SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The UIndy baseball team (33-22) fell to second-seeded Illinois Springfield (35-18) in a closely contested game on Thursday, falling in extra innings by a score of 10-8. After a grand slam by
Austin Bode in the ninth, the Prairie Stars rallied back to force extras and win in the 10th inning.
Aidan Pearson pitched 7.2 innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs while striking out one and walking seven, throwing 129 pitches with 73 strikes.
Ryker Hughes made a brief appearance, retiring one batter on four pitches, including three strikes, and recorded a strikeout.
Griffin Hallahan pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and five earned runs, including two home runs, while striking out two batters and walking one. Hallahan was charged with the loss, bringing his record to 3-3 for the season.
UIS took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning with two runs. Noah Caceres singled and eventually scored, followed by Johnny Wendling crossing the plate on a single by Jesse Contreras. Ill.-Springfield led 2–0 after two innings.
In the fourth inning,
Brayton Bowen scored on a single by
Garrett Rusch, narrowing the gap. However, Ill.-Springfield responded with two more runs on a single from Tommy Atkinson, extending its lead to 4–1.
UIS added another run in the fifth inning with Kody Morton scoring on a single by Noah Caceres, increasing the lead to 5–1. The Greyhounds responded in the sixth with
Brayton Bowen scoring on a groundout by
Joey Humphrey, making it 5–2.
The ninth inning saw a dramatic comeback by the Greyhounds.
Gavin Duran scored on a double by
Solen Munson, followed by
Chase Mason coming home on a sacrifice fly by Rusch. It was then Bode delivered a first-pitch slam to give UIndy a 8-5 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, UIS regained the lead with three runs. Kaden Griffitts scored on a triple by Noah Caceres, who then scored on a sacrifice fly by Brian Daker. Drew Ezard's solo home run extended the lead. Ill.-Springfield led 8–8 through nine innings.
In the 10th inning, the Greyhounds could not add any runs despite loading the bases. UIS clinched the game with a two-run homer by Griffits for a walk-off homer.
UIndy faces Wayne State on Friday morning in an elimination game.
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