Life in the Valley

MSU Alone Atop Valley After Sweeping Bradley

Missouri State swept its way into the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference baseball standings after the opening weekend of conference play. Not surprisingly, the Bears did so with a powerful offense, scoring 40 runs in 3 games to take a trio of victories over visiting Bradley.

Evansville, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, and Indiana State all won 2 of 3 in their respective series to tie for second a game back. Ahead of Bradley in the second half of the standings sit Murray State, UIC, Belmont, and Valparaiso.

Missouri State (10-12, 3-0) figured to have an explosive offense this season. Their lineup is as deep as any in the Valley and perhaps throughout the midwest as a whole. If last season is any indication, they will only be more dangerous as the weather warms up. But the Bears didn’t waste any time over the weekend, pounding out 10 doubles and 9 homers in their sweep. Missouri State scored 16 runs in each of the first 2 games, before an 8-2 win in the finale.

Curry Sutherland was about impossible to stop for the weekend, going 5-for-9 with 4 walks, 3 homers, and 10 RBIs. He scored 7 runs to lead the way. It all adds up to a gaudy 2.248 OPS after one weekend. Sutherland, a sophomore from Rogersville, Mo., is riding a 6-game hitting streak and is 8-for-19 (.421) in that span. An imposing figure at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Sutherland now has 5 homers and 14 RBIs for the season with 19 runs scored in 18 games played. He’s also drawn 14 walks – an important trait in such a deep lineup where there are no easy outs, so many at-bats are going to be high-leverage situations.

Seven Bear starters exited the weekend with an OPS of at least 1.081 for the series. Six different Missouri State hitters homered, and while Taeg Gollert didn’t get in on that fun, he did contribute 4 doubles, hit .500, and score 6 runs. State drew 19 walks and carried a team OPS for the series of 1.213, hitting .381. Jake McCutcheon went 4-for-6 with 2 homers in the Bears’ 16-8 win Saturday. He also doubled.

With Missouri State held to a mere 8 runs Sunday, pitcher Tyler Charlton made sure that was more than enough, throwing 5 scoreless innings with just 4 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. He earned 15 outs on just 70 pitches. Jackson Holmes worked 4 innings of relief to close it out and earn a save. Charlton is 4-1 on the season.

Bradley (3-16, 0-3) got homers from Mitch Ball and Timmy O’Brien. Ball hit .545 for the series with 2 doubles. O’Brien now has 5 homers on the season. Mason Breidenbach had 4 hits in the series and is 11-for-23 (.478) in his last 6 games.

Here’s how the rest of the weekend played out on Valley diamonds:

UE Upends Murray: The Purple Aces (7-16, 2-1) took the first 2 games at Murray State to clinch the series before the Racers answered with a 9-5 win in the series finale. UE, which was swept at home by Murray State last season, took down one of the Valley’s hottest teams with 6-5 and 15-10 wins in the opening 2 games. UE trailed Game 2, 6-3, after 6 innings thanks to Dan Tauken’s grand slam, but exploded for 12 runs in the final 3 innings to pull away. Ty Rumsey hit a 3-run homer in the 7th, while Cal McGinnis’ 2-run single was the key blow in a 7-run 8th inning. It was Rumsey’s 2nd homer of the game. He finished with 4 runs and 5 RBIs to go with 2 walks and a stolen base in one of the boxscores of the season. Charlie Longmeie went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Tauken drove in 6 runs for Murray State in the loss.

Saturday’s doubleheader finale wrapped up the series, as the Racers (14-6, 1-2) took command in the middle innings and eased home 9-5 winners. Tauken was again the key, hitting a 3-run homer in the 3rd. Tauken drove in 10 runs for the series. A redshirt senior from Congers, N.Y., by way of Rockland Community College, Tauken has at least 1 RBI now in 6 straight games, totaling 15 over that span and 35 for the season in 20 games. Tauken is hitting .279 for the season with 5 homers and 18 runs scored. His 35 RBIs are tied for 21st nationally with Jake Butler of George Mason and Andrew Kirchner of Cal-State Fullerton.

Jackson McCoy and Conner Cunningham also drove in 2 runs each for the Racers. Matt Parenteau and Dylan Zentko were all the pitchers Murray needed to hold UE to 5 runs on 12 hits with 10 strikeouts.

SIU’s Boots Meant for Walking Off: After a 17-6 loss to UIC on Friday, the SIU Salukis showed off their own form of March Madness, walking off the Flames not once but twice – both in 10 innings – in Saturday’s doubleheader to take the series. Game 1 saw both teams score late, as SIU tied the game at 3 in the 8thon a solo homer from Kaleb Hall. However, James Harris quickly untied it in the 9th with his second homer of the game, giving UIC a 4-3 lead. SIU tied it in the bottom of the 9th on a fielder’s choice, before Tim Simay’s long single to right scored Cecil Lofton with the winner in a 5-4 victory. Hall, Gabe Petrucelli, and Michael Mylott all homered for the Salukis in the win.

