Life in the Valley

Games Against Nation’s Top Teams Await MVC Schools This Week

In terms of the Missouri Valley Conference baseball season as a whole, there’s no debate that the season-long story so far is the play of the Indiana State Sycamores. One year after doing The Valley Double and winning the Terre Haute Regional, the Sycamores haven’t slowed down at all in 2024, moving to 7-0 with 2 weekend victories over Marshall – 5-4 in 10 innings on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday. Already, the Sycamores have beaten opponents from the ACC (Louisville), AAC (South Florida), Big East (Connecticut), Big Ten (Michigan State) and Sun Belt (Marshall). Indiana State has a chance to add the SEC to that list on Tuesday, when they visit Vanderbilt, where the Sycamores won last season. The Commodores have already lost to Dayton, Gonzaga, and Florida Atlantic, but are still 5-3 this season.

Parker Stinson leads the way offensive for the Sycamores with a .360 average, though Randal Diaz is close behind at .357. Stinson’s 1.189 OPS leads qualifying hitters. Indiana State is still hitting a modest .256 as a team, but opponents are only batting a meager .212. Luke Hayden hasn’t allowed an earned run in 2 starts (10.2 innings), with 3 walks and 10 strikeouts. Jacob Pruitt has been overpowering, fanning 20 in 11.2 innings in his 2 starts. Both pitchers are 1-0. Pruitt’s ERA is 0.77. The Sycamores’ team ERA is a paltry 2.08. Zach Davidson is 1-0 with a save in 3 relief appearances, pitching to a 1.42 ERA with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts.

But the best individual win of the Valley season might have been turned in Saturday by Belmont, which took the middle game of its 3-game set at 21st-ranked South Carolina in impressive fashion, 11-2. The Bruins (5-3) got homers from Landon Godsey and Brodey Heaton, while Max Blessinger doubled and tripled. Every Belmont starter but one had at least 1 hit and all 9 scored at least 1 run. Down 1-0 after 4, Belmont took the lead for good in the top of the 5th when CF Michael Lareau doubled in 2 runs, then later scored himself on Godsey’s sac fly to right. Heaton and Godsey put the icing on the cake with their homers, 2-run shots in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively. Jake Timbes pitched 5 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits with 0 walks to go 2-0 on the season. Hank Liss and Bill Duby pitched 4 innings in relief without allowing an earned run, walking 2 and striking out 8 Gamecocks.

South Carolina got the win Sunday to take the series, but the Saturday win ought to be a big confidence boost for a Bruins team that has played some good baseball so far in 2024. Belmont will visit Tennessee Tech on Tuesday before hosting Little Rock this weekend at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville for 3 games.

Speaking of Little Rock, Illinois State went calling on the Trojans over the weekend. Like Belmont, the Redbirds lost 2 of 3 at Little Rock, capturing the middle game with a 14-5 victory after a 12-inning loss Friday night and a 10-5 defeat Sunday. ISU (2-4) was down 1-0 after 2 innings in the win, then scored all 14 runs over 5 consecutive innings to blow out the Trojans. Noah Rabin had 3 hits, Daniel Pacella went 1-for-1 with 2 runs and 4 walks, and Shai Robinson had 2 hits, a walk, and 3 runs scored in the victory. Tyrelle Chadwick pitched 5 innings to get the win, with Matthew Donnison earning a 3-out save – his 1st of the season.

Illinois State visits Northwestern Tuesday before traveling back to Arkansas again for a 3-game set this weekend at UA-Pine Bluff.

Missouri State also dropped 2 of 3 over the weekend but it was also against tough competition as the Bears were on the road at Southern Mississippi. After a tough 4-3 loss Friday, the Bears won 3-1 Saturday, then lost against by a single run Sunday (5-4). Zach Stewart homered in the Saturday win and scored 2 of Missouri State’s 3 runs. Stewart (.429) leads the Bears with 3 HRs, while Jahlani Rogers is tops in RBIs with 7. Missouri State has 9 homers through 7 games.

