Life in the Valley

Bears Compound Oral Roberts’ Valley Problems in 10-6 Win

After a tremendous weekend that saw Missouri Valley Conference baseball teams log a 22-10 record against non-conference competition, 4 Valley teams took things to the next level Tuesday, as the conference went unbeaten with no shortage of offense.

Missouri State 10, Oral Roberts 6

ORU (1-3) is probably sick of welcoming Valley teams to Tulsa after tonight’s loss on the heels of losing its opening weekend series to Evansville. Tonight, the Bears jumped out to a 10-0 lead after 5 innings and held on for a 10-6 victory to move to 3-1 on the season.

Bears DH Caden Bogenpohl hit 2-run homers in both the 1st and 2nd innings. He drew 2 walks and finished 3-for-3 with 3 runs.

RF Zack Stewart went 2-for-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, while LF Jake McCutcheon went 2-for-3 with 2 runs. Tyler Epstein also homered for Missouri State.

Kaleb Thomas got the win, pitching 4 innings of 2-hit, scoreless relief with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Belmont 6, North Alabama 2

The Bruins (4-1) stayed hot to start the season and won their first true road game of ’24 with a 6-2 victory at North Alabama. Mason Landers went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, including a 2-run single in the 7th that gave the Bruins a 4-1 lead. Kaden Galason hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to make it 6-1 and seemingly put the game out of reach.

But the Lions (1-3) loaded the bases with 0 outs in the bottom of the 8th, putting the tying run in the on-deck circle. Belmont turned to reliever Jordan Zuger, who got out of the jam with 2 pop ups and a strikeout, as North Alabama failed to score. Zuger, a 6’3″ righty from Hendersonville, Tenn., was a starter in ’23, going 2-6 with an 8.05 ERA. But his relief work today perhaps turned over a new leaf for Belmont going forward.

Bruins catcher Landon Godsey also probably saved a run in the 3rd inning, when he threw out Jonathan Lane at second base trying to steal. The next 2 Lions batters reached, but Bruins starter Joe Ruzicka (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K) fanned Jackson Ferrigno to end the threat.

Southern Illinois 14, UT-Martin 11

SIU took to the road again and stayed perfect on the season, beating Tennessee-Martin, 14-11. RF Jordan Bach, a transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M where he hit .411 last season with 14 HRs and 65 RBIs, is finding D-1 pitching to his liking if today was any indication. Bach went 3-for-4 with 4 runs, 3 RBIs, a triple, and 2 walks in the win. Bach is 8-for-16 (.500) on the season with 9 runs and 7 RBIs through just 4 games, along with 7 walks and 2 stolen bases. He’s struck out just once in 24 plate appearances.

Steven Loden also had a big day for SIU, hitting a 3-run homer in the 1st and walking to force in a run in the 3rd, helping the Salukis erase a 6-3 deficit. Down 10-9 after 6, SIU scored 5 in the 7th to put the game away. Bach’s 3-run triple keyed that rally.

Senior Mike Hansell pitched a perfect 9th to get the save.

Evansville 16, Bellarmine 6

UE (3-1) pounded out 16 runs on 16 hits, including a 9-run 5th inning, to overwhelm Bellarmine, 16-6. Mark Shallenberger, Cal McGinnis, and Kip Fougerousse all had 3 hits each for the Purple Aces. Shallenberger and Fougerousse also scored 3 runs each. McGinnis and Harrison Taubert drove in 3 apiece. Evansville had 8 extra-base hits, including 6 doubles.

Evansville used 6 pitchers in the win, with Ethan Bell getting the win after replacing starter Elias Hachem and throwing 3 innings, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit with 0 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Through 4 games, UE is hitting a robust .331, compared to just .231 for its opponents. UE has outscored its opponents, 47-27, and lashed 23 extra-base hits while allowing just 8. Entering play Tuesday, only East Tennessee State, Troy, and Purdue (17) had more doubles than UE now has (16).