The eighth-ranked University of Southern Indiana opened the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional play by winning a rain-delayed 5-3 victory over the University of Indianapolis Thursday evening at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles go to 42-11 overall, while UIndy 30-24.
Top-seeded USI advances to play third-seeded Drury University at 3 p.m. Friday. Drury lost its regional opener to Wayne State University, 1-0, in the second game Thursday. Second-seeded Grand Valley State University began the regional by winning a 9-4 decision over fifth-seeded Lake Erie College.
The Eagles struck first in the bottom of the fifth when they scored twice on three hits and sacrifice fly. Senior second baseman Caleb Eickhoff (Evansville, Indiana) knocked in the first run with a squibbler toward no-man’s land near second base that allowed a hustling sophomore centerfielder Hamilton Carr (Evansville, Indiana) to score all the way from second base.
USI pushed the lead to 2-0 when sophomore rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) drove in senior leftfielder Brad Wannemuehler (Evansville, Indiana) with a sacrifice fly.
After the Greyhounds responded with a tally of their own in the top of the sixth, the Eagles bounced back to increase the lead to three runs on a RBI-double by sophomore catcher Ryan Bertram (Zionsville, Indiana) and a sacrifice fly by Carr.
USI would go on to add a needed insurance run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by sophomore first baseman Andrew Cope (Evansville, Indiana) and go on to end the game with a 5-3 victory.
The rains made an appearance in the bottom of the seventh and cut short the outing by senior right-handed starter Jonathon Wandling (Evansville, Indiana). Wandling (9-1) picked up the win after going seven innings and allowing one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Wandling, who did not allow a hit through the first four innings, became USI’s first nine game winner in 2014.
USI senior right-hander Brandon Shaw (Cuba, Illinois) took over in the eighth, but allowed two runs and faced only four batters before junior right-hander Andrew Mercer (Mount Pearl, Newfoundland) finished the inning by getting the Greyhounds to ground into a double play.
In the ninth, junior shortstop/closer Matt Chavarria (Carlsbad, New Mexico) ended the Greyhounds’ hopes by setting them down in order. The save was Chavarria’s 12 of the season, closing in on the USI single-season record of 17 set by Shawn Larson in 2008.
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