Brandt Thompson and Hunter Day combined to hold the Golden Eagles to 1 run on 5 hits with 4 walks and 9 strikeouts. Day pitched 4 innings of no-hit relief. Thompson is 1-0 in 3 starts with a 4.15 ERA through 8.2 innings, including 9 strikeouts.

Missouri State is at Ole Miss on Wednesday before hosting 3 games vs. Arkansas State this weekend.

Speaking of Arkansas again, Southern Illinois hit the road to play Central Arkansas over the weekend, but were swept in cruel fashion, losing all 3 games by a single run. Both the Friday and Saturday games ended 9-8 in favor of the UCA Bears. SIU (4-3) trailed 9-6 entering the 9th and got within 1 on an RBI ground out and a hit by pitch, but with 2 runners in scoring position, couldn’t get the tying run home. Jake Allgeyer scored 3 runs in the loss.

On Sunday, UCA won by a 13-12 count in 10 innings. The game was a slugfest early, with SIU trailing 11-10 after 5 innings. But 2 runs in the 6th on a Steven Loden homer gave the Salukis a 12-11 lead. It stayed that way until the 8th when a UCA ground out scored the tying run. In the 10th, Kade Seldomridge singled to score A.J. Mandolin to win it for UCA. Jordan Bach, Trey Cutchen, and Anthony Kodama each had 3 hits in the loss. Cutchen also homered. Bach is hitting .500 (16-for-32) through 7 games. Loden leads SIU with 5 HRs and 12 RBIs.

Murray State improved to 5-2 on the season by winning its weekend series at Louisiana-Monroe. After a 2-0 victory Friday night, the Racers were downed 12-10 on Saturday. But Sunday was a different story, as Murray collected an 11-5 victory to get out of Monroe with 2 out of 3. Riley Hawthorne had 3 hits in the Sunday win, while 4 other Racers had 2 each. Every Racer offensive starter scored at least 1 run. Sunday starter Ryan Fender pitched 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 1 hit with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Allen Roulette (2-0) got the win in relief.

Carson Garner continues to swing a hot bat for Murray at .476 (10-for-21) with 5 homers, 12 RBIs, and 10 walks to just 3 strikeouts. He still maintains and Xbox-level OPS of 1.857 through 2 weekends. Garner’s slugging percentage of 1.190 is 9th best in the country and tops in the MVC. His .667 on-base percentage of .667 ties him for 13th nationally, and is also best in the MVC. The NCAA doesn’t list leaders for OPS, for reasons that are beyond me. We’ll have them though, when our Friday’s stat leaders posts resume later in the season.

A tough assignment awaits Murray State this weekend, as the Racers’ hot bats will take on one of the nation’s top pitching staffs – the 2nd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, in a 3-game series in Fayetteville starting Friday. Over the weekend, Arkansas starter Hagen Smith struck out 17 batters – a school record – IN 6 INNINGS! He did it on 78 pitches, and the first 15 outs he recorded were strikeouts. This was against 3-time College World Series champions Oregon State, by the way.

“There was a house in New Orleans,” and Evansville was there over the weekend, playing 3 against the UNO Privateers. Without the injured Chase Hug in the lineup, the Purple Aces dropped 2 of 3, including a 3-2, 10-inning loss on Saturday that probably had Evansville a bit frustrated. UE took a 2-1 lead in the 5th on a Cal McGinnis double and put runners on in every inning after that, but failed to bring any of them home. UNO tied it in the 8th on a Mitchell Sanford single, then won it in the 10th on a Maika Niu sac fly.

But any frustration was worked out of UE’s systems on Sunday, as the Purple Aces plundered the Privateers, 18-4. The game was close (5-4) after 4 innings, but Evansville put up 7 runs in the 5th, then 5 more in the 8th to put it run-rule territory. UE hit 5 homers in the win and pounded out 7 doubles, including 2 by Ty Rumsey, who went 4-for-5. Harrison Taubert, Mark Shallenberger, and Brent Widder (4 RBIs) each had 3 of UE’s 21 hits.

