Life in the Valley

Five MVC Teams Face Power-5 Opponents Today

A couple wins against some really good teams could make it a banner day for The Valley today, as tough competition abounds for MVC clubs. Here’s a quick look at today’s opponents. (All times Eastern)

#3 Vanderbilt vs. Belmont, 7 (SECN+)

It’s a prime-time matchup for the Bruins and also a meaningful one, as Belmont and Vanderbilt meet in a game where some ticket proceeds go to benefit the Live Like Lou Fund to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)). The game will be played at First Horizon park, home of the AAA Nashville Sounds.

Vandy enters the game 18-3 and the Commodores have won 13 straight. Since a 9-8 loss to Gonzaga on Feb. 25, Vanderbilt is 5-0 vs. Valley opponents, downing Indiana State (20-4), Evansville (7-3), and Illinois State (14-9, 7-2, 4-0), along with winning the 2024 Astros Foundation College Classic and sweeping Auburn in SEC play.

Vandy hits .330 as a team and much like Forrest Gump, the Commodores just feel like runnin’. Vandy has swiped 50 bases in 55 attempts already, led by R.J. Austin (15-for-18) and Clavin Hewitt (13-for-14). Alan Espinal is hitting .400 and Vandy averages 9 runs per game despite hitting 24 homers in 21 games. Seven regulars are hitting at least .321. Vandy pitchers, meanwhile, are holding opponents to a .226 average and just 4.52 runs per game.

Evansville at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. (SECN+)

There should be a number in front of Kentucky’s name, but the 17-3 Wildcats are unranked again this week, despite 5 straight wins and a 3-0 start to conference play after the Wildcats swept Georgia last weekend. UK did drop 2 of 3 at home to Kennesaw State the weekend prior, which is probably still fresh in folks’ minds. While UK’s schedule hasn’t been as daunting as Vanderbilt’s, 17-3 is nothing to sneeze at and the Wildcats already own a win over Murray State, 10-6, on March 12.

Nick Lopez is the offensive leader for UK, hitting .431 with 17 RBIs and 47 total bases. Emilien Pitre checks in at .359 and leads UK with 20 RBIs. Like Vanderbilt, the Wildcats don’t hit a ton of homers (20 in 20 games), but they’ve stolen 44 bases in 51 tries (Devin Burkes is 10-for-10) and they are scoring 8.1 runs per game. Wildcat pitchers have worked to a 3.69 ERA in 173 innings, with a 2.23:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Opposing hitters are batting just .206 against UK pitchers.

UE is 0-4 against SEC opponents this season, having lost a single game at Vanderbilt and dropping a weekend sweep at Mississippi State.

Indiana at Indiana State, 4 (ESPN+)

It’s always fun when “mid-majors” get to welcome in a Power conference team from its own state and that happens tonight as Indiana visits Terre Haute to take on the Sycamores (14-4). ISU is coming off a loss to Xaver that ended a 7-game winning streak. IU is 11-9, 2-3 against ranked teams. The Hoosiers are coming off a series win last weekend over Belmont.

IU hits. 297 as a team, led by Devin Taylor (.385), Brock Tibbitts (.375) and Tyler Cerny (.368). Carter Mathison leads the Hoosiers in homers with 5 and Tibbitts’ 23 RBIs are a club best. Unlike Vandy and UK, Indiana baserunners aren’t going anywhere. The Hoosiers have stolen only 8 bases all season. Defense has also been questionable, as IU has a .959 team fielding percentage with 29 errors in 20 games. The offense scores 7.65 runs per game but allows 7.85.

Missouri State at Oklahoma State, 7 (ESPN+)

Fresh off being swept at Kansas State, the Bears wrap up a 4-game road swing vs. Big 12 opponents with a game tonight at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, usually a perennial threat come the postseason, are off to a pedestrian 12-8 start, but they are 6-2 at home. Oklahoma State, however, does own a win over current #1 Arkansas (2-1 on Feb. 24 in Arlington, Texas). But surprise losses to Utah Tech and Mercer, combined with dropping 2 of 3 to UCF in their first Big 12 series of the season, have the Cowboys a bit behind expected pace.

But any team with those beautiful orange pullover jerseys with Oklahoma State across the front can’t be considered slouches, either. OSU averages 7.2 runs per game and has hit 26 homers, led by 5 from Colin Brueggemann. Aidan Meola (.367), Carson Beige (.363) and Avery Ortiz (.346) lead the Cowboys in average, with Benge slugging .600 thanks to 8 doubles, a triple and 3 homers. Benge’s 16 walks land him a .464 on-base percentage and 1.064 OPS. Cowboy pitchers have worked to a 4.19 ERA, though Oklahoma State has allowed 16 unearned runs. Opposing batters are hitting .248, but have fanned 197 times in 176 innings.

