Life in the Valley

Valpo Grabs Road Win at Gardner-Webb

Indiana State and Murray State came out on opposite ends of games Tuesday night vs. power conference opponents. The Sycamores earned a 7-6 victory over visiting Illinois out of the Big Ten, while the Racers were on the wrong end of a 10-6 decision at Kentucky from the Southeastern Conference.

Here’s our game capsules from Tuesday night around The Valley:

Indiana State 7, Illinois 6

Indiana State (12-3) handed Illinois its 10th loss in 15 games with a 7-6, come-from-behind win in Terre Haute. The Sycamores trailed, 6-1, entering the 7th inning, but after The Stretch, Indiana State went off for 6 runs to take the lead for good.

Grant Magill got the rally started with a 2-run homer (his 1st of the season) to make it 6-3. Dominic Listi then drove in Randal Diaz with a single. Mike Sears emphatically capped the rally with a 3-run homer to center to make it 7-6 in favor of Indiana State. Listi, who leads the team in batting average at .364, had 2 hits and 2 RBIs in the win. Josue Urdaneta scored twice. Sears’ homer was his team-leading 6th of the season to go with 17 RBIs.

Jacob Spencer got the win with 2 innings of scoreless relief, while Simon Gregersen picked up the save.

Winners of 5 straight, Indiana State is at Xavier for 3 games this weekend. Video of the series is available for FloBaseball subscribers. The Musketeers are 8-9 but did capture 1 of 3 at LSU over the weekend.

Kentucky 10, Murray State 6

The Wildcats rallied from 6-0 down to defeat Murray State, 10-6. Taylor Howell’s 3-run homer in the 3rd inning capped a 4-run frame that saw the Racers jump out to the 6-0 advantage. But Kentucky scored all 10 of its runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, with Nick Lopez’s single in the 4th tying the game at 6 before Mitchell Daly singled to score Lopez and give UK (14-3) the lead for good. Ryan Nicholson hit a 2-run homer in the 4th to make it 9-6 and UK added a run in the 5th.

Lopez finished 5-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs in the victory for Kentucky.

Seven different Racers had a hit but none had more than one. Carson Garner scored twice. Thomas McNabb threw 2 innings of scoreless relief to keep Murray State (11-6) in the game.

Murray State is home to Little Rock this weekend for 3 games. No video feed is scheduled. The Trojans are 11-6 this season and already have 2-1 series wins over Illinois State and Belmont. Little Rock beat Arkansas State, 12-2, on Tuesday.

Valparaiso 5, Gardner-Webb 2

Valparaiso edged to within a game of .500 with a 5-2 win at Gardner-Webb as the Beacons’ southern swing continues. This was another Valpo game that came right down to the wire, as the Beacons broke open a 2-1 game with 3 runs in the 9th inning.

Kaleb Hannahs’ sac fly gave Valpo a 3-1 lea din the 9th, scoring Carson Husmann. Alex Ryan scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1, then pinch-hitter Chase Maifield singled in the final run, scoring Kade Reinertson. All Burns hit his second solo homer of the game in the bottom of the 9th for Gardner-Webb (6-10) but it was too little, too late.

Kaleb Krier turned in a quality midweek start, throwing 5 innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits with a strikeout. Grant Jablonski got the win for 2 innings of scoreless, hitless relief.

Valpo (7-8) plays 3 games at #21 Campbell this weekend before its 18-game season-opening road trip comes to an end with a home game on March 19 vs. Ball State. Campbell is 12-4 and has won 4 straight. The Camels are 3-3 vs. ranked teams this season and beat Lafayette, 11-5, on Tuesday. No video stream is scheduled for this weekend’s series.

Saint Louis 5, Missouri State 3

While not a ranked opponent, the Missouri State Bears found tough midweek competition Tuesday in the Saint Louis Billikens, who knocked off the Bears, 5-3. Saint Louis is 15-1 this season. The Billikens won this one despite their pitchers walking 7 and only striking out 5, alton with a wild pitch. But Missouri State (9-6) left 11 runners on base, including 3 in the 8th inning, when Missouri State loaded the bases with 1 out but weren’t able to score.

