Life in the Valley

Long-awaited Opening Day finally arrived today and 9 of the 10 Missouri Valley Conference teams saw action, with conference teams going 4-5 (likely 4-6, see below). Here’s a quick recap of the day:

UIC 10, Saint Mary’s 8, Game 1
The Flames rallied from 7-4 down to beat the Gaels in the season opener, which was also the first game of a doubleheader in Moraga, Calif. Max Farfan homered as part of a 3-hit day, scoring twice and driving in 2. Five UIC batters had multiple hits in the win. Ryan Karst got the last 4 outs for the save.

UIC 6, Saint Mary’s 5, Game 2
Break up the Flames! UIC is 2-0 after 1 day thanks to a 1-run win in the nightcap. 3B Charle Szykowny’s 3-run homer in the 5th inning gave UIC the lead for good. Ryan Nagelbach also doubled and homered in the victory.

Southern Illinois 9, Wofford 4
SIU did damage early and often to score a 9-4 win at Wofford. The Salukis pounded Wofford starter Matthew Marchal for 7 runs in 1+ innings, making a laugher out of it early. 2B Steven Loden homered and drove in 4 runs for SIU. Six of Wofford’s 7 hits were singles. Ben Chapman went 5 innings to get the win.

Illinois State 13, Austin Peay State 2
The Redbirds also had an easy time of it on Friday, pounding the Governors, 13-2, in Clarksville, Tenn. DH Noah Rabin drove in 3 runs, while 3B Greg Nichols had 3 hits and scored thrice. Derek Salata threw 4 innings of 1-hit, shutout baseball to get the win. What Clarksville has in great fast food choices – Cookout, Krystal, Zaxby’s, Fazoli’s – it lacked in baseball prowess on this day for the home side.

Troy 12, Evansville 7
UE (0-1) saw a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning turn into a 10-2 deficit at Troy. The Purple Aces fought back a bit late but fell to the Trojans, 12-7. Catcher Brendan Hord homered and had 3 hits, driving in 3 runs, to lead UE’s offensive attack. Leadoff man and 2B Kip Fougerousse hit a pair of solo homers in the loss. Troy had 4 homers and 7 extra-base hits total, chasing UE starter Nick Smith in the 5th inning. Smith gave up 7 runs (all earned) on 7 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He did fan 5 with no walks.

Iowa 6, Indiana State 2 (11)
Iowa CF Kyle Huckstorf hit a walk-off grand slam as the Hawkeyes finished off the pesky Sycamores in the opener for both clubs at Port Charlotte, Fla. ISU got 2 hits each from Luis Hernandez and Josue Urdaneta. Indiana State got through the game with just 2 pitchers. Reliever Connor Fenlong had thrown 5 innings of scoreless relief before Iowa’s 11th-inning rally.

Kansas 5, Valparaiso 1
In Corpus Christi, Texas, Brady Renfro homered for the Beacons’ only run in a season-opening loss to Kansas. Jansen Reeder and Chase Jans each drove in 2 runs for the Jayhawks. Valpo reliever Nathan Chasey worked 4 innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts.

North Florida 3, Murray State 2 (10)
Pinch-hitter Jakob Runnels’ singled home the winning run in the 10th inning to give UNF a win over the Racers. Murray State had taken a 2-0 lead in the 4th inning on CF Seth Gardner’s homer. Starter Jacob Pennington went 6 innings for Murray State, striking out 8 on 91 pitches.

UL-Monroe 7, Bradley 0
The Braves were blanked on Opening Day at Monroe. Ryan Vogel had 2 hits and a walk for Bradley, but was stranded on the base paths once and was caught on the front end of a double play 2 other times. Kade Dupont had 3 hits for ULM, scoring twice.

UT-Martin at Belmont, postponed.
The Bruins will play 2 against UTM on Saturday, with games starting at 1 and 3:30 Central.

Missouri State at Cal Poly, late
This one ended after the Live in The Valley staff’s bed time, lol. Poly had a 14-3 lead in the 7th inning, after breaking open a close game with 9 runs in the inning.