Life in the Valley

Illinois State scored 3 runs on a walk, fielder’s choicer, and a passed ball in the 8th inning to rally past 25th-ranked Iowa, 5-3, Tuesday night. The inning started with 3 consecutive singles to load the bases, but the Hawkeyes still clung to their 3-2 lead with 0 outs. Then, Luke Cheng drew a walk to force in the tying run. After Iowa changed pitchers to bring in Luke Llewellyn, Auggie Rasmussen hit one back to Llewellyn, who threw home for the force out, leaving the bases loaded, but with now 1 out, Iowa could get out of the inning with a double play and the game tied.

Illinois State didn’t let that happen, however. With 1 out, Connor Olson hit a grounder to the right side that ended up a 3-1 putout, advancing the runners and Daniel Pacella to score the eventual winning run. The Redbirds (8-11, 1-2) got an insurance run when Cheng scored on a passed ball to make it 5-3.

After a Keaton Anthony single to start the Iowa 9th, Elijah Dale retired the next 3 hitters to get the save and preserve a huge Redbird victory. Pacella went 2-for-4 with a double and Cheng walked twice. Jared Hurt, who threw 3 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief with 0 walks and 2 strikeouts, got the win. It was Dale’s 2nd save.

Iowa, which had won 9 games in a row entering the game, fell to 19-4 on the season. The last time the Hawkeyes had been held to as few as 3 runs was their last loss, March 11 to Texas Tech. Illinois State has now won 2 in a row after dropping 6 of 7.

Elsewhere around The Valley on Tuesday …

Valparaiso 7, Milwaukee 6 (11)
Kaleb Hannahs doubled in the 11th inning to score Alex Ryan and give Valparaiso a 7-6 win over Milwaukee. The Panthers had a chance to take the lead in top of the 11th, loading the bases with 1 out. But Valpo reliever Bobby Nowak worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts and got the win. Nowak fanned 7 in 3 1/3 innings. Hannahs had 3 hits and drove in 2. Brady Renfro homered for Valpo.

Indiana State 8, Purdue 2
The Sycamores also took down a B1G opponent on Tuesday, scoring early and often to build a 6-0 lead then cruising to an 8-2 win. Indiana State lashed 5 doubles in the win, including one by Miguel Rivera in the 3rd that scored 2 runs and gave the Sycamores their 6-0 lead. Randal Diaz, Luis Hernandez, and Keegan Watson all had 2 hits each for Indiana State. Starter Lane Miller went 8 innings to get the win, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits with 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. Miller needed only 98 pitches to record 24 outs (4.08 ppo).

Murray State 12, Austin Peay 6
The Racers scored 8 runs in the 9th to overturn a 5-4 deficit and down the Governors. The 8 runs all scored on 2 homers and 2 doubles. Drew Vogel hit a 3-run homer, Logan Bland belted a 2-run shot, while Carson Garner hit a 2-run double and Dustin Mercer had an RBI double. Bland drove in 4 runs on 2 homers in the win, while Logan McCullough went 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, including a homer. Nine of Murray State’s 13 hits went for extra bases. Allen Roulette got the win with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Southern Illinois 6, UT-Martin 5 (10)
The Salukis scored single runs in 6 different innings to run down UT-Martin, 6-5. Cole Christman doubled and drove in 2 of those runs. SIU got the winning run in the 10th when Matt Schark scored on a UT-Martin throwing error. Nathan Bandy doubled and had 4 hits from the leadoff spot for SIU. Paul Bonzagni finished the game and got the win, striking out 4 over 2 scoreless innings.

Bradley 8, Eastern Illinois 5
Bradley scored 3 runs in the 7th inning to break open a 4-4 tie and down Eastern Illinois, 8-5. As usual, it was the bat of Ryan Vogel that came up big for the Braves, as his 2-run homer gave Bradley a 6-4 lead. It was Vogel’s second homer of the game. He hit a solo shot to lead off the game for the Braves in the 1st. Vogel, who entered last weekend leading The Valley in average, third in on-base percentage, and 5th in OPS, is hitting .425 with 3 HRs and 15 RBIs. He also currently leads the Braves in OPS (1.097) and hits (34). Bradley hit 5 homers in the win, as Carson Husmann hit two (4 for the season) and Connor O’Brien hit his 6th of the year. The Braves had hit just 16 homers for the season prior to last night.

Illinois-Chicago 10, Western Illinois 6
Western Illinois were victims of Conn artists Tuesday, as the UIC duo of Clay and Cole Conn took down the Leathernecks. After Clay Conn led off the game by reaching on an error in the 1st, Cole Conn hit a 2-run homer that gave UIC the lead for good. The Flames scored 4 in the 1st and never looked back en route to a 10-6 win. In the 5th inning, Clay Conn’s 2-run single gave UIC an 8-3 lead. Clay and Cole Conn combined to go 3-for-7 on the night with 3 runs and 4 RBIs. DH Carson Roberts also drove in 3 runs. Charlie Szykowny and A.J. Henkle homered for UIC, which also stole 5 bases in the win.

Oral Roberts 4, Missouri State 0
Missouri State was the lone Valley team to fall Tuesday night, 4-0 to ORU. Six ORU pitchers combined to pitch a 5-hit shutout, with 5 walks and 14 strikeouts. Starter Jacob Widener got the parade started for Oral Roberts, going 4 innings and allowing just 3 hits with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. Five relievers combined to fan 7 and allow just 2 more hits. Three of the 5 Missouri State hits were doubles.