Life in the Valley

Valley Teams Win 4 Games Sunday

Valparaiso got in the win column for the first time this season, taking the series finale at Memphis, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon. Case Sullivan went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and 2 doubles in the victory, the finale of a 6-game southern swing that saw the Beacons drop the first 3 at Samford before losing the opening 2 games against the Tigers.

Spencer Boynton helped guide Valpo to victory Sunday, starting and pitching 5 innings. Over a scant 69 pitches, Boynton allowed just 1 run on 2 hits with 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. That, combined with a 5-run 2nd inning, allowed Valparaiso to take control of the game early on. Sullivan’s 2-run double was the big blow in the 2nd. Aidan Thaxton and Kade Reinertson delivered RBI singles, while Kevin Denty walked with the bases loaded. Adam Guazzo got the last 5 outs unblemished to pick up the save.

Valparaiso comes home this weekend to face winless Niagara, who just suffered a 4-game sweep at 8-0 Purdue.

Evansville, meanwhile, split a doubleheader against Southern Indiana in battle for the River City, with USI taking the opener, 9-1, before UE took out some frustrations in the finale, 13-0, in 7 innings. UE scored 11 runs in the 4th inning of Game 2, 3 on Drew McConnell’s double. McConnell then came up again later in the inning and produced one of 4 run-scoring singles. Jake McGhee, Harrison Taubert, and Charlie Longmeier had the others. Longmeier finished 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 hits as UE pounded out 14 hits in 7 innings after being held to just 2 in 9 innings in the opener.

With the Purple Aces (1-5) desperate for a strong starting pitching performance to rest a stressed bullpen, Kevin Reed stepped into the spotlight and delivered, throwing a complete-game shutout with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Reed gave up 2 singles and 1 double to the Screaming Eagles, who had touched up preseason 3rd-team All-American Kenton Deverman for 6 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings in the opener.

Reed, a left-hander from Martinsville, Ind., averaged just more than 4 innings each in 6 starts as a freshman last season, and went just 3 2/3 innings in his first start of this season. The stretch-out and effectiveness are both very good news for the Purple Aces.

Evansville is in deep schedule-wise coming up, as its next 6 opponents come from the SEC. The Purple Aces play at Kentucky Tuesday, then visit Missouri for 4 next weekend before taking on Vanderbilt in Nashville on March 4.

Indiana State 5, Northeastern 4: The Sycamores (4-3) salvaged the series finale against the Huskies Sunday in Port Charlotte, Fla. Down 4-3 in the 8th, a Sebastian Torres sac fly scored Thomas Emerich with the eventual winning run. Gavin Morris pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th to get the win. Jeremy Martinez and Miguel Cantu each had 2 hits for Indiana State. The Sycamores are at Bethune-Cookman Tuesday.

Kentucky 9, Belmont 5: The aforementioned Wildcats finished off a 3-game sweep at Belmont with a 9-5 win on Sunday in Nashville. Belmont led, 4-1, after 3 innings, thanks in part to a Ty Allen solo homer and 2-run double by Landon Godsey. But a 6-run 7th put UK (4-1) ahead for good. Godsey, Mike Sprockett, and Kaden Galason led Belmont (0-7) with 2 hits each. Ethan Harden pitched 2 no-hit, scoreless innings in relief. Belmont hosts Lipscomb Tuesday.

#18 Mississippi State 6, Missouri State 4: The Bears were swept in 3 games at Starkville, but 2 of the losses came by only 2 runs, including Sunday’s finale. Down 6-1 in the 9th, William Zareh hit a 3-run homer to cut the margin to 2 but Missouri State (2-4) couldn’t get closer. The Bears, ranked 20th this week in 11point7.com’s Mid-Major Top 25, were held to just 2 hits. Missouri State visits Oral Roberts on Tuesday.

#8 Georgia 17, UIC 3: A tough weekend on the road at Athens, Ga., ended Sunday for the UIC Flames, as they fell 17-3 in 6 innings to #8 Georgia. The Bulldogs swept the Flames by a combined score of 51-11 in the 4 games as UIC fell to 1-7. Georgia led 7-3 entering the bottom of the 6th inning before scoring 10 times to put the game out of reach. Lucas Smith and D.J. Butler had 2 hits each for UIC, which hosts North Park Tuesday. Georgia hit 5 homers in the win.

Southern Illinois 9, Tennessee Tech 1: SIU (2-3) broke open a 2-1 game with 5 runs in the 6th inning and 2 more in the 7th in a 9-1 win. Alec Nigut turned in another strong outing on the mound, conceding just 1 run on 3 hits in 5 innings with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts. Nigut, last week’s MVC Pitcher of the Week, is 2-0 this season with a 0.90 ERA. Offensively, SIU got 3 hits each from Jordan Bach and Matt Schark, while Cecil Lofton and Mason Schwalbach homered. It was the first loss for Tennessee Tech (6-1) this season.

Jacksonville 9, Illinois State 6: The Dolphins swept the weekend series and kept the Redbirds winless on the season with a 9-6 win Sunday. It was a tough loss for Illinois State, which scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning but couldn’t hold on. Shai Robinson and Daniel Pacella hit back-to-back homers for the Redbirds in the 1st. Jacksonville (3-4) scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 6-5 lead. Illinois State goes to Ball State for a single game on Tuesday.

Bradley Splits Two with Siena: The Braves clinched their weekend series against Siena with a Game 1 win, 7-3, before dropping the finale, 9-8. Bradley (2-4) is at Dayton this weekend.

Monday’s Valley Menu: Just 2 games on the card today, as Western Kentucky visits Murray State at 3 p.m. Central (ESPN+), weather permitting. The Racers (2-0) need the game, having played just twice so far over the season’s first 11 days. Southern Illinois is also in action at Tennessee Tech (no video that I could find). That game is already underway. Follow the SIU Baseball X feed for updates.

Ed Morgans is the founder of MVCBaseball.com. An Evansville graduate, Ed has written about and broadcast college baseball, while following the sport for 40 years.