Indiana State Gets Road Win at Purdue
While it’s been a rough start to the season for Oral Roberts, which made the College World Series in 2023 and became the first mid-major since Coastal Carolina in 2016 to win a game in Omaha, beating them on the road is still a notable achievement. Missouri State turned that trick on Tuesday, beating ORU, 12-4.
The recent move to put Caden Bogenpohl in the leadoff spot paid off handsomely again Tuesday, as he led off the game with a homer, his 9th of the season. Dylan Leach doubled the fun, going back-to-back, also his 9th homer of the year. Bogenpohl and Leach each scored 3 runs.
Taeg Gollert and Curry Sutherland homered in the 3rd inning – 2 more solo shots, giving the Bears a 5-1 lead. Gollert and Sutherland combined again in the 8th, with Gollert doubling home a run and Sutherland producing an RBI single. Gollert, Sutherland, Nick Rodriguez all picked up 2 hits and 2 RBIs each.
A recent addition to the starting lineup, Sutherland made his 6th start and 15th appearance on Tuesday and he’s produced in a big way. Sutherland is hitting .462 in 26 at-bats with 4 doubles and 2 homers.
Brendan Beaver worked 3 innings of relief to pick up his first win of the season, allowing 0 runs and 1 hit with 4 strikeouts and 0 walks.
Missouri State (14-17, 3-5) hosts UIC this weekend in conference action.
Here’s a spin around the rest of the action in the Valley last night:
Indiana State 9, Purdue 3: Just as beating one of last season’s Omaha 8 is an accomplishment, so is going on the road in early April and knocking off a 20-win power-conference opponents. That’s what Indiana State (24-7, 7-2) did last night, winning 9-3 at Purdue thanks to 7 late-game runs that broke open a 2-2 game.
Mike Sears kicked off the rally in the 8th inning with a 2-run double that gave the Sycamores the lead for good at 4-2. Joe Kido then delivered a sac fly to score Parker Stinson. In the 9th, Kido followed up Adam Pottinger’s RBI single with a 2-run single, scoring Sears and Stinson. Kido’s 3 RBIs were 1 more than he’d had for the season entering the game. Sears’ 2 RBIs gave him 36 for the season, 1 behind Luis Hernandez for the team led. Dominic Listi led the Sycamores with 3 hits, improving his on-base percentage to .517.
Cameron Holycross worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win, striking out 3.
Indiana State, 8-1 at home this season, host Bradley this weekend.
UIC 18, Northwestern 5: The Battle of Chicago was no contest as the Flames routed the Wildcats. UIC (20-10, 5-4) scored 11 runs in the first 2 innings and added 6 more in the 6th inning to take a run-rule victory after 7 innings. Kendal Ewell was one of the stars of the night anywhere in the country, going 5-for-5 with 3 runs, 6 RBIs, a double, and a homer. Ewell is now hitting .336 on the season with 6 homers and 31 RBIs.
A.J. Henkle and A.J. Taylor each had 3 hits. Ryan Nagelbach drove in 4 runs. Zane Zielinski, Henkle, Ewell, and Nagelbach – the top 4 in the Flames order – combined to go 12-for-14 with 13 runs and 11 RBIs.
Evansville 15, Butler 5: Up 8-5 entering the 7th inning, the Purple Aces (15-17, 4-5) scored 7 times to take a 10-run lead and that was enough to down the Butler Bulldogs by run rule in 7 innings. Harrison Taubert’s 3-run homer started the 7th-inning uprising.
Taubert drove in 4 runs on the night, giving him 28 RBIs for the season. Kip Fougerousse had an epic night, going 4-for-5 with 4 runs scored, including a homer. Simon Scherry had 3 runs, 3 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases as part of a 2-for-4 night. Jace Kressin, Max Hansmann, and Jakob Meyer combined to close out the final 6 innings, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit with 1 walk and 10 strikeouts.
SEMO 3, Southern Illinois 2 (11): The Salukis dropped a tough one at home to Southeast Missouri State, falling in the 11th after the Redhawks scored on a bases-loaded walk. Brooks Kettering drew the RBI walk, his 2nd walk of the game to go with a hit and run, scoring Cole Wartime, who led SEMO with 2 hits. SEMO outhit SIU, 10-5. SIU’s runs came in the 3rd inning on Trey Cutchen’s 2-run single that scored Bennett Eltoft and Jordan Bach (2-for-4). SIU (19-14, 4-5) starter Alec Nigut pitched 5 good innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts (79 pitches, 5.27 ppo).
Austin Peay 13, Belmont 5: The Bruins took several big punches from the Governors early on and couldn’t recover, as Austin Peay scored 7 times in the 3rd to take a 9-1 lead and never looked back in a 13-5 victory in Nashville. Lyle Miller-Green went 3-for-5 with 4 runs, 3 RBIs, and 2 homers for the victorious Governors. John Bay added 4 RBIs. Blake Barton had a 4-hit game in defeat for Belmont (17-16, 5-4), driving in 2 runs. He also added a stolen base.
Illinois 10, Illinois State 6: Illinois State saw its 7-game winning streak halted Tuesday at Champaign, as the Illinois Fighting Illini downed the Redbirds, 10-6. Continuing the night’s big-inning theme, the Illini (17-13) scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning to take an 8-2 lead. Luke Lawrence went 2-for-5 with 2 runs in the loss for Illinois State, now 17-12 on the season, 7-2 and tied for first place in the Valley with Indiana State. Greg Nichols had a solo homer for Illinois State.
Milwaukee 7, Valparaiso 3: It was a 5-run 3rd for the Milwaukee Panthers that keyed their 7-3 victory over Valparaiso Tuesday. Valpo (10-20, 2-7) got off to a great start. Brady Renfro hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning and Alex Ryan added a solo shot in the 2nd to give the Beacons a 3-0 lead. But a 3-run homer by Carson Hansen was the big blast in Milwaukee’s 5-run 3rd. The Panthers added 2 insurance runs in the 6th. Ryan and Liam Patton had 2 hits each for Valpo.
Murray State at Ole Miss: This game was called off due to weather. No make-up date has been announced.
Today on Valley Diamonds: Two games on the schedule today, all times Central:
Illinois State at Western Illinois, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Lindenwood at Bradley, 6 p.m.
What I’m Watching Today: Once Illinois State-Western Illinois is completed, I’ll have my eyes on an intriguing matchup between Louisiana Tech and #19 Louisiana. The host Ragin’ Cajuns are 25-8, 11-1 in the Sun Belt and have won 16 straight games. These teams met on March 13 in Ruston and Louisiana prevailed, 9-5. Louisiana Tech is 25-9, 6-3 in Conference USA, and are 12-4 since that loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns. The game is on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. Central.
Life in the Valley 
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