Life in the Valley

Sycamores at 10-2 Lead the Valley Over Quartet of Teams at 7-5

Don’t look now … the King has commandeered the Valley horizon.

Behold the King
The King of Kings
– Motorhead

Indiana State, 10-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and 34-5 in Valley play over the last 2 years, stands alone atop the MVC this morning after emphatically sweeping Bradley in Terre Haute by scores of 14-2, 11-1, and 17-6. Overall, the Sycamores are 27-7 this season and 72-24 over their last 96 games, with honors including last season’s conference regular-season and tournament titles, plus a regional championship in 2023.

Some might have thought a repeat of such success was questionable in 2024, given the Sycamores had legitimate pitching concerns to fill given the losses of Connor Fenlong (11-3, 3.45, 1.08 WHIP) and Matt Jachec (7-4, 4.05; 1.13; 104 K in 104 1/3 IP). The combined 18 wins were 40% of Indiana State’s total last season, and they were the only 2 pitchers on the staff to throw enough innings to qualify for stat-leader consideration in categories such as ERA. Fenlong led the Valley in wins last season and finished 5th in ERA. Jachec’s 104 strikeouts led the conference, and the duo combined to complete 7 games in an era where CGs around the country are few and far between, even the 7-inning variety.

But this weekend proved once again that while 2023 was an historic year in Terre Haute, there’s little reason to think 2024 couldn’t be just as successful or more. The Sycamores outscored Bradley, 42-9 over 25 innings (2 games ended after 8 innings due to run rule). Brennyn Cutts, the Saturday starter, is a likely candidate for MVC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a 7-inning complete game, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. He needed just 83 pitches, a 3.95 pitch-per-out pace that would make for a 9-inning complete game in a mere 107 pitches.

Overall, Indiana State starters including Cutts, Jared Spencer, and Luke Hayden, combined to allow just 3 runs on 7 hits in 17 innings, with 8 walks and 17 strikeouts. Cutts improved to 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. Hayden is now 4-1 (3.30), also with 48 Ks in 43 2/3 innings. Spencer is 5-0 on the season, with a 3.70 ERA and 37 Ks in only 24 1/3 innings (13.69 K/9 IP). All of this would make any team competitive in any conference.

But there’s also that whole thing about the Sycamores scoring 42 runs in 3 games, too. The composite box score from the 3 games shows that Indiana State had 2 innings, the 1st and the 8th, where the Sycamores each scored more combined runs in those frames than the Braves scored in the series. State scored 12 total runs in the 1st innings of the series, and 15 in the 8th – powered by a 10-run barrage in the finale that ended the game due to run rule.

Adam Pottinger had a monster 7-RBI game in the faille, hitting a 3-run homer in the 1st and a grand slam in the 8th. The Sycamores hit 2 slams in that inning, as Luis Hernandez later slammed the door on the game with his blast, capping the 10-run uprising.

For the series, Pottinger and Hernandez each drove in 11 runs and hit .538. Five different Sycamores scored at least 5 runs, and Randal Diaz, Hernandez, and Pottinger all led the way with 7 hits each. As a team, the Sycamores hit .434 with a 1.365 OPS, hitting 10 homers. Hernandez and Pottinger had 3 each while Sears bashed two.

Of course, there’s another side to things and for Bradley, the sweep dropped the Braves (10-22, 4-8) to a tie for 8th in the conference standings along with Missouri State. The Braves have road games in the midweek at Eastern Illinois and Iowa before hosting Evansville this weekend, looking to get back on track. With 15 games left in the conference season, there’s certainly time to turn it around. Beau Durbin (.364) and Logan Delgado (.343) continue to be bright spots for the Braves offense, while Timmy O’Brien has 31 RBIs in 32 games.

Here’s a look at the rest of the Valley action over the weekend as the battle for 2nd place and to challenge the Sycamores really starts to take shape:

Evansville Sweeps Redbirds to Enter Fray: Illinois State entered the weekend tied with Indiana State atop the conference at 7-2. But the paths of the 2 teams diverged drastically, as the aforementioned Sycamores dropped the hammer to go 10-2, while the Redbirds suffered a setback at Evansville, getting swept by the Purple Aces by scores of 9-1, 6-5, and 13-1 (7 innings). For UE (18-17, 7-5), the sweep put the Purple Aces above .500 both in the conference and overall, and landed them in the 4-way tie for 2nd place. Notably, UE has already played all 3 teams its tied with, having been swept by Murray State, but sweeping Illinois State and taking 2 of 3 from Southern Illinois for a 5-4 mark against its closest competition.

