Collegiate Update: Eads leads Greyhounds to Great Lakes Valley Conference championship

Cheyenne Eads was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year then led the University of Indianapolis to the conference postseason tournament championship.

Eads, a Shelbyville graduate, was the only pitcher the Greyhounds used to defeat Maryville (4-2), Missouri S&T (5-1), Drury (2-1) and Illinois Springfield (2-1) to capture the program’s fourth tournament championship— and first since 2021.

Eads had a 1.25 earned run average over 28 innings to qualify the Greyhounds (38-20) for the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament that starts Thursday.

Indianapolis is the No. 7 seed in the Midwest bracket. It is the program’s 17th consecutive tournament appearance.

The Greyhounds open the tournament at No. 2 seed Tiffin University. The other two teams in the bracket are Hillsdale and Lewis.

Eads, 23-10 this season, is the eighth Greyhound to be named GLVC Freshman of the Year. She also was named Third Team All-Conference.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

Kylee Edwards

The Shelbyville graduate finished the final series of the regular season without a hit but reached base twice via walk and hit by pitch.

Mississippi State won the first two games of the series with in-state rival Ole Miss, 3-1 Thursday and 3-0 Friday. The Rebels won game three Saturday.

Mississippi State (37-16, 13-11 SEC) is the No. 8 seed for the SEC Tournament and will face No. 9 seed LSU Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the University of Georgia.

Karissa Hamilton

The Shelbyville graduate had a pinch-hit single Friday in the University of Kentucky’s 7-6 loss at Texas.

The Longhorns swept the series from the Wildcats (29-25, 7-17 SEC).

Kentucky is the No. 13 seed for the SEC Tournament and will face the host Georgia Bulldogs at 1 p.m. today.

Katie Mathies

DePauw lost a pair of games Saturday to Denison that resulted in a tie between the two programs, who will share the North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Mathies, a Shelbyville graduate, had two hits, including a double, in a 3-0 loss in game one. She went 0-for-2 in game two and had a walk in a 2-1 loss.

The doubleheader sweep earned Denison the tournament’s top seed and the hosting duties for the postseason tournament in Granville, Ohio.

DePauw is 21-13 (12-2 NCAC) and will face Hiram in its tournament opener this week.

Abby Eberhardt

The Triton Central graduate went 1-for-3 for Manchester in game two of a doubleheader sweep Wednesday at Albion College.

The Spartans won game one 5-0, then secured the sweep with a 4-2 victory in game two.

Manchester closed out its regular-season schedule Saturday with a doubleheader sweep at Berea College. 

The Spartans won game one 2-0. Eberhardt had a double, scored a run, and drove in a run. In game two’s 7-1 victory, she went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Manchester finished the regular season 21-15 (10-8 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) and will begin the conference postseason tournament Thursday.

Erica Henry

The Shelbyville graduate helped Indiana University Columbus softball secure its first two postseason victories.

IU Columbus lost its River States Conference Tournament opener Thursday in South Charleston, West Virginia, to Oakland City, 5-2. Henry pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and two walks over six innings.

On Friday, Henry pitched another complete game, allowing seven hits and one walk in a 6-3 win over Shawnee State University. The win was the first postseason victory for the program.

The Red Pride followed that win with another elimination game victory over IU Southeast, 8-6. Henry went the distance, surrendering seven hits and six walks while striking out three.

Oakland City then defeated IU Columbus again Sunday, 10-2, to bring an end to the season.

Henry finished the season 10-16 for IU Columbus (19-31) and was named Third Team All-Conference.

Ethan Lambert

The Shelbyville graduate competed for the University of Indianapolis at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

He finished 20th in the shot put (39 feet, 8.75 inches), 10th in the discus (135-11) and 20th in the hammer throw (136-6).

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