Sycamores, Bruins, Beacons Have Power-5 Matchups
It’s already the second weekend of the 2024 college baseball season (no season is as anticipated yet zips past so quickly as college baseball), and for the Missouri Valley Conference, it’s another chance to prove itself against quality competition.
Valley teams are 27-12 so far in 2024, and the majority of the conference has 1 loss or fewer. Valley teams already own 3 wins over 2023 College World Series participant Oral Roberts, as well as wins over teams from the ACC, Big East, and Big 12. As we begin this weekend’s preview with the eastern half of the conference, we find more tough competition awaits.
Indiana State (4-0)
(Friday vs. Michigan State; Saturday/Sunday vs. Marshall)
The Sycamores take up residence in Port Charlotte, Fla., for the weekend for 3 games in 3 days. Up first are the Michigan State Spartans out of the Big 10, who sit 1-3. Sparty’s lone win was its season opener against Merrimack (10-3). Losses followed to Seton Hall (10-4), Lehigh (2-0), and Ball State (4-1).
Indiana State won’t wow you with hitting right now, carrying a .256 average and .707 team OPS. But when you’re only allowing 2.5 runs per game, haven’t allowed a single homer, and your pitchers have walked but 7 and fanned 35, how much offense do you need? Luke Hayden and Jacob Pruitt didn’t allow a run combined in 12 innings last weekend, while walking 3 and striking out 14. ISU’s team ERA is a paltry 1.50 – insanely good for major college baseball.
Randal Diaz leads the Sycamores with a .400 average, while Dominic Listi is hitting .364 with a team-best 1.133 OPS. Indiana State will be looking for veterans Grant Magill (.200), Adam Pottinger (.143), and Mike Sears (.073) to find their stride this weekend.
Michigan State’s offense is also struggling, as the Spartans are hitting just .241 as a team. They’ve hit 5 homers, off the bats of 5 different players. Sam Busch leads qualifying players in OPS at 1.134 (.333, 1 HR), while Nick Williams (.400) is tops in average. Starters Aaron Missoula, Nick Powers, Joseph Dzierwa, and Nolan Higgins have combined to throw 20 innings, allowing 22 hits, 7 earned run, 6 walks, with 25 strikeouts.
Marshall (0-4) will see both the Sycamores and Spartans twice this weekend. The Thundering Herd dropped all 4 to College of Charleston opening weekend.
Evansville (3-1)
(Friday, Saturday, Sunday at New Orleans)
UE surprised some folks by taking 2 of 3 at Oral Roberts on opening weekend. Then, the Purple Aces shellacked Bellarmine, 16-6, in the mid-week as they head to New Orleans next to battle the Privateers.
The Purple Aces are hammering the ball at a .331 batting average clip, with 23 extra-base hits in 4 games. Their 16 doubles are tied with Liberty and Virginia for 6th-most in the country (leaders Austin Peay, Longwood, and Troy each have 18). More impressively, Evansville has posted a team OPS of 1.020 so far. Simon Scherry (.538) and Cal McGinnis (.529), the reigning MVC Player of the Week, are hitting above .500, and 4 other Purple Aces are hitting at least .313. Evansville hitters have drawn 25 walks and been hit 11 times.
UE pitchers have worked to a 4.63 ERA so far, and plenty of them are getting experience. Evansville has sent 13 different pitchers to the mound already this season. Kenton Deverman is coming off an impressive first start in which he went 6 innings, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits with 0 walks and 8 strikeouts.
Southland Conference member UNO is struggling at the plate, hitting just .220 with a .741 OPS. They’ve drawn 32 walks in 4 games, but Privateers hitters have also fanned 46 times, an average of 10.5 Ks per game. UNO enters this series at 2-2, having taken 2 of 3 from Georgia State last weekend and then losing a tough 15-10 decision to Southern Miss on Wednesday. This is UNO’s 5th straight home game at Maestri Field. The Privateers won’t leave their friendly confines until their 12th game, a road trip to Mobile, Ala., to take on Alabama A&M.
Victor Castillo (.333, 1 HR, 4 RBIs) and Mitchell Sanford (.286-1-5) have been the top hitting threats for UNO so far. Starter Caleb Seroski turned in 5 scoreless innings in his first appearance, giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and striking out 4. Like UE, it’s been a parade of pitchers to the mound for UNO, as well – the Privateers have sent 16 hurlers to the bump already in 2024.
Belmont (4-1)
(Friday, Saturday, Sunday at #21 South Carolina)
After taking 3 of 4 from visiting Eastern Michigan on opening weekend, the Bruins earned another win on the road Tuesday by a 6-2 count at North Alabama. No disrespect to the Eagles or Lions, but as Jim Ross would say, business is about to pick up for Belmont as the Bruins take on 21st-ranked South Carolina in Columbia. The Gamecocks are 5-0 with an opening weekend sweep over Miami-Ohio, whom they outscored 30-5, then wins this week over Winthrop (12-2) and Queens (13-3). And while South Carolina is a big step up for the Bruins, Belmont is probably the best team South Carolina will have yet faced, too.
