Life in the Valley

UE, SIU Prevail vs. Rivals

Southern Illinois scored 4 runs in the 1st inning to take a lead on counterpart SIU-Edwardsville, but it was Nathan Bandy’s sac fly in the bottom of the 9th that proved the final run is most important, as the Salukis walked-off the Cougars, 8-7, Tuesday.

Bandy, who had homered earlier in the game and finished with 3 hits, knocked a fly ball to center field that scored Trey Cutchen with the winning run, after Edwardsville (18-29, 10-11 OVC) scored 3 runs in the 7th and 2 more in the 9th to tie the game at 7.

Steven Loden went 4-for-5 for the Salukis (27-22, 9-12 MVC), including a 4th-inning solo homer that gave Southern Illinois a 6-1 lead. The advatnage was 7-2 in the 7th when the Cougars made their comeback. But in the 9th, Cutchen led off with a double and went to third on a Justin Keuss ground out. After a walk and stolen base by Jordan Bach put 2 runners in scoring position with 1 out, Bandy’s fly ball won it.

SIU got solid, scoreless pitching outings from Jake Combs (3 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 32 pitches (3.56 pitches per out) and Easton Dermody (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 29 pitches, 5.8 ppo).

Evansville 10, Southern Indiana 0: In its annual game against crosstown rival Southern Indiana (22-27, 11-10 OVC), Evansville scored a touchdown in the first inning and cruised to a 10-0 victory at home. Kip Fougerousse, Brent Widder, and Ty Rumsey all homered in the 1st for the Purple Aces, who improved to 28-20 overall (14-7 MVC). Fougerousse homered again in the 4th. Mark Shallenbeger singled and walked twice to extend his hitting streak to 9 games and on-base streak to 19. Kevin Reed started and went 5 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 3 on 67 pitches (4.46 ppo). Drew Fieger and Nick Smith finished off the 7-inning run-rule shutout.

Purdue 11, UIC 9: The Boilermakers raced to a 6-0 lead, blew the entire advantage, then rallied with 5 runs in the late innings to down UIC, 11-9, in Chicago Tuesday. Tied 8-8 after 6 innings, Purdue took the lead for good in the 7th when a run scored on a double-play ball, then Thomas Green hit a 2-run homer to make it 11-8. Kendal Ewell homered in the 9th to cut the lead to 2 but that was as close as UIC (31-14, 14-7) could get. UIC erased the 6-0 deficit in part thanks to 2-run doubles by Jackson Fisher (3 RBIs) and Ryan Nagelbach. After Purdue took an 8-7 lead, Zane Zielinski (2-for-4) homered to tie the game at 8 in the 6th. UIC had 5 doubles.

Austin Peay 16, Belmont 12: Austin Peay (31-17, 16-8 Atlantic Sun) bashed Belmont with 16 combined runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, taking a 16-3 lead and probably expecting a short night. But the Bruins (22-26, 9-12) scored 9 unanswered runs before falling to the Governors, 16-12, in Clarksville, Tenn. The long ball helped Belmont get back into the game, as Michael Lareau, Pete Daniel, and Brodey Heaton all homered in the 4th to make it 16-8. Heaton’s 4 RBIs gave him 214 for his career – a school record, according to the university. Heaton went 3-for-6 and also doubled. Jack Rando and Mason Landers each scored 3 runs in the loss. Caleb Guisewite finished the game with 3 scoreless relief innings to keep the Bruins in it.

SEMO 5, Missouri State 3: Southeast Missouri State (25-23, 12-8 OVC) finished its season 6-4 against Valley competition with a 5-3 victory over Missouri State in Cape Girardeau. Cody Kelly homered twice for the Bears (19-29, 8-13), driving in 3 runs. Logan Chambers also had 2 hits for Missouri State. The Bears used 8 pitchers – starter Brendan Beaver was charged with the loss. Kelly has now has 11 homers and 30 RBIs on the season in just 92 at-bats.

Today on Valley Diamonds: There’s one game tonight, featuring Murray State hitting the road to take on Ole Miss in Oxford. The game begins at 5 p.m. Central and will be streamed via SEC Network+.

If You’re Still Starved for More College Baseball: There’s not much in the way of big-time matchups on Wednesday as the regular season winds down and midweek games become more a chore than an opportunity for top teams. ESPN2 has Penn State at West Virginia at 6 p.m. Central, while ESPNU brings you Pitt at Notre Dame at 6.