EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Top-seed Indianapolis needed only five innings to earn its first-ever GLVC Softball Championship Sunday, earning an 8-0 victory over No. 2 Illinois Springfield at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.

Samantha Krcelich put the final exclamation point on a GLVC Championship weekend that saw a combined total of 45 home runs leave the yard. The Greyhounds’ freshman outfielder sent a solo shot to leftfield in the top of the second inning, and was then matched by teammate Cori Eckerle four batters later. Eckerle’s bomb was a two-run shot, scoring Alexa Alfaro from first. Krcelich responded once again in the top of the fifth, this time a three-run homer to extended UIndy’s lead to 8-0, which would become the winning score after GLVC Pitcher of the Year Jennifer DeMotte struck out the first to UIS batters, allowed one on base due to a fielding error, and then popped Sarah Gray up for the game-winner.

DeMotte was superb in the final, tossing five innings of one-hit softball. The shutout is the 17th of the year for the junior, who struck out nine in the victory to push her record to 34-5 on the season.

The Prairie Stars’ lone hit came on a double in the bottom of the fourth off the bat of Samantha Inman.

UIndy (49-7) was competing in its second GLVC Championship final in school history, having lost the 1990 title to Ashland, 7-5.

With the victory, Indianapolis earned the GLVC's automatic bid to the NCAA DII Midwest Region Tournament. Illinois Springfield (34-20) will await its regional bid when the NCAA announces its championship field Monday at 10 a.m. ET.