Kip Fougerousse hit a grand slam in the opener, part of a 5-run 3rd inning that set the Purple Aces on their way to a 9-1 win. He ended up with 5 RBIs in the game. Kenton Deverman (4-1) pitched 7 shutout innings on 112 pitches with 5 strikeouts. He only allowed 4 hits. Mark Shallenberger went 4-for-5 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs, while Harrison Taubert scored 3 runs.

Game 2 was a tight one, tied at 4-4 heading into the 9th inning. Illinois State (18-15, 7-5) took the lead in the 9th when Luke Stulga scored on J.T. Sokolove’s double. But the advantage was short lived. In the bottom of the 9th, Cal McGinnis scored on Simon Scherry’s sac fly, then pinch-runner Drew Howard scored on Joe Husak’s wild pitch to give UE the victory. Evansville starter Donovan Schultz pitched 7 innings and fanned 8, while Jakob Meyer (3-4) got the win in relief. Chase Hug had 3 hits for UE while Judah Morris drove in 2 runs for the Redbirds.

Looking for the sweep, Evansville responded in comprehensive fashion, downing the Redbirds, 13-1. Taubert homered and doubled, scoring 3 runs and driving in 3; while Hug, Brent Widder, and Brodie Peart all homered, as well. Fougerousse had 3 hits and 3 more RBIs. Brendan Hord scored 3 runs. Blessed with plenty of run support, Shane Harris threw 5 shutout innings on 2 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts on 68 pitches (4.53 ppo) to get the win.

Murray State Edges Series Over SIU: Murray State helped set up one of the Valley’s most important series next weekend by taking 2 out of 3 against Southern Illinois in Carbondale. The Racers took the rubber match on Sunday, 7-5, scoring 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning to break a 5-5 tie when Jonathan Hogart hit a 2-run homer, giving him 3 RBIs on the game. SIU fought back in the bottom of the 9th as Jordan Bach homered to bring the Salukis within 1 with 1 out, but Thomas McNabb came on to pitch for Murray and retired the last 2 SIU batters to end the game. Drew Vogel went 4-for-5 with a homer for the Racers, while Mathieu Vallee had 3 hits, 2 runs, and an RBI for SIU. Nathan Holler (3-0) got the win in relief.

The win moved Murray to 6-6 in the conference and 22-13 overall and marked the 150th victory of head coach Dan Skirka’s career. This coming weekend, the Racers travel to Chicago to take on UIC. The Flames took 2 or 3 in Springfield against Missouri State over the weekend (more on that in a moment). The series has potentially huge meaning in the national RPI rankings (as published at D1Baseball). After Sunday’s action, Murray State sits at 51, while UIC (22-11, 7-5) checks in at 56. These will be affected by mid-week action, of course, but should neither team slip up, the Racers and Flames will battle next weekend not only for conference positioning, but knowing that a series win could prop either into the top 50. Where the two schools are now leaves them likely outside any chance for an at-large berth to NCAA Regionals, but a strong late-season run commenced by a big showing this weekend could change that.

On Friday, Murray State dominated, downing the Salukies, 14-1. The odd-numbered innings for friendly for the Racers, who scored 1 in the 3rd; 6 in the 5th; 3 in the 7th; and 4 in the 9th. Dustin Mercer (6 RBIs) and Carson Garner (2 R, 2 RBIs) each homered for Murray State. Mercer, a redshirt junior from Weddington, N.C., and Virginia Tech transfer, set a season-high for RBIs and now has 27 on the season. Cade Vernon pitched 7 strong innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts on 91 pitches (5.06 ppo).

Southern struck back in the middle game, notching a 4-3 victory. Vallee hit a solo homer and Nathan Bandy added a 2-run single as SIU took a 3-2 lead after 3 innings. Cole Christman homered to provide an insurance run in the 4th. Murray got back within 1 in the 8th on Garner’s RBI single that scored Drew Vogel (2-for-4, 2 runs), but the Racers couldn’t draw level, despite outhitting the Salukis, 8-4. Al Holguin (3-2) went 7 1/3 innings to get the win for SIU, handing Murray’s Jacob Pennington (3-1) his first loss of the season. Anthony Pron got the final 4 outs for his 5th save.

SIU now stands 20-16, 5-7. The Salukis host Western Illinois Tuesday before heading to Belmont for 3 this weekend.

