BOX SCORES AND PLAY-BY-PLAY:
USI 9, Indianapolis 6
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 11th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team erased a 3-0 first inning deficit and defeated the University of Indianapolis, 9-6, to begin NCAA Division II Midwest Regional play at the USI Baseball Field in Evansville, Indiana. USI, the top seed and regional host, set a school record for wins by raising its record to 44-12 in 2010, while UIndy, the sixth seed, fell to 34-21.
The Greyhounds jumped out to a good start in the top of the first inning. The 3-0 lead was short lived because the Screaming Eagles tied the score, 3-3, in the bottom half of the inning. USI continued to roll in the bottom of the second with another three-spot to lead, 6-3.
The Eagles would go on to add insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth and seventh before settling for the 9-6 final.
After a rough first inning on the mound, USI junior right-hander Trevor Leach (Danville, Indiana) shutdown the Greyhounds to get his 10th win of the year. Leach (10-1) allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, while striking out two in 6.1 innings of work.
The 10th win of the year puts Leach one win away from tying the single-season record of 11 that he set last season and three away from tying the USI all-time mark of 25.
USI's bullpen closed the door on UIndy in the final 2.2 innings. Junior right-hander Dan Marcacci (Jupiter, Florida) got Leach and the Eagles out of a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh and allowed a run in the eighth, while senior right-hander/shortstop Wandy Rosario recorded his 11th save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
At the plate, Rosario reached base three times and scored three runs, while junior catcher Dylan Mooney (St. Charles, Missouri) moved closer to the USI single-season record for RBIs by driving runs number 60 and 61. Mooney is three RBIs away from tying the USI single-season record of 64, set by Jason Krack in 1994.
Second-seeded Grand Valley State University started the regional with a 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Ashland University, while third-seeded Northern Kentucky University posted a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Wayne State University.
The Midwest Regional continues Friday at 11 a.m. when UIndy plays Ashland, followed by USI against WSU. Friday's action will conclude with GVSU versus NKU at 7 p.m. The regional runs through Sunday.
