INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 2-ranked UIndy softball team wrapped up its 2026 season on Friday afternoon, falling to No. 14 McKendree at the NCAA DII Midwest Super Regional. The Bearcats managed a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to slip past the Greyhounds, 4-3, and advance to the NCAA DII Championship.
UIndy capped a memorable season this spring, racking up 59 wins—one shy of the program record, a GLVC regular season title and a fourth consecutive Super Regional appearance.
INS & OUTS
The back-and-forth game saw the Greyhounds twice erase a one-run deficit to take the lead.
Cheyenne Eads' RBI single in the third put the Hounds up 2-1, while
Cara Cooper's two-run blast in the fourth made it 4-3 UIndy.
The Hounds carried that same lead into the bottom of the seventh, and after the leadoff hitter struck out, the Bearcats managed a one-out single to bring up GLVC Player of the Year Lauren Harris. The senior shortstop delivered the biggest hit of her career, clearing the Baumgartner Field fence to send the Bearcats to their first World Series appearance.
Both Cooper and
Brooklyn Willis managed two hits apiece, etching their names side-by-side atop the UIndy single-season list of hits leaders. The Hounds' one- and two-hole hitters both finished with 86 base hits on the year, surpassing Willis' previous program mark of 85 hits, set last spring.
Maya Rodriguez also had a pair of hits, including a double, while
Sydney Oliver added a single and walk.
Eads went the distance in the circle for her 21st and final complete game of the season. She struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings, finishing the year with an impressive 31-3 record. She is one of only five Greyhounds to reach the 30-win plateau, with her three losses the lowest total among that exclusive group.
Defensively, right fielder
Emma Piercy notched an impressive outfield assist in the bottom of the fifth. She threw out a potential tying run at the plate after the runner attempted to tag up on a foul flyout.
