Life in the Valley

Belmont, Valpo Come Up Just Short vs. Ranked Foes

Indiana State welcomed the Purdue Boilermakers out of the Big Ten to Terre Haute on Tuesday, but the jaunt down U.S. 41 (or maybe Indiana Route 63), was an unhappy one for Purdue, as the Sycamores downed the Boilers, 8-7.

Down 5-1 in the 5th inning, Indiana State (18-5, 2-1) rallied for 6 runs in the 5th, 5 of the runs coming on homers from Grant Magill (2-run shot) and Connor Hicks (3-run blast). Luis Hernandez drove in the 6th run with a single that scored Josue Urdaneta to make it 7-5 Indiana State.

But the Boilermakers (16-10) had no quit in them, scoring in the 6th on a Couper Cornblum single, then tying the game in the 8th on Keenan Taylor’s sac fly. But in the bottom of the 8th, Indiana State took the lead for good when Dominic Listi (2-for-4) scored on a wild pitch. Simon Gregersen worked the 9th inning to get his 4th save, securing a win for Jared Spencer (4-0), who had pitched the 8th.

Parker Stinson also homered for Indiana State. Luke Gaffney went deep for Purdue.

Murray State 15, Western Kentucky 2 (7): The Racers (18-6, 3-0) scored at least 1 run in all 7 innings to down Western Kentucky, 15-2, in a 7-inning run-rule affair at Murray, Ky., Tuesday. The Racers hit 4 homers, including 2 by Dan Tauken. The left fielder did years work in the 1st inning, hitting a 3-run shot to open the scoring, then again in the 3rd with a solo homer that extended Murray State’s lead to 6-2. Tauken finished 5-for-5 with 3 runs and 5 RBIs. Along with his homers, Tauken laced 2 doubles and singled for a 13-total base night.

David Stokely and Carson Garner also homered for the Racers, who have hit 43 homers now in 24 games, good for 24th in the country. Dustin Mercer and Garner each had 3 hits. John Orberson drove in 3, while Logan Bland had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. Kane Elmy got the win with 4 innings of scoreless relief.

UIC 11, Milwaukee 1 (8): The Flames had to go 1 additional inning than did Murray State, but UIC (16-7, 2-1) also earned a run-rule victory on Tuesday, defeating the Milwaukee Panthers, 11-1. Milwaukee in the midst of a rough season at 2-19, saw this one get away early, as the Flames scored multiple runs in each of the first 4 innings – 10 in all. In the 8th, Jackson Fisher doubled to score Marcus Heusohn with the walk-off run. Vidal Colon went 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs in the win. Five UIC pitchers combined to hold the Panthers to 1 unearned run on 7 hits with 8 strikeouts.

#7 Vanderbilt 3, Valparaiso 2: Valparaiso twice erased 1-run deficits and were level with the host Vanderbilt Commodores into the 7th inning before Jonathan Vastine hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 7th that would serve as the eventual game-winning RBI in Vandy’s 3-2 win over Valpo. Brady Renfro grounded out in the 3rd but Chase Maifield scored to tie the game at 1. In the 7th, Kade Reinertson reached on an error and Alex Thurston scored on the play to make it 2-2. Valpo was held to 2 hits but drew 5 walks. The Beacons (8-15, 0-3) pitching quartet of Kaleb Krier, Lucas Foley, Jake Jakubowski, and Bryce Knitter combined to allow just 3 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 12 strikeouts. Foley fanned 6 in 2.2 innings.

#16 Alabama 6, Belmont 3: Down 5-0 in the 7th inning, the Belmont Bruins scored 3 runs to get back into the game at 16th-ranked Alabama, but it didn’t turn out to be enough as the Crimson Tide downed the Bruins, 6-3, Tuesday. Sam Slaughter hit a 2-run homer to get Belmont on the board in the 7th and cut the Alabama lead to 5-2. Jack Rando later scored on an errant pickoff throw to get the Bruins (12-13, 1-2) within 2. But in the Alabama 7th, Kade Snell’s sac fly restored Alabama’s 3-run lead and that’s how it stayed. Mason Landers went 2-for-5 for Belmont.

Tennessee-Martin 8, Southern Illinois 7 (10): Alec Beaman singled in the top of the10th inning to score Blaze Bell (great name), which proved to be the winning run in UT-Martin’s 8-7 upset of Southern Illinois Tuesday. SIU looked to have the game well in hand entering the 9th with a 7-4 lead, but UT-Martin tied the game on RBI hits from Cameron Brady, Hunter McLean, and an SIU error that allowed Garner Anderson (3-for-5, 3 runs, RBI) to score a run. Cole Christman and Nathan Bandy homered for SIU. Bandy also doubled as part of a 3-hit, 5-RBI game. Bandy, a senior from Mountain Home, Ark., who also played at Mineral Area College, is hitting .426 now in limited at-bats and the 5 RBIs were a season high. They also gave him 75 runs driven for his SIU career.

SIU-Edwardsville 14, Evansville 6: The SIU-E Cougars scored 10 runs in the final 3 innings to runaway from host Evansville, 14-6, Tuesday. Lucas Spence tripled in the 8th and singled in the 9th, driving in a total of 4 runs. He finished 4-for-6 with 4 runs and 4 RBIs. Ryan Niedzweidz also drove in 4 runs for the Cougars. In just his 5th game of the season, Evansville’s Chase Hug went 1-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs. Getting Hug back full0-time would be a big boost to Evansville’s lineup. Hug served as the DH last night. UE (9-15, 0-3) has lost 6 straight and welcomes rival SIU to Braun Stadium this weekend in what already feels like a must-win series for the Purple Aces.

Today on Valley Diamonds: All is quiet today.

If You’re Starved for College Baseball, and Who Isn’t?: Slim pickings today, with many weekend series across the country starting Thursday due to Easter this Sunday. But we’ve got one game! At 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+, it’s Towson (4-19, 0-3 CAA) at George Washington (15-9).