UIC Takes Two at Missouri State as Homers Rule: The Flames did their par to set up this weekend’s matchup with Murray State by rallying from a Thursday afternoon defeat to take the final 2 game and clinch a road series win at Missouri State. Pitchers were not welcome in this series, as the Bears hit 6 homers and took the opener, 17-3. But UIC captured the next 2 games by scores of 16-9 and 9-8.

Friday’s game was a 7-inning run-rule affair. Zack Stewart homered twice and teammates Caden Bogenpohl, Dylan Leach, Taeg Gollert, and Cody Kelly are joined in on the yard work as Missouri State (15-19, 4-8) lead 7-2 after 2 and 11-3 after 4 innings. Stewart finished with 6 RBIs while Kelly and Nick Rodriguez had 3 hits each. Stewart also scored 3 runs, as did Leach. Brandt Thompson improved to 5-0 with a 6-inning effort featuring 0 walks and 7 strikeouts. Kendal Ewell and Ryan Nagelbach homered for UIC.

Friday’s Game 2 saw the Flames score 13 runs in the final 4 innings en route to a 16-9 win. The teams combined for 34 hits (18 by UIC) and 6 homers evenly distributed as Ewell hit 2 more for the Flames, while Jackson Bessette went yard. Bogenpohl, Leach, and Stewart all homered again for the Bears, but this time it wasn’t enough. Ewell had his second 5-hit game in a matter of 2 weeks, going 5-for-6 with 4 RBIs, while A.J. Taylor and Bessette each scored 3 times. Colin Hawkins and Ryan Smith combined to finish the game for UIC on the mound, throwing 3 1/3 innings and allowing 0 runs on 2 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.

On Saturday, things seemed to be in Missouri State’s favor for a series win, leading 7-3 after 7 innings. But as you can imagine from how the other games went, no lead is safe and UIC proved that in the 8th, scoring 6 times to take a 9-8 win. Vidal Colon’s 2-run single got things going, then Bessette scored on a single by Pambos Nicoloudes. Nagelbach’s 2-run single made it 9-7 after Zane Zielinski’s RBI single tied the game. Stewart homered in the 9th to get the Bears within 1 but that was that. Zielinski homered for UIC, while Bogenpohl hit 2 for Missouri State, giving him 4 for the series. Gollert also went deep for Missouri State.

Belmont Keeps Pace with Series Win at Valpo: The Belmont Bruins moved into the quartet of teams at 7-5 and tied for 2nd place in the Valley standings by winning 2 out of 3 at Valparaiso over the weekend. Belmont took the bookend games, 9-2 and 15-8, while the Beacons grabbed the middle game, 10-9. Sam Slaughter and Brodey Heaton (4 RBIs) homered in the opener, while Mason Landers and Heaton each had 3 hits. Will Pryor, Cade Granzow (W, 3-1), and Jordan Zuger combined to hold the Beacons to 2 runs on 2 hits, with 12 strikeouts, though Valpo did draw 11 walks – 9 off Pryor in just 3 innings, though the Belmont Friday starter didn’t allow any hits and only 1 run. Carson Husmann homered for Valpo.

Valpo gave itself a chance to win the series with a 10-9 win on Saturday. Pitchers were ducking in this one, as well, as the Bruins held a 7-6 lead after just 2 innings. It was still 9-7 Belmont entering the bottom of the 9th, but the Beacons rallied in a unique way, scoring 2 run on Husmann’s single to tie it, then seeing the winning run score when Husmann was awarded home plate on a Hank Liss balk. Valpo’s Griffin McCluskey worked the final 5 innings to get the win for the Beacons (11-22, 3-9). McCluskey didn’t allow a run and surrendered just 2 hits while fanning 6 for his first victory of the season.

But any hopes of a series win for Valpo ended in the Sunday finale, as Belmont (19-17) scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning to take a 5-2 lead, then 6 more in the 5th to pull away, 15-8. Landers singled, doubled, and homered, d riving in 4 runs and scoring 3. Blake Barton drove in 4 runs with 3 hits, and Sam Slaughter had 3 hits and 4 runs from the leadoff spot. Pete Daniel (3-for-6) also had 3 hits. Kyle Schmack doubled and homered for Valpo, scoring 3 runs, while Ryan Maka also scored 3 times and had 3 hits.

Today on Valley Diamonds: No games today.

If You’re Starved for College Baseball: With no Valley action today, you can catch two teams who often show up on the non-conference slates of Valley teams, as Austin Peay travels to Lipscomb at 3 p.m. Central on ESPN+.