Dylan Leach homered for Missouri State, a 2-run shot in the top of the 2nd inning that tied the game at 2-2. Leach is second on the Bears with 5 HRs and 2nd in RBIs, as well, with 14. Zack Stewart’s 7 HRs and Jahlani Rogers’ 16 RBIs lead the club.

Missouri State’s next 4 games are against Big 12 opponents. Over the weekend, the Bears play 3 at Kansas State, followed by a game next Tuesday at Oklahoma State. The Wildcats are 9-6 on the season; while the Cowboys are 11-6. OSU beat rival Oklahoma last night, 14-5. All 4 games will be available on ESPN+.

Southern Illinois 2, Lindenwood 1

SIU (11-5) won its 5th straight in somewhat unconventional fashion for this year’s club, earning a 2-1 victory over Lindenwood. While the Salukis’ high-powered offense was limited in this one, Alec Nigut was brilliant on the mound, throwing 8.2 innings and allowing just 1 run on 3 hits with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. Anthony Pron came on to get the final out to record the save.

Nigut, a junior from Des Moines, Iowa, who previously pitched at Kirkwood Community College, set season bests in innings, strikeouts, and least amount of hits allowed in the victory. In 3 appearances prior to last night, he had thrown a total of 12.2 innings with an 8.52 ERA. But he put it together vs. Lindenwood and now has 19 Ks in 21.1 innings for the season, and he lowered his season ERA to 5.49.

Steven Loden drove in both runs for the Salukis. The first opened the scoring in the 6th inning on a single that scored Mathieu Vallee. The other came in the 8th on a sac fly, again scoring Vallee, who went 2-for-3. Loden is hitting .317 this season with 28 RBIs in 16 games. Vallee is 2nd on the club at .365 behind only Jordan Bach’s .369. Loden’s 28 RBIs are tied for 10th in the country and lead the MVC. Will Butcher (Troy) leads the country with 34.

SIU hosts Jacksonville State for 3 games this weekend. No video is scheduled but online audio will be available. Jacksonville State is 7-8 this season but won 2 of 3 from Iowa over the weekend despite a 20-1 loss on Saturday. Jacksonville State beat Alabama State, 16-4, on Tuesday.

Bradley 12, Rollins 3

Bradley (4-11) got a much needed win over Division 2 program Rollins College Tuesday, 12-3. The game may have been in Florida, but Bradley brought a snowman in the 1st inning, scoring 8 times and taking a 10-0 lead after 2 innings. Ryan Vogel homered and went 2-for-6 with 4 RBIs, Beau Durbin had 3 hits, and 4 other Braves had 2 hits each as Bradley pounded out 14 knocks against 9 Rollins pitchers. Jackson Chatterton doubled twice, giving him 6 on the season.

Rollins is 11-8 this season and in 2022 and 2023 went a combined 85-36, including 40-20 in the Sunshine State Conference. The Tars were ranked 15th in the Division II top 25 entering the season.

Anthony Potthoff didn’t last long enough to get the win Tuesday, but he threw 4 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts over 53 pitches (4.42 pitches per out). Zach Courson got the win in relief and Cooper Chinn pitched the final 3 innings though he wasn’t credited with a save.

The Braves stay in Winter Haven, Fla., for a 3-game series vs. Butler that starts Thursday. The Bulldogs are 6-7 on the season and are coming off a 4-1 win over Presbyterian on Sunday in Memphis, Tenn. Butler hasn’t played any Valley opponents yet this season.

Today in The Valley:

UT-Martin (5-11) at Belmont (9-7), 5 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+
Illinois State (5-8) at Indiana (9-7), 5 p.m., B1G+
Lindenwood (5-11) at Southern Illinois (11-5), 7 p.m.
Southeast Missouri State (7-10) at Evansville (7-8), 7 p.m.