With the series on the line, Saturday’s nightcap saw the Flames (4-18, 1-2) build a 9-2 lead with 3 runs each in the 5th and 6th innings. Jackson Bessette’s 3-run double brought home the runs in the 6th. But SIU’s rally started with Mylott’s RBI single in the 6th, then featured a 4-run 7th. Jordan Bach (4-for-5, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs) doubled in a run, then scored on Lofton’s single. John Lemm followed with a 2-run homer to make it 9-7. Bach tied it in the 8th with a 2-run single, then won it in the 10th, doubling home Hall. Cole Koonce pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief to keep SIU (15-7, 2-1) in the game and get the win, striking out 5 and recording 14 outs on just 65 pitches.

Bach went 6-for-14 in the series. SIU hit 7 homers and lashed 9 doubles to win the series, despite being outscored on the weekend, 30-21.

In Home of Country Music, Redbirds Rock and Roll in Finale: After an 11-6 Belmont win set up a rubber game for the series finale, Illinois State took what was a calm 1-1 game through 3 innings and kicked the speakers over, scoring 10 times in the 4th inning en route to a 14-2, 7-inning win in Nashville to clinch the series.

Brayden Bakes was the star of this heavy metal show, hitting a solo homer in the 2nd, a 3-run shot in the 4th, then a 2-run homer in the 6th to close the scoring. Bakes joined Bradley’s Timmy O’Brien as Valley players with 3 homers in a game this season. Illinois State (8-13, 2-1) outhit Belmont in the win, 15-4. Kyle Gibson went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI; Daniel Pacella homered as part of a 2-hit game; Graham Mastros doubled and had 2 hits, a run, and an RBI; and Josh Outlaw went 2-for-4 with 2 runs and an RBI. Pacella homered in every game of the series, all solo shots. He’s got 7 homers and 16 RBIs on the season now to go with a robust .419 average. Illinois State hit 9 homers for the weekend, and outscored Belmont, 28-18, in the series.

Tyrelle Chadwick (2-1) was the beneficiary of the offense, pitching 5 innings and allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits with a couple strikeouts.

In the 11-6 Belmont (9-16, 1-2) win, Ty Allen and Pete Daniel each had 3-run homers. Daniel and Mike Sprockett had 3 hits each, and Sprockett also homered. Daniel was 7-for-12 (.583) for the weekend with 5 RBIs. Landon Godsey doubled twice and tripled for the weekend, going 5-for-12.

Sycamores Prevail in Pitchers’ Battle; Take Series: In contrast to all the offensive shows found around the conference over the weekend, Indiana State and Valparaiso decided to have themselves a nice little 2-1 ballgame in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. The Sycamores needed the win to avoid losing the series at home and went ahead for good in the 6th inning when Jorge Cartagena doubled home Eli Gipson to make it 2-1.

Both teams got quality pitching. Indiana State starter Ty Brooks went 5 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts (89 pitches). Gavin Morris came on to get the win (3-2) with 4 innings of scoreless relief, striking out 2, walking none, and allowing just 1 hit. Morris got 12 outs on an insane 34 pitches.

Valpo starter Harry Deliyannis was no slouch in defeat, working 6 innings with 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. Josh Cottrill worked 2 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Beacons in it. The game featured just 241 pitches and was played in a brisk 2 hours, 7 minutes.

Having avoided an 0-2 hole in the series, the Sycamores (11-13, 2-1) won the weekend with a 10-5 victory in Saturday’s nightcap. This game was nothing like its predecessor, with each team scoring twice in the 1st. But Indiana State struck a big blow in the 2nd as Carter Beck hit a 3-run homer to give the Sycamores a 5-2 lead. Valpo, as Valpo does, fought back however, tying the game in the 4th on a 2-run single from Liam Patton and Kevin Denty’s RBI single. In the bottom of the 5th, Cartagena’s sac fly gave the Sycamores the lead for good, 6-5. Beck added another RBI with a ground out in the 6th before Mason Roll hit a 2-run homer.

Beck’s 4 RBIs in the win were a season high. Beck, who came to Indiana State from Saskatchewan, is hitting .277 on the season with 7 homers, 5 doubles, 23 runs, and 24 RBIs. He’s also drawn 12 walks and stolen 6 bases.

Tuesday on Valley Diamonds: Here’s Tuesday’s schedule around The Valley. Remember, all times Central and all games weather permitting. Streaming information is the best I have as of this writing, but is also, like everything in life, subject to change.

Valparaiso at Purdue, 3 p.m., B1G+
Lipscomb at Belmont, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Bradley at Lindenwood, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Southern Illinois at Tennessee-Martin, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Iowa at Illinois State, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Missouri State at #2 Arkansas, 6 p.m., SECN+
Western Kentucky at Evansville, 6 p.m. (no stream)

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.