Life in the Valley

Thielke, Pryor, Duby Pitch 3 2/3 Scoreless Innings in 6-4 Bruins Win

For the first 4 innings of Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship, it looked a lot like this morning’s Game 3 – won by Evansville, 17-6. Lots of scoring, waiting to see which team would take control, with Belmont leading, 6-4.

Then, the bullpens happened.

The Missouri State Bears and Belmont Bruins combined on 7 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, but it was the Bruins who held on, 6-4, to advance to another elimination game on Thursday against Illinois State. Missouri State’s season is finished at 23-34 and they are the first team to be eliminated from this year’s tournament. The loss also ends the head coaching career of Missouri State’s Keith Guttin, who is retiring from that post after a tremendous 42-year run at the helm that saw him guide the Bears to 1,396 wins (12th all-time) and the 2003 College World Series.

The dominance of the bullpens was highlighted in the 7th inning. Missouri State loaded the bases against Jett Thielke with 1 out, prompting the Bruins to bring in Will Pryor – a starter throughout the season but with the stuff needed to get through a high-leverage situation. With Belmont leading 6-4 and the go-ahead run at 1st and only 1 out, it didn’t get much more high-leverage than this.

Pryor, a sophomore from Whitewell, Tenn., was up to the challenge. First, he struck out Dylan Leach on a 3-2 pitch for the 2nd out. Then he went to a full count on Zack Stewart – who has 21 homers on the year, mind you. Pryor fanned him, too. Leach went looking, Stewart swinging. It was Pryor’s first relief appearance of the season, and the strikeouts gave him 62 in 55 2/3 innings.

Not to be outdone, Missouri State reliever Stephen Schissler kept the Bears in the game in the bottom of the 7th, as he too faced down a bases-l0aded jam with 1 out. Schissler responded by striking out Blake Barton and getting Mason Landers to ground into a fielder’s choice, with Brodey Heaton retired at second base.

But it turned out Schissler’s escape job was the last high point for the 2024 Missouri State season. Pryor and Bill Duby retired the side in order in the 8th and 9th innings to send the Bears home. Nick Rodriguez hit the game’s only homer for the Bears, while Caden Bogenpohl doubled twice.

Belmont’s Max Blessinger tripled, walked, was hit in the face/helmet by a pitch, scored 2 runs, and drove in 2 runs.

Game 4
MSU 002 200 000 – 4 6 3 (23-34)
BEL 012 300 00x – 6 5 0 (26-31)
W: Baratta (4-4).
L: Schaaf (3-4).
S: Duby (3).
HR: Rodriguez, MSU (14).