Indiana State Walks Off Michigan State to Improve to 5-0
Indiana State’s dream start to the 2024 college baseball season continued with a little luck on top, as Josue Urdaneta scored on a passed ball in the 10th inning to lift the Sycamores past Big-10 foe Michigan State, 7-6.
While it might have been a little luck (or Sparty misfortune) that put the game in the W column for Indiana State late, the Sycamores had a bunch of work to do in the middle innings to even be in position to snatch the game away late. Michigan State jumped out to a 5-1 lead after batting in the top of the 3rd inning, scoring 2 on a homer by Christian Williams.
The Sycamores got 1 back in the bottom 3rd and another in the 5th to close within 5-3. In the 6th, Mike Sears doubled to drive in Henry Brown, then went to 3rd on an error. Sears scored on Randal Diaz’s RBI single, tying the game at 5-5. Each team scored in the 8th, the Sycamore run coming when Urdaneta scored on a wild pitch.
With Urdaneta at 3rd in the 10th, Logan Pikur’s high fast ball flew past the glove of catcher Sam Thompson, allowing Urdaneta to race home and give Indiana State the victory.
Unfortunately for the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference, Friday’s slate brought a lot of heartbreak and tough defeats. Here’s a quick look back at last night’s carnage.
Lamar 8, UIC 7 (10)
Down 7-5 in the 8th inning, Lamar got back-to-back solo homers from River Orsak and Logan Hamm to tie the game,. In the 10th, Lamar won the game when, with the bases loaded, UIC (2-3) reliever Vincent Trapani walked Kanin Dodge to bring in the winning run as Lamar took the 8-7 victory in the first of a 3-game series., Jackson Bessette homered as part of a 2-hit, 2-run, 2-RBI game for UIC, while Kendall Ewell went 4-for-5 with a run.
Little Rock 5, Illinois State 4 (12)
Extra-inning heartbreak also struck the Redbirds (1-3) in the Arkansas capital, as Illinois State was also defeated on a walk-off walk. In the 12th, Skyler Trevino drew the winning free pass against Braden Roesch to give the Trojans a 5-4 win. Illinois State had led, 3-0, after 3 innings, thanks to a Judah Morris homer and RBIs from Luke Cheng and Daniel Pacella. Pacella and Noah Rubin each had 2 hits for Illinois State.
Central Arkansas 9, Southern Illinois 8
SIU (4-1) looked on its way to its 5th straight win when in the top of the 8th, Steven Loden singled in Jordan Bach to give the Salukis an 8-7 lead. But – you guessed it – a bases-loaded walk tied the game in the bottom of the 8th, then Reid Bowman’s sac fly scored Drew Sturgeon with the eventual winning run in the Bears’ 9-8 triumph. Jake Allgeyer went 3-for-4 for SIU, while Bach went 2-for-6 to continue his hot start.
Southern Miss 4, Missouri State 3
The Bears (3-2) gave the Golden Eagles all they could handle, tying the game at 3 in the 4th inning on Zach Stewart’s home run. The game stayed that way until the bottom of the 8th, when Seth Smith’s double scored Nick Monistere with the deciding run in Southern Mississippi’s 4-3 win. Stewart also singled, while Jake McCutcheon had 2 hits. Eric Loomis and Tyler Charlton pitched 4 combined innings of scoreless relief, allowing just 2 hits.
Murray State 2, UL-Monroe 0
Aside from Indiana State, the Racers were the only other Valley team to break into their post-game meal with smiles on their faces last night after a 2-0 win over UL-Monroe. Dustin Mercer got Murray State (4-1) started as the 2nd batter of the game, hitting a solo homer to open the scoring. It was 1-0 all the way until the 9th, when Carson Garner went deep to double Murray State’s lead. Garner now has 5 HRs and 10 RBIs this season. Jacob Pennington pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, 0 walks, and striking out 9 on 88 pitches, a stellar 4.19 pitches per out. Ethan Lyke and Nathan Holler worked the 8th and 9th, respectively for the combined shutout.
New Orleans 10, Evansville 8
It was a see-saw battle at UNO as the Purple Aces (3-2) and Privateers exchanged shots but New Orleans got the last laugh, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to down Evansville, 10-8. Down 8-6 in the top of the 8th, UE drew level when Brent Widder hit a 2-run homer to cap a 3-for-6 night with 2 runs and 4 RBIs. But in the bottom of the 8th, New Orleans took the lead for good on Mitchell Sanford’s RBI single, with another run scoring on an error. Harrison Taubert also homered for Evansville, which outhit New Orleans, 13-11, but it wasn’t enough.
UNLV 9, Bradley 3
The Runnin’ Rebels broke open a 2-2 tie with 5 runs in the 5th inning, 2 on a homer by Kade Higgins and 2 on a triple off the bat of JP Hefft, as UNLV went on to the 9-3 victory. Timmy O’Brien led the Braves with 3 hits. Bradley had 11 hits as a team but could only convert them into 5 hits. Logan Delgado homered for Bradley (1-3). Anthony Edge threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
#21 South Carolina 8, Belmont 1
Two Valley teams were in action against ranked opponents Friday and both were defeated. At Columbia, S.C., the Belmont Bruins fell, 8-1, to the South Carolina Gamecocks. Parker Noland hit a 2-run homer 2 batters into the game for all the runs the Gamecocks would need. Belmont scored its run in the 6th on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Max Blessinger. Belmont (4-2) was held to 4 hits.
#17 Alabama 14, Valparaiso 2 (7)
Seventeenth-ranked Alabama got off to a fast start and never looked back, scoring 6 runs in the 2nd inning and going on to beat visiting Valparaiso, 14-2. The Crimson Tide outhit the Beacons, 15-5. They scored 4 more runs in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to put the game in run-rule range. Leadoff hitter Gage Miller went 2-for-4 with a double, homer, and 5 RBIs. Kyle Schmack and Ryan Mako each went 1-for-3 with an RBI for Valpo (2-3).
Life in the Valley 
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