who today broke her own school record for RBIs in a season! ?????? pic.twitter.com/k3jaKRZUxS

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) April 25, 2024

 
GAME 2 | UIndy 5, TMU 0
The Hounds pushed across two unearned runs in the first inning, providing more than enough support for game-two starter Jayden Casebolt. She ultimately tossed a complete-game shutout, scattering seven hits and four walks while striking out six.
 
Perry added her second RBI double of the day with a fifth-inning gapper, while ribbies from Downs (sac fly) and Lexy Rees (double) provided additional insurance in the seventh.
 
Megan Nichols went 3-for-4 with two runs scores, while Perry and Jocelyn Calvin had two hits apiece. Nicholas also had a great diving catch and double play in the bottom of the second to help keep the Saints off the board.
 

THAT WAS AN ELECTRIFYING PLAY ??

Megan Nichols with the diving catch and phenomenal throw to first baseman Shelby Cook for the double play! #ONEHOUND ?????? pic.twitter.com/JSlql8w9kO

— UIndy Softball (@UIndySoftball) April 25, 2024

 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds return to conference play immediately, hosting Quincy Thursday at 2 p.m. for a doubleheader that was moved up two days due to the rainy forecast this weekend.