By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer
A former Perry Meridian High School pitcher shared in a historic collegiate sports event Saturday at the University of Indianapolis.
Jordan Tackett threw a no-hitter, and softball pitcher Morgan Foley of Louisville, Ky., hurled a no-hitter within a two-hour span on nearly adjacent fields against the same foe, McKendree University.
Tacket missed a perfect game with a catcher’s interference call and a walked batter in the first inning, which ended with a double play. He walked a second batter in the fifth.
He threw only 73 pitches as his teammates scored five runs on five hits to defeat the Bearcats in the second game of the double-header. He retired 11 consecutive batters in one stretch.
Tackett (3-3, 3.33 ERA) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row.
When he struck out McKendree’s last batter to seal the no-hitter, his teammates rushed the mound in celebration of the Greyhounds’ third baseball no-hitter since 1965. UIndy upped its record to 17-13 (13-7).
“They tried to rip my jersey off,” Tackett said. “I got a hug from each guy; it was exciting.”
UIndy’s offense enabled him to close out the no-hitter with ease and very little pressure.
“I actually felt more relaxed because we had a five-run lead,” Tackett said. “The adrenaline started flowing on that last out.”
Tackett had excellent placement of his pitches and relied on a high fastball that had the Bulldogs swinging away. He started 11 games last year as a freshman and was 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA.
He was helped by another Southsider, catcher Alex Ritchie of Roncalli (.261 batting average), who had two hits in three at-bats and scored two runs.
Also hailing from Roncalli is Colin Hawk (.288, 18 RBIs and 21 runs.
Jake Sprinke, a right-handed pitcher, is 5-1 with a 2.93 ERA. Catcher Brendan Dudas (Perry Meridian) has played in five games. Greenwood products Jonathan Bowen, a freshman, has appeared in two games, and Martin Underwood is a freshman infielder.
On the softball diamond, Foley (22-3 with a 1.13 ERA) and the No. 10-ranked Greyhounds (27-7, 14-2) dominated McKendree 8-0 in the first game of a twin bill at Baumgartner Field.
The right-handed pitcher struck out eight and walked three for her second no-hitter at UIndy. No base runner got past second. She was the 2014 NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year and is among 25 candidates for National Player of the Year.
The team has three athletes from area high schools.
Former Center Grove standout Natalie Lalich is batting .373 with seven homers and 35 RBIs. She played two seasons at Indiana University and started in 21 games last year for the Hoosiers. She drove in six runs in a game against Texas-Arlington. She was on the Trojans’ 2009 state championship team was the 2012 Miss Indiana Softball runner-up.
Perry Meridian alumnus Katie Kelly is hitting .316 and has driven in 35 runs.
Jessica Vleck, a utility player and pitcher from Greenwood, is in her fourth year with the Greyhounds.
(UIndy assistant athletic director Kyle Piercy and assistant athletic director for media relations Ryan Thorpe contributed to this story.)
Senior staff writer
A former Perry Meridian High School pitcher shared in a historic collegiate sports event Saturday at the University of Indianapolis.
Jordan Tackett threw a no-hitter, and softball pitcher Morgan Foley of Louisville, Ky., hurled a no-hitter within a two-hour span on nearly adjacent fields against the same foe, McKendree University.
Tacket missed a perfect game with a catcher’s interference call and a walked batter in the first inning, which ended with a double play. He walked a second batter in the fifth.
He threw only 73 pitches as his teammates scored five runs on five hits to defeat the Bearcats in the second game of the double-header. He retired 11 consecutive batters in one stretch.
Tackett (3-3, 3.33 ERA) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row.
When he struck out McKendree’s last batter to seal the no-hitter, his teammates rushed the mound in celebration of the Greyhounds’ third baseball no-hitter since 1965. UIndy upped its record to 17-13 (13-7).
“They tried to rip my jersey off,” Tackett said. “I got a hug from each guy; it was exciting.”
UIndy’s offense enabled him to close out the no-hitter with ease and very little pressure.
“I actually felt more relaxed because we had a five-run lead,” Tackett said. “The adrenaline started flowing on that last out.”
Tackett had excellent placement of his pitches and relied on a high fastball that had the Bulldogs swinging away. He started 11 games last year as a freshman and was 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA.
He was helped by another Southsider, catcher Alex Ritchie of Roncalli (.261 batting average), who had two hits in three at-bats and scored two runs.
Also hailing from Roncalli is Colin Hawk (.288, 18 RBIs and 21 runs.
Jake Sprinke, a right-handed pitcher, is 5-1 with a 2.93 ERA. Catcher Brendan Dudas (Perry Meridian) has played in five games. Greenwood products Jonathan Bowen, a freshman, has appeared in two games, and Martin Underwood is a freshman infielder.
On the softball diamond, Foley (22-3 with a 1.13 ERA) and the No. 10-ranked Greyhounds (27-7, 14-2) dominated McKendree 8-0 in the first game of a twin bill at Baumgartner Field.
The right-handed pitcher struck out eight and walked three for her second no-hitter at UIndy. No base runner got past second. She was the 2014 NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year and is among 25 candidates for National Player of the Year.
The team has three athletes from area high schools.
Former Center Grove standout Natalie Lalich is batting .373 with seven homers and 35 RBIs. She played two seasons at Indiana University and started in 21 games last year for the Hoosiers. She drove in six runs in a game against Texas-Arlington. She was on the Trojans’ 2009 state championship team was the 2012 Miss Indiana Softball runner-up.
Perry Meridian alumnus Katie Kelly is hitting .316 and has driven in 35 runs.
Jessica Vleck, a utility player and pitcher from Greenwood, is in her fourth year with the Greyhounds.
(UIndy assistant athletic director Kyle Piercy and assistant athletic director for media relations Ryan Thorpe contributed to this story.)
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