Life in the Valley

Wednesday saw 6 games involving Missouri Valley Conference teams and for the second straight day, Life in The Valley was good. Valley teams finished Wednesday 5-1, making them 9-2 for the midweek. Here’s a quick recap of Wednesdays action.

Missouri State’s Middle-Inning Power Too Much for SEMO

Missouri State (11-5) got 4th-inning homers from Spencer Nivens and Cody Kelly, then 5th-inning doubles from Jake McCutcheon and Zack Stewart to score 7 times in those frames in a 7-3 win over Southeast Missouri State. Nivens had 3 hits to lead the Bears, while Stewart, Kelly, McCutcheon, and Taeg Gollert all had 2 hits each. Forrest Barnes started and got his first win of the season, pitching 5 innings and allowing 2 runs ( 1 earned) on 5 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts on 86 pitches.

Sycamores Down Illinois to Run Streak to 6

Jorge Pereira picked up a painful but game-winning RBI in the 10th inning against Illinois, getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give Indiana State a 4-3 lead. The Sycamores wasted no time getting insurance runs, as Keegan Watson put the game away with a 3-run homer as Indiana State downed the Illini, 7-3. Jared Spencer got the win to improve to 2-1 on the season, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings to wrap the game up, walking 1 and striking out 5.

Homer Happy Purple Aces Blast Bellarmine

Brent Widder homered as part of Evansville’s 6-run 5th inning, then Ty Rumsey and Eric Roberts hit back-to-back homers in the 6th as Evansville piled on 7 more runs en route to a 14-2 win at Bellarmine. Widder, who drove in 3 with his homer, also had a sac fly in the 6th for a 4-RBI game. Danny Borgstrom went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in the win. Chase Hug also went deep for Evansville. Willard Peterson started on the mound for UE and threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk to go with 3 strikeouts.

SIU Overcomes 5-0 Deficit to Down Southern Indiana

Pier-Olivier Boucher homered, had 3 hits, and drove in 3 runs, and Kaeber Rog collected 3 hits and 4 runs scored as Southern Illinois erased an early 5-0 deficit to defeat Southern Indiana, 16-9. SIU trailed 5-0, 6-1, and 9-6, before scoring 2 runs in the 8th inning and 8 more in the 9th to pull away. Boucher’s 2-run homer finished the scoring. Paul Bonzagni pitched 2 scoreless innings two keep USI at bay late and earn the win.

Redbirds Walk Past Western Illinois

Illinois State scored on 3 bases-loaded walks in a 6-1 defeat of Western Illinois on Wednesday. Luke Lawrence, Blake Stenger, and Noah Rabin drew the run-scoring free passes. Daniel Pacella went 0-for-4 on the day, but scored 3 runs. Western Illinois’ wildness wasn’t just limited to walks as three Salukis were hit by pitches, as well. Thomas Harper gave SIU 5 2/3 shutout innings on 4 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.

Florida Atlantic Runs Away from Bradley Early

Florida Atlantic scored 10 runs in the first 3 innings to build a big lead and the Owls cruised home for a 15-2 win over Bradley. Dylan Goldstein was one of the stars for FAU, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and 10 total bases thanks to 2 homers and a double. FAU outhit Bradley, 12-4. Jackson Ross doubled, homered, and drove in 6 for Florida Atlantic.