Life in the Valley

Deverman’s 114-Pitch Effort Guides Purple Aces Past Mizzou in Columbia

Huddled on the mound with his head coach, Wes Carroll, his catcher, Evan Waggoner, and the rest of the infield, Evansville sophomore pitcher Kenton Deverman knew he had 1 more out to get, and maybe this was the last batter he was going to see. Up 7-5 in the bottom of the 7th, and having held Missouri scoreless since the 4th, the Tigers had the tying run coming to the plate in Jackson Lovich and Brady Picarelli at third.

Before the huddle ended, as Carroll was wrapping up his message to his pitcher and his team, Deverman turned his attention to shortstop Drew McConnell, whose error earlier in the inning had allowed Picarelli to reach. Deverman tapped him on the shoulder with his glove several times as if to say, I’ve got your back. Deverman put more pressure on himself in that moment to not only get out of the inning, but pick up his teammate.

Deverman got ahead of Lovich 0-2, then the Missouri hitter fouled off the next pitch. Any additional pitches would probably be unwelcome at this point. But Deverman made sure the at-bat and inning wouldn’t be drawn out. He got Lovich swinging on the next pitch, his 114th and final of the game, keeping Evansville’s lead at 7-5. The Purple Aces went on to win, 7-6, with Kellen Roberts striking out Tyler Macon for the final out in the 9th.

It was a stunning win for the Purple Aces (2-6), which brought back memories of last season’s “America’s Team” run to Game of the Super Regional in Knoxville. But focusing on the present, it’s a win Evansville badly needed after a shaky start and a 24-3 humbling at the hands of another SEC foe, Kentucky, in the midweek. Evansville is in the middle of a 6-game stretch against SEC opponents and it would have been easy for experts to write the Purple Aces off as 0-6 for the stretch.

Thanks to Deverman, Roberts, and 3 hits each from Cal McGinnis (HR, 3 RBIs) and Harrison Taubert, that fate won’t occur and at 1-1 so far, UE has a chance to flip the script and make this a productive span. Charlie Longmeier and Ty Rumsey each had 2 hits for Evansville .McGinnis set the tone early with a homer to right in the 1st inning. UE scored in 5 different innings and overcame 4 errors to get the victory.

O’Brien Slugs Thrice: In Game 1 of the doubleheader at Dayton Friday, Bradley first baseman Timmy O’Brien hit 3 homers and drove in 6 runs in Game 1, though the Braves eventually fell to the Flyers, 11-10. Game 2 of the doubleheader was suspended due to darkness (Dayton’s field doesn’t have lights), with the Flyers leading 11-6, after 6 innings. The game will be continued Sunday prior to the series finale.

O’Brien hit a 3-run homer in the 1st inning as the Braves raced out to a 4-0 lead. In the 4th, O’Brien hit a solo homer to give Bradley a 5-2 lead. He was at it again in the 8th, blasting a 2-run shot that cut the Dayton lead to 11-8. Bobby Atkinson, who we talked about here on Friday, singled in a run in the top of the 9th to cut Dayton’s lead to 11-10, but that was as close as the Braves could get. Atkinson went 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 3 RBIs, and 2 doubles.

Nick Hosie is 3-for-3 so far in Game 2, with 3 RBIs. O’Brien is 1-for-3 with a run, RBI, and double in the nightcap.

Perfect Racers Keep Rolling: Dustin Mercer went 4-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs and Murray State scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning to overturn an 8-6 deficit and win at Little Rock, 9-8. The rally wasn’t exactly typical for the hard-hitting Racers (5-0), who scored on a ground out, wild pitch, and throwing error. Mercer also stole a base.

Jonathan Hogart, Luke Mistone, and Jackson McCoy each had 2 hits for the Racers. Jack Wajda got the win, pitching 3 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief. Harper McClendon came in the 9th to get the last out and pick up the save.

Murray State has scored 55 runs this season, an average of 11 runs per game.

SIU 16, Southern Indiana 12: Down 8-6 in the bottom of the 8th inning, Southern Illinois (5-3) erupted for 10 runs to take command, en route to a 16-12 win over visiting USI. Jaxon Holder had a 3-run double in the uprising, while Cecil Lofton knocked in 2 with a single. SIU sent 14 men to the plate in the 8th, scoring 10 times on just 4 hits. USI pitchers helped the rally with 4 walks and hitting 2 Saluki batters. Holder and Michael Mylott each drove in 3 runs. Remarkably in a 16-run outburst, no Saluki had more than 1 hit. SIU had 8 total.

Valpo Splits 2 with Niagara: After Niagara rolled to an 11-1 win in the opener of a doubleheader, the Purple Eagles’ first win of the season in their 8th attempt, Valparaiso responded with a 16-11 victory in Game 2 to split the doubleheader. Valpo (2-6) took a 10-1 lead after just 3 innings in the nightcap and never looked back. Ryan Hatch led the way in Game 2 with 3 hits, while 5 other Beacons all had 2 hits each. Liam Patton and Patrick Ilitch each drove in 3 runs. Ilitch and Spencer Warfield homered. Thomas Cooper’s double drove in the lone Valpo run in the opener.

Belmont, Indiana State Fall to ACC Foes: The ACC went 2-0 vs. The Valley on Friday, as Notre Dame won at Belmont, 12-8, while Indiana State fell to Virginia Tech, 10-2, at Greenville, N.C . The Bruins (1-8) had to try and rally from an 11-3 deficit after the Fighting Irish scored 6 runs in the 4th inning. Mike Sprockett, Blake Barton, and Wyatt Fooks all homered and drove in 2 runs each for the Bruins. Zane Brown gave Belmont a chance to comeback with 4 1/3 innings of relief, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts. The Sycamores (5-4) got down 5-0 early against the Hokies and weren’t able to rally. Thomas Emerich and Eli Gipson drove in the Indiana State runs. Tech starter Brett Renfrow struck out 9 Sycamores in just 5 innings.

Tennessee Tech 11, UIC 5: Tennessee Tech built a 10-run lead and held on as the Flames scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th to make the final score respectable at 11-5. Leadoff man Lucas Smith had 3 hits and 2 runs for UIC. Catcher Mack Whitcomb doubled twice and drove in 5 runs for Tennessee Tech.

Lindenwood 8, Illinois State 5: Lindenwood’s 5-run 3rd inning was too much to overcome for the Redbirds on the road Friday. Judah Morris, however, didn’t let Illinois State (1-6) go quietly, hitting a 2-run homer as part of a 3-hit, 4-RBI day. Lindenwood’s Easton Rakers pitched 3 scoreless innings to get a save.

Louisiana-Monroe 9, Missouri State 8: Taeg Gollert, Curry Sutherland, and Jake McCutheon all homered for Missouri State (2-6) but it wasn’t enough as the Bears fell to UL-Monroe, 9-8. The Bears had what seemed like a comfortable 6-2 lead in the top of the 9th inning, but the Warhawks erupted for 7 runs in the 9th inning, including a 2-run homer by Jackson Landry that capped the scoring. McCutcheon’s 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th completed the scoring.

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.