MARION, Ill.— The University of Indianapolis baseball team is moving on to game nine of the 2026 GLVC Tournament after falling to Missouri-St. Louis in game six forced the Hounds into a win-or-go-home match against Drury, where UIndy defeated the Panthers 12-2.
Luke Smock had an evening full of highlights, robbing the Tritons of the go-ahead homerun in game one, before hitting a three-run triple to secure the walk-off win against the Panthers to push his squad to the next round.
GAME 1 | UIndy 4, UMSL 6
Ayden Tran pitched 3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs while striking out 3 batters and walking 1.
Griffin Hallahan took over for 4 1/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.
Drake Downing completed the pitching lineup with 2/3 inning, surrendering 2 hits and 1 run.
The game was closely contested early, with both teams scoring a run in the second inning.
Joey Humphrey put the Greyhounds on the board with an RBI bunt single, bringing home
Brayton Bowen. UMSL responded with a ground-rule double by Justin Simard, tying the game at 1-1 after two innings. In the third inning, Bowen hit a two-run homer deep to right field, driving in
Chase Mason and giving Indianapolis a 3-1 lead. However, the Tritons quickly matched that with a two-run homer by Mitch Bonczkowski, leveling the score at 3-3 after three innings.
Indianapolis briefly regained the lead in the seventh inning when
Carter Thomas singled and stole second, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by
Gavin Duran, making it 4-3. UMSL rallied in the eighth inning, capitalizing on a throwing error and a single to score three runs and take a 6-4 advantage. The Greyhounds were unable to mount a comeback in the ninth, resulting in a loss.
Bowen led the offense with two runs and a home run, driving in two.
Luke Smock contributed to the team's momentum by stealing two bases, while Duran added a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Thomas scored a run and stole a base.
GAME 2 | UIndy 12, Drury 2
In the second game against Drury, the Greyhounds turned the tide, recording a commanding 12-2 victory. They showcased the bats with 16 hits, starting strong with four runs in the first inning.
Ryan O'Born delivered a complete game, pitching 7 innings and allowing only 2 earned runs on 7 hits, issuing just one walk and striking out two batters. This performance improved his season record to 7-2.
The Greyhounds jumped to an early lead in the first inning.
Austin Bode walked, and
Bret Perry followed with another walk.
Gavin Duran then singled, loading the bases.
Chase Mason walked, allowing Bode to score, and
Brayton Bowen hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Perry.
Garrett Rusch's RBI single then scored Duran and Mason, giving Indianapolis a 4-0 lead after the first inning. They added two more runs in the second inning with Bode getting hit by a pitch and Duran singling. Mason reached on a fielder's choice, and Bowen's single scored Bode, with
Luke Smock following up with an RBI single to make it 6-0.
Drury managed to get on the board with a sacrifice fly in the third inning, but the Greyhounds responded immediately with a run of their own. The scoring continued for Indianapolis as they added runs in the sixth and sealed their victory with four more runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by Smock's three-RBI triple.
Smock led the lineup with three hits and five RBIs, including a triple. Duran contributed with three hits and one run driven in, while Bode scored three runs and reached base twice.
UP NEXT
The Hounds move on to game nine of the GLVC Championship to face the loser of Missouri S&T and Missouri-St. Louis on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