UE (4-3) travels to Vanderbilt on Wednesday. The Purple Aces have scored 75 runs in their first 7 games, including 40 extra-base hits (26 doubles, 2 triples, and 12 homers).

UIC’s weekend was a little like stopping off at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in beautiful East Earl, Pa., there were plenty of options, and you never have to get the same thing twice. The Flames (3-3) took on Lamar, Houston Christian, and Creighton at the Southland College Classic, with varying levels of success. Losses to Lamar and Creighton bookended the weekend, but the Flames picked up a victory while they were in Sugarland, Texas, downing Houston Christian, 10-7. UIC took control of a back-and-forth affair in the 6th inning, plating 5 runs to take a 9-6 lead. Zane Zielinski doubled home 2 runs to tie the game at 6. UIC took the lead for good when Jackson (2-for-4, 3 runs) reached on a fielder’s choice. Rayth Petersen then doubled to score 2 more. Petersen’s sac fly in the 8th put the final run on the board.

Brandon Bak (1-0) got the win for the Flames, giving up 6 runs (only 2 earned) on 7 hits over 6 innings with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts in a workhorse effort of 107 pitches. Reece Lawler got the final 5 outs, including 2 strikeouts, for the save, throwing a perfect 1.2 innings.

UIC takes on North Park Tuesday afternoon, then will play 3 at Ohio University this weekend.

Valparaiso had a tough weekend at #17 Alabama, dropping all 3 games in run-rule fashion by scores of 14-2, 13-3, and 11-1. Valpo actually took an early lead in the Saturday loss, scoring 2 runs in the first on a Kyle Schmack RBI double and a Ryan Maka sac fly. But the Crimson Tide put up a 7-spot in the 1st and added 5 more in the 3rd to take a 12-3 lead. Schmack later homered to finish 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs.

In the Sunday loss, Valpo again scored in the 1st to take the lead, this time on a Connor Giusti RBI single. But Alabama scored 2 each in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd innings, and added 1 in the 4th to make it 7-1, then scored 2 each in the 6th and 7th to end it. Valpo was held to 5 hits, but Schamck had 2 more, going 2-for-4 with a run. Schmack had at least a hit in all 3 games, going 5-for-10 against tough competition.

Things don’t get any easier for the Beacons this weekend. After taking the mid-week off, Valpo plays 3 games in North Carolina this weekend, including a Saturday date at #1 Wake Forest. That game will be bookended by a true road game at Elon Friday, and another game in Winston-Salem Sunday against Binghamton. Valpo’s southern swing will also see them play at Jacksonville (1), at The Citadel (3), at Gardner-Webb (1), and at Campbell (3) before the Beacons’ home opener on March 19 vs. Ball State.

Bradley probably had the most fun destination over the weekend, heading to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in a 3-game series. But the games were a bit of a different story, as the Runnin’ Rebels swept the 3 games, 9-3, 4-1, and 10-0. Timmy O’Brien had 3 hit sin the Friday loss, scoring twice. Bradley was held to 3 hits in Saturday’s defeat. On Sunday, Bradley (1-5) managed 5 hits but couldn’t get any runs across UNLV pitchers Sam Simon and Dylan Rogers. Simon allowed 5 hits over 7 innings but only walked 1 and struck out 8.

On the bright side, Beau Durbin had a hit in all 3 games for the Braves. O’Brien leads the Braves at .318 on the season. But a lack of power has hurt Bradley so far. The Braves have just 1 HR in 6 games.

The Braves will try to right the ship this weekend with 4 games in St. Charles, Mo. Bradley will take on Omaha on Friday and Saturday, then play games against Lindenwood on Saturday and Sunday. Lindenwood will be the opponent, as well, for Bradley’s home opener on March 26.