Belmont’s stats won’t wow opponents. The Bruins are only hitting .248 with a .742 team OPS. Belmont’s team ERA is 5.27. In the field, Belmont has committed 9 errors in 5 games. But somehow, the Bruins are finding ways to win and that’s all that matters. Max Jones (.400-0-3) leads the Bruins in average, while Landon Godsey has a pair of solo homers and a .333 average. Godsey leads the Bruins in total bases with 12 and is slugging .800. At catcher, he’s thrown out 3 of the 5 would-be base stealers who have tried to run against him.
On the mound, Will Pryor returns and turned in a solid opening outing last weekend, going 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to pick up a win. Joe Ruzicka, the midweek starter in the win at North Alabama, gave Belmont a big lift with 6 strong innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits.
South Carolina’s numbers are a bit video-game like so far. The Gamecocks are hitting .313, nearly double their opponents (.159). They’ve out hit opponents, 46-23. The Gamecocks are averaging 11 runs per game and have a team OPS of 1.020, compared to a mere .550 for their opponents. South Carolina pitchers have a 2.02 team ERA and 1.05 WHIP, while striking out 48 in 40 innings. Gamecock pitchers have allowed just 8 extra-base hits this season.
Murray State (3-1)
(Friday, Saturday, Sunday at UL-Monroe)
How I wound up down here in Monroe
Is somethin’ I’m never gonna figure out it’s true
Those Jerry Reed lyrics from “You Took All the Ramblin’ Out of Me,” may not totally apply to the Racers, who know exactly why they’ve wound up in Monroe this weekend and that’s to try and extend a solid 3-1 start to the season. The Racers swept Purdue-Fort Wayne last weekend before dropping a tough 8-7 decision to Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday.
The Racers will get a chance to avenge that loss on April 16 at home, but for this weekend, the Warhawks (2-2) have already gotten a dose of Valley flavor this season, dropping 2 of 3 at home last weekend to Missouri State. On Tuesday, ULM evened its record with a 13-3 win over Grambling.
Offensively, Murray’s numbers so far are striking. Carson Garner leads the Racers with a .571 average (8-for-14), while Jonathan Hogart is hitting .500 (7-for-14, 8 runs). Drew Vogel (.457) and Taylor Howell (.429) have been no slouches so far, either. The Racers have hit 7 HRs and are slugging .565 as a team, with a 1.006 OPS, compared to an opponents’ OPS of just .635. Garner has 4 HRs and 9 RBIs already. He’s currently sailing along with a 2.113 OPS.
Murray State’s starting pitching has been mostly excellent. Bryce Valero, Cade Vernon, and Kane Elmy have combined to pitch 14.2 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits with 5 walks and 15 strikeouts. Ryan Fender gave up 2 runs in 3.2 innings in his start, but 7 of the 11 outs he got were strikeouts. Murray pitchers have fanned 44 in 35 innings with just 14 walks.
ULM is hitting .274 as a team with 5 HRs, 32 runs in 4 games, and 33 walks, leading to a .941 team OPS. The Warhawks can also run. ULM has stolen 13 bases this season in 14 attempts. And they’ll catch and throw, too. The Warhawks have just 1 error this season. Colby Lunsford has 2 homers and a .385 average, while Michelle Artzberger leads the Warhawks with 3 doubles.
Pitching … well … that’s a different story. ULM has a team ERA of 7.15, allowing 27 runs on 27 hits in 34 innings, with 25 walks (and 42 strikeouts). They’ve also hit 10 batters. Three of ULM’s first 4 starters have ERAs of at least 15 through 1 outing.
Valparaiso (2-2)
(Friday, Saturday, Sunday at #17 Alabama)
I need a big weekend
Kick up the dust
Yeah a big weekend
If you don’t run you rust
Tom Petty’s “Big Weekend” lyrics may apply to Valparaiso this weekend. The Beacons would be wise to run … and hit and pitch … well if they are going to have a big weekend in Tuscaloosa against the 17th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide are 5-0, having swept Manhattan last weekend (two wins by shutout), then beating Middle Tennessee (6-1) and Alabama State (12-0, hey look another shutout) during the week.
All hitting at least .300, Brady Renfro, Connor Giusti, Alex Thurston, and Alex Ryan lead the Beacons offensively into this weekend’s major matchup. The quartet has combined for 2 homers, 11 RBIs, 13 runs scored, and 18 hits. Giusti has 3 doubles and leads Valpo with 11 total bases. But as team, the Beacons are only hitting .211 and they’ll need much better than that to compete this weekend.
On the mound, however, 2 Valpo pitchers had stellar starts in their season debuts. Lucas Foley went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 0 walks and 11(!) strikeouts. Josh Cottrill pitched 6 frames, allowing 1 run on 4 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. Valpo pitchers have 34 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 33.2 innings. Not allowing free passes to an Alabama Gang that has drawn 28 of them in 5 games will be critical in finding success this weekend.
T.J. McCants leads Alabama with a .474 average (9-for-19). He has 3 HRs and 13 RBIs. The 13 driven in leave McCants tied for 3rd in the country. Troy’s Will Butcher leads with 17. Alabama has hit 9 homers this season and perhaps more importantly, hasn’t allowed any. The Tide are hitting .322 as a team and opponents a scant .167. Alabama pitchers have struck out a whopping 56 batters in 41 innings – good for 12.3 Ks/9 IP. Alabama’s team ERA is so low you almost can’t find it (0.88).
Tomorrow morning, check back here as we preview the weekend for the western half of The Valley, including the Illinois quartet and Missouri State.
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