Life in the Valley

There 5 games on the diamond Tuesday night involving Missouri Valley Conference baseball teams, and 4 MVC teams managed to earn victories. One other game – Lindenwood at Missouri State – was cancelled due to impending weather. Here are some notes on last night’s action around The Valley.

Indiana State kept chugging along, winning its 7th straight game and 21st in its last 22, with an easy 11-1 victory over Ball State. Mike Sears had a big day for the Sycamores, hitting 2 home runs, driving in 5, and scoring 3 times. Jose Urdaneta went 4-for-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs in the victory. ISU improved to 33-13 overall while Ball State slipped to 30-17. The victory moved the Sycamores up 3 places in D1Baseball’s RPI rankings, pushing Indiana State all the way up to #7. Yet, they’re not in the D1Baseball Top 25. … Evansville scored 2 in the 7th inning to brush aside upset minded Bellarmine (11-38), 6-5. RBIs from Chase Hug and Kip Fougerousse gave UE (29-19) the lead for good. Eric Roberts had 2 hits and scored 3 times, and swiped 2 off Evansville’s 5 stolen bases. Roberts now has 17 homers and 16 steals. Only UNC’s Mac Horvath (20 HR/21 SB); Nebraska’s Bruce Matthews (19/19); Morehead State’s Ryley Preece (18/18) have both more homers and more steals this season than Roberts. … Southern Illinois pitchers had a field day in a 6-5, 10-inning win over SIU-Edwardsville. Easton Dermody (7), Matthew Steidl (8), and Paul Bonzagni (2) combined to strike out 17 batters in the Salukis’ (28-21) victory. Matt Schark’s RBI single won it in the 10th for SIU, which just from memory is at least his 3rd walk-off hit of the season. Bonzagni got the win, his conference-leading 8th. … Valparaiso (18-21) picked up a non-conference win Tuesday over Western Michigan, 9-6. Kyle Schmack went 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 2 doubles, and 3 RBIs. SS Alex Thurston drove in a pair of Beacon runs. Kaleb Krier pitched 4 innings to get the win, allowing 1 run on 3 hits with no walks. … Belmont’s (21-28) recent struggles continued in an 8-7 loss to local rival Lipscomb. Down 8-4 in the 9th, the Bruins scored 3 times to get within 1, but couldn’t complete the rally. Sam Slaughter and Max Blessinger each scored twice, while Blake Barton and Chase Katafias each drove in 2.

Tonight is a lonely night in The Valley, with UIC the only team scheduled to play. The Flames host Purdue.