Life in the Valley

Bruins Down City Rival Lipscomb, 14-9; ISU Drubs Ball State, 11-1

Belmont wouldn’t be denied Tuesday, as the Bruins prevailed in a slugfest at Lipscomb, 14-9. It’s Belmont’s first victory of the season as the Bruins improved to 1-7. Ty Allen and Landon Godsey did much of the damage for the Belmont offense, combining to go 7-for-12 with 4 runs and 9 RBIs. Each homered.

Godsey got Belmont’s offense going in the 1st inning, driving in 2 runs with a single. But Lipscomb responded, scoring 3 in the bottom of the 1st to take the lead. The Bisons were coming off a tough Monday loss against West Virginia, where the visiting Mountaineers were able to nip Lipscomb in extra innings.

Allen delivered in the 2nd to give Belmont the lead again, 4-3, with his own 2-run single. Godsey followed with a 2-run homer, as Allen trotted home in front of him, to make it 6-3. Allen factored in the attack again in the 3rd, as another 2-run single gave the Bruins some breathing room at 9-3.

Lipscomb (2-6), which beat Evansville in extra innings earlier this season, rallying from a 9-3 deficit in the 9th inning that day, got within 9-6 in this one before Belmont dropped the hammer and put thing out of reach. The Bruins scored 4 in the 6th inning, one on Blake Barton’s double, another on a Pete Daniel single. The other runs scored on a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch.

Allen homered in the 9th, a solo shot to make it 14-8. Allen drove in 5 and scored 3, going 4-for-6. Godsey went 3-for-6 with a run and 4 RBIs. Allen leads the Bruins in hitting at .394, as well as HRs (3) and RBIs (11). Godsey raised his average to .303.

Jordan Zuger picked up the win for Belmont, pitching 2 innings of no-hit relief, though he allowed an unearned run.

Belmont is home this weekend to take on ACC foe Notre Dame in a 3-game series.

Redbirds Roll: Meanwhile in Muncie, Ind., the Illinois State Redbirds scored early and often to put away Ball State, 11-1, and get their own first win of the 2025 season. Daniel Pacella got the party started with an RBI double in the 1st. Kyle Gibson did the same in the 2nd, and Shai Robinson made it 3-0 Redbirds with a bases-loaded walk. The Redbirds got another run on a passed ball. Gibson singled in another run in the 3rd, before Judah Morris’ RBI double made it 6-0 in the 4th. But Illinois State wasn’t done, as Graham Mastros hit a 2-run homer, giving the Redbirds an 8-0 lead after 4 innings.

Thomas Harper started and went 3 scoreless innings, giving just 2 hits, with 1 walks and 2 strikeouts over 40 pitches (4.44 pitches per out). MacCallan Conklin replaced him and worked the 4th and 5th, also giving up 0 runs and 2 hits, with 2 strikeouts. Five Redbird pitchers aligned to hold the Cardinals to 1 run on 5 hits with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. They all got it done on a respectable 125 pitches, a solid 5.21 pitches per out over the 8 innings (run-rule).

The game marked the first February home game in Ball State history.

Gibson, Morris, Brayden Bakes, and Mastros all drove in 2 runs each for Illinois State. Gibson went 4-for-5 and Pacella had 3 hits. Bakes and Morris joined Mastros with homers.

Despite Illinois State’s record, they are getting sterling offensive performances so far from Pacella and Gibson. Pacella is hitting .480 with a 1.319 OPS, 5 RBIs, and a team-leading 12 hits. Gibson is hitting .385 and leads the Redbirds in RBI with 7.

Illinois State goes to Lindenwood for 3 games this weekend.

Murray State 18, Tennessee-Martin 7: One day after handing Western Kentucky its first loss in a 2-1, 12-inning affair, Murray State went back to its more recognizable way of winning baseball games – bludgeoning teams with offense. The Racers scored 8 runs in the 4th inning and 9 more in the 6th to run rule UTM, 18-7. Luke Mistone led the way with 4 RBIs, while he and Dan Tauken each had 3 hits. Tauken scored 3 runs. Mistone hit the lone homer, but Murray State added 3 doubles and drew 8 walks. Nic Schutte got the win with 3 innings of scoreless relief. Murray State improved to 4-0 and visits Little Rock for 3 games this weekend.