Bradley at Illinois, 7

MVC fans will remember the Fighting Illini (7-11) from such classics as their 7-6 loss at Indiana State last week. Illinois recovered to take 2 of 3 at home vs. Southern Indiana, and are playing their final tune-up before Big 10 play starts this weekend with Illinois visiting Indiana. There seems to be a decent team in there somewhere in Champaign, but against tough competition, the Illini have struggled. Illinois fell 5-2 to Wake Forest; 17-9 to Coastal Carolina; 13-7 to Florida State; and were swept at Tennessee, including a 24-1 loss in the middle game.

Bradley rolled up 55 runs in 4 games at Winter Haven, Fla., last week, beating Rollins College and then taking 2 of 3 from Butler. Offense has been an issue for Illinois, which is hitting just .235 as a team with only 94 runs in 18 games (5.22 runs per game). Illinois has stolen just 4 bases, hit 21 homers, and has a mere 22 doubles. Illinois’ team OPS is a slumbering .729. The news hasn’t been much better on the other side, as Illini pitchers have a 6.75 team ERA with 32 homers allowed. If Bradley can keep its recent offensive surge going, the Braves might be in line to take a Big 10 team down today.

Ball State at Valparaiso, 4 (ESPN+)

The Beacons finally come home! It’s the home opener for Valparaiso after a long southern swing to start the season that saw the Beacons play some competitive baseball and post a respectable 7-11 record. Ball State is the opponent for the occasion, and this might be an interesting time to catch the Cardinals. Ball State is 11-9 on the season, but owns wins over Big 10 foes Michigan State and Illinois. They also took 2 of 3 at Jacksonville, a team that downed Valpo in comeback fashion in a single game last week.

Then there was Ball State’s first Mid-American Conference series of the season last weekend, which saw the Cardinals get swept and allow 54 runs – including dropping the Saturday game, 34-8. Unfathomably, the Cardinals led, 7-5, after 3 innings and only trailed, 9-5, after 5 complete. Then, all heck broke loose, as Bowling Green scored 8 runs in the 6th and 14 more in the 8th. Ball State used 8 pitchers and each one gave up at least 2 runs.

But, as noted, the Cardinals do have a winning record. Three regulars hit at least .333, led by Michael Hallquist at .370. He also provides the power, with 8 homers and 24 RBIs. Despite the 34-8 debacle, Ball State has only been outscored by 11 runs for the season in 20 games. Ball State pitchers have somewhat unpredictable stuff in both good and bad ways, with 122 walks and 193 strikeouts in 169 innings.

SIU-Edwardsville at Illinois State, 6

After starting the season 1-10, the Cougars have won 4 of their last 9 games to get to 5-15 at the 20-game mark. SIU-Edwardsville is 1-3 vs. Valley opponents this season, losing 7-1 to Southern Illinois on March 5, then dropping 2 of 3 last weekend at UIC, including a 19-9 run-rule loss in the series finale.

Lucas Spence leads the offensive attack with a .375 average and a team-high 27 hits. But he’s the lone Cougar batter over .300 for the season and no SIU-E hitter has more than 3 homers. The club has hit just 17 as a team while giving up 34. The Cougars hit a mere .253 as a club while opponents are raking at a .330 clip. Cougar pitchers have a 9.26 team ERA with 110 walks in 164.1 innings. And opposing batters aren’t safe. SIU-E pitchers have hit 28 batters and thrown 15 wild pitches.

Southern Illinois at Arkansas State, 7 (ESPN+)

It’s the rare midweek, 2-game series for the Salukis and the Red Wolves (12-9), as Arkansas State looks to close March by recapturing the same magic it seemed to have in February. Arkansas State went 8-1 in February, including a road win at Mississippi. Only a loss to Central Arkansas in 12 innings in the month’s final fixture kept the Red Wolves from a perfect start.

March hasn’t been so kind, however, as Arkansas State is 4-8 so far in the month of Madness, though one of those wins was a 14-12 triumph at Missouri State that kept the Red Wolves from being swept. Murray State also downed Arkansas State, 12-7, earlier this month.

Patience is a virtue for the Red Wolves, who have drawn 114 walks in 21 games, to go along with a .276 batting average. Austen Jaslove leads the way by open lengths with a .415 mark, including 34 hits in 21 games. Five of those have been homers, tied for the team lead. Cason Tollett leads the Red Wolves with 22 RBIs, 1 ahead of Wil French. But for the offense’s patience, wildness has been an issue for the pitchers, with 96 walks, 21 wild pitches, and 28 hit batters in 184 innings.

What I’m Watching Today: For the most part, my viewing will of course be concentrated on the many MVC games broadcast tonight online. But I’ll sneak peaks in on #15 Dallas Baptist at 17th-ranked Oklahoma (7:30 p.m., ESPN+), as well as Louisiana Tech at LSU (7:30 p.m., SECN+).