Substitute players make a difference
By Kim Puckett | News Editor
The latest NCAA poll recently ranked the University of Indianapolis baseball team at 29th in the nation as the ‘Hounds begin GLVC conference play. The team is ranked first in several conference categories—on-base percentage, runs scored and strikeouts.
UIndy faced Lewis University March 27 and 28 in a weekend series that put the ‘Hounds record at 21-10, and 9-3 in the GLVC.
In the first game on March 28, UIndy saw the Flyers score in the first inning of the game. It was in the fourth inning that the ‘Hounds finally scored a run to tie the game at 1-1.
UIndy would score two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, pushing the score to 3-1. Neither teams would score again for the rest of the game, giving the ‘Hounds a 3-1 win.
The ‘Hounds would come back in the second game to defeat Lewis, 9-2. During that game, freshman Andrew Armour hit his fourth homerun of the season, aiding in the Greyhound win.
Stretching into eight innings, the ‘Hounds pulled away with an 11-1 win on March 27. But Lewis would come back in the second game of the day to defeat UIndy 7-4.
On March 25, the ‘Hounds used its bats to set a record for runs, defeating Kentucky State, 17-2 and 29-2. Head coach Gary Vaught said that the large run gap gave players off the bench a chance to contribute.
“We got to get kids in there that come to practice and work hard every day,” Vaught said.
Senior outfielder Casey Potter attributed some of the ‘Hounds recent success to the team’s replacements.
“The last two weeks, our subs off the bench have come in and done very well,” Potter said.
Junior third basemen Kyle Anderson did just that by coming off the bench to hit a home run and a grand slam.
“I believe that has set our team apart from others, our bench players are just as good and can come in if someone is hurt or if they are needed to help in a deciding moment of the game,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson he achieved one of his life goals by hitting a grand slam.
“When I saw the pitch come in I was just trying to make contact and put it in play, but luckily I got a good pitch to hit and it ended up being a grand slam,” Anderson said. “It was a great feeling because it wasn’t something I have ever accomplished in my life and just being able to accomplish that was awesome.”
Vaught said because of losing players to injury like senior Justin Russell and junior Travis Capps, many players have had to step up to assume roles.
“You are as good as your weakest player,” Vaught said. “We have had to put together a makeshift line-up with Russell and Capps hurt, but our kids off the bench have done a great job.”
With conference play underway, Vaught also said the team has little margin for error.
“With only 24 conference games this year instead of the 32 we’ve had in the past, we can’t have bad weekends,” Vaught said. “We now have a target on our back being nationally ranked. We have to do a lot of things better.”
Some improvements Vaught suggested for the team are base running, better bunting and scoring runners on base.
The coach said the team’s main strengths will also be key to conference success.
“Our pitching and hitting have been there all year,” Vaught said. “This is a unique ball club because we have young kids playing hard and injured players that are working hard to get back.”
*Results for the game against Tiffin University on March 31 were not available as of The Reflector press time.
