QUINCY, Ill. – For the second consecutive day, the Hawks and the Greyhounds split their doubleheader, with both games ending in extra innings on Sunday (Apr. 6). Quincy walked off game one with a final score of 6-5 and a huge Indianapolis eighth inning propelled the Greyhounds in a 13-7 game two win in extras.

GAME ONE

The Hawks struck first in the bottom of the first with a run-scoring single from David Broughton, which was the only run scored on either side through the first three innings.

The Greyhounds finally got to Hawks starter Kyle Manship in the fourth inning, taking the lead with a pair of RBI singles. In the top of the fifth, defensive mistakes came back to hurt the Hawks. With runners at the corners and two outs, a miscommunication between Jake Vitale and Ben Dahlof in the left-center gap allowed two runs to score. The next batter for the Greyhounds sent a line drive out to right field that was dropped by Matt Mateo, allowing a third run to score, making it 5-1 after five innings.

With the Hawks down to their final six outs, they needed to rally trailing by four, and that is what they would do, putting up a four-spot to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. The first run came into score after Harry Fandre drove in a run with a groundout to the right side. The next batter was Joe Huffman, who laid down a bunt despite there being two outs. It worked out in his favor, as the UIndy pitcher sailed the throw down the right field line, allowing Mateo to come around and score. The inning was capped off with a game-tying two-run shot from JD Ortiz over the right field wall. 

With the game tied up at five a piece, Seth West entered the game out of the bullpen for the Hawks, and he kept the Greyhounds off the board despite a single and a catcher interference putting two runners on base. QU went down 1-2-3, sending the game into extra innings.

West stayed out for his second inning of work but could not find the strike zone, and Coach Matt Schissel went to his trusty reliever David Kelliher. With two on and nobody out, the Greyhounds were sitting pretty, looking to score the top half, but they would run themselves out of the inning. UIndy's second baseman swung through a slash play, which led to the baserunners getting caught in no man's land, and after a handful of throws from the Hawks infield, both runners got caught up at second base, and confusion led to not one, but two outs on the basepaths for the Greyhounds. Kelliher struck out the next man with a breaking ball, sending the Hawks to the home half with the momentum to walk it off.

Huffman kicked off the bottom of the eighth with a well-struck ball to dead center field, and the Greyhounds center fielder had a beat on it, but it went in and out of his glove, allowing Huffman to reach third base, representing the winning run. The UIndy coaching staff tried to do what they could to keep the game going by intentionally walking Ortiz and even moving their right fielder into the infield to serve as a fifth infielder. But none of that worked out in their favor, as Vitale sent a fly ball to center field that was deep enough to bring home Huffman and take game three for the Hawks. 

GAME TWO

Since game one went to extra innings, it resulted in game two being seven innings as well, despite it being a scheduled nine-inning game. 

The Greyhounds snagged the lead in the opening frame courtesy of a run-scoring single up the middle from their shortstop. The lead lasted three batters into the bottom of the first, as the Hawks scored two in the home half. Mateo hit his tenth home run of the year with a laser over the right field wall, followed up with another RBI hit from Broughton.

The lead flipped back in favor of Indianapolis, scoring two runs in the third inning with a single to right field driving in a run to go along with an RBI groundout. Quincy answered with a run of their own once again, this time with the help of the Greyhounds, as Dahlof scored on a wild pitch to even things up at three after three innings of play.

Quincy regained the lead in the fifth inning with an RBI single from Fandre that snuck under the glove of the UIndy first baseman, and the Hawks had a 4-3 lead heading into the sixth.

Hawks starter Kade Ruffner kept the Greyhound offense in check through five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks, two strikeouts, and a pair of hit batters. He was pulled after 95 pitches, and the bullpen came in looking to hold the lead. That would not be the case, as the Greyhounds scored three runs in the inning on just one hit. Three walks and a hit by pitch helped Indy in their three-run inning. An insurance run was added with a solo big fly in the right-center gap from the Greyhound's second baseman.

With three outs to score three runs, Byron Blaise got the inning started with a hit-by-pitch. Two batters later, Dahlof reached via walk, bringing the tying run to the plate, and with Broughton at the plate and a 2-2 count, the Hawks third baseman found a pitch he liked and turned on it to tie the game with one swing at 7-7. It was Broughton's eighth home run of the season, and RBIs number 39, 40, and 41.

Despite the momentum being on the Hawk's side heading into extra innings, the Quincy bullpen struggled in the top of the eighth as the game got out of hand for the Hawks. Three pitchers were used in the inning for Quincy, and the Greyhounds scored six runs on two hits, two hit batters, and three walks in the inning. 

The Hawks did not have any late-inning magic left, going down 1-2-3 in the home half, wrapping up game two for a series split between the two squads. 

With a series split, the Greyhounds now move to 16-15 on the season, 9-6 in the GLVC, and for the Hawks, an overall record of 15-19, 8-8 in the GLVC. 

The Hawks will have Monday through Thursday to regroup before they travel to Romeoville, Illinois, to take on the Flyers of Lewis University, who currently sit at the top of the GLVC standings with an overall record of 24-6, and 14-2 in the GLVC. The Flyers have won nine in a row and are coming off four straight wins against the ninth-ranked team in the country, Davenport University. Game one will take place on Friday (Apr. 11), with the first pitch expected to be thrown at 2:00 PM CDT.