Indiana State 12, Bethune-Cookman 4: The Sycamores broke open a scoreless game with a 5-run 4th inning, then added 3 runs each in the 7th and 9th innings, en route to a 12-4 win at Bethune-Cookman. Nick Sutherlin, Weston Fulk, and Miguel Cantu each had 2 hits and 2 RBIs for Indiana State (5-3). Colby Morse worked the final 4 innings to get the win, allowing no runs and 1 hit with 3 strikeouts. He got 12 outs on just 56 pitches (4.67 pitches per out). Indiana State visits Greenville, N.C., this weekend for the LeClair Classic. The Sycamores will play Virginia Tech, East Carolina, and Kent State.

UIC 12, North Park 2: The Flames took an early 4-0 lead and never looked back, downing North Park, 12-2. The Vikings are a Division-III school that plays in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. North Park is located in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The bottom of the UIC (2-7) did most of the heavy lifting in this one, as Terrick Thompson-Allen, Blake Cowans, James Harris, and Vidal Colon combined to go 7-for-13 with 8 runs and 4 RBIs. They also drew 4 of UIC’s 13 walks. Six pitchers combined to hold North Park (0-2) to 2 runs on 4 hits. UIC gets a tougher test this weekend with 3 games at Tennessee Tech.

Southern Illinois 7, Arkansas State 5: Jordan Bach, Cecil Lofton, Mason Schwalbach, John Lemm, and Tim Simay all had 2 hits each as SIU earned a good road win at Arkansas State, 7-5. Bach, Lemm, Simay, and Matt Schark all doubled in the victory. Tyler Zimmerman gave up 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings as the starter, but his Saluki bullpen got his back with 5 1/3 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits. Of note, Arkansas State’s Wil French went 4-for-4 with 4 doubles in the loss. SIU will spend the weekend at home playing 4 games – 2 against Southern Indiana and 2 vs. Bowling Green.

Oral Roberts 8, Missouri State 7 (10): A down year in 2024 doesn’t seem to have fazed Oral Roberts, which is now 5-2 on the ’25 season with an 8-7 win over Missouri State Tuesday night in 10 innings. Missouri State scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the game at 7, thanks to Zack Stewart’s 2-run homer. But in the 10th, Cooper Combs singled to score Keaton Campbell with the winning run. ORU was in the College World Series in 2023. Max Knight had a big … day for the Bears (2-5), homering and driving in 4 runs. Missouri State hosts a 3-game series against Louisiana-Monroe this weekend.

Kentucky 24, Evansville 3: Maybe UK should change its name to Kentrucky, because the Wildcats dump-trucked the Purple Aces Tuesday, 24-3. UK scored 7 runs in the 1st inning to take control, then added 9 more in the 6th, completing the scoring. The game ended after 7 innings. Devin Burkes was the main thorn in the side of the Purple Aces, going 4-for-5 with 5 runs and 4 RBIs. Burkes hit 3 doubles of the 7 Kentucky bashed in the game. Kentucky (5-1) also hit 2 homers and stole 6 bases. Eleven different Wildcats had at least 1 of Kentucky’s 17 hits. UK also drew 9 walks, though of note, Evansville pitchers registered an impressive 11 strikeouts. Drew McConnell went 2-for-3 with a homer and 2 runs in the loss, with Ty Rumsey getting the only other 2 hits for UE (1-6). McConnell is 4-for-6 this season with a homer and 5 RBIs. He’s also scored 4 runs.

UE stays in the SEC for its next 5 games, 4 this weekend at Missouri, then a game next Tuesday at #14 Vanderbilt.

Wednesday’s Valley Menu: Well, it’s a blank slate today. No Valley teams are in action. If you’re desperate for baseball tonight, ESPN+ has a sneaky good matchup between #7 Florida State and Jacksonville at 5 p.m. Central.

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.