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INDIANAPOLIS – In a rematch of last year’s title game, Drury University turned in the same outcome as it successfully defended its Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Championship Sunday with a 7-2 victory over Quincy University at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. The win gives the Panthers back-to-back titles, their third conference crown overall, and the league’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
As the No. 7 seed in the eight-team bracket, Drury becomes the highest seed to ever win the GLVC Championship, besting the previous mark set by sixth-seeded Bellarmine in 2013, which coincidently came against Drury in its first of three straight title game appearances.
The Panthers (31-22-1) fell behind 2-0 in the second inning when JP Meyer gave top-seeded Quincy (39-15) a jolt with a two-run homerun to left field, scoring teammate Dominic Miles.
Drury took one of those runs back in the third and then tied it up in the top of the sixth. The door blew wide open in the top half of the eighth inning as Drury’s hero on Saturday, catcher Tyler Arthur, bombed a three-run shot over the right-centerfield fence just hours after he sealed the win for the Panthers last night with a grand slam in the same inning against Southern Indiana. It was the lone hit of the day for Arthur as he finished 1-for-4 with 3 RBI.
The Panthers got it done by committee on the mound as head coach Scott Nasby used four pitchers to secure the conference crown. Luke Burnidge went the first 2 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, while Austin Simms slowed the pace with just two hits over 3 1/3 innings of work. Austin Faulconer earned the win to move to 7-5 on the season, following two-hit ball over 2.0 innings pitched. Gage Jacobs entered in the ninth inning to seal the victory.
Quincy ace Mark Niebrugge nearly went the distance for the Hawks, giving up eight hits and five unearned runs, while fanning three batters over 8.0 innings. Teddy Rule pitched the final inning, but it was Niebrugge with the loss, falling to 7-2 on the season.
In addition to Arthur, Drury’s Ryan Wadkins and Dallas Williams shined at the plate, combining to go 5-for-8 with 3 RBI by hitting first and second in the lineup, respectively.
With Drury’s automatic qualifying bid secured, the remainder of the GLVC baseball teams in contention for postseason berths will learn their fate this evening as the NCAA Championships Selection Show airs at 10 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.