Life in the Valley

Offense Reigns as the Battle for the Lead Takes Shape

Valley Ball. A brand of baseball played in the Missouri Valley Conference where scores are kept using pinball machines, teams are never out of games, and the league is raising eyebrows with some recent non-conference wins over Power-4 teams such as Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Iowa.

With 30 conference games in the books so far, Valley teams have scored a combined 501 runs in league play, an average of 16.7 total runs per game. Southern Illinois led the charge with a 25-11 win over Bradley. The Salukis, tied with Missouri State for the Valley lead at 5-1, are averaging 12 runs per game in conference play, have won 7 straight games overall, and have reached double figures in 5 of those.

The aforementioned Bears have 75 runs in the books in 6 conference games (12.5 per game). Missouri State rallied from 5 down in the 9th to eventually win, 14-13, last week at #2 Arkansas. Over the weekend, they hammered Belmont, 16-3, in the opener of their 3-game series, only to see the Bruins have their fun Saturday to the tune of a 17-11 victory. The Bears took the series with a relatively tame 8-3 win on Sunday. Missouri State has scored in double figures in 8 of their 13 wins.

The Bears (13-13) will get another chance at a Power-4 opponent this week, hosting Oklahoma State on Tuesday. The weekend then brings the matchup offense lovers have been waiting for, as the Bears visit the Salukis starting Friday. Any odds on the total number of runs that will be scored in that series? I’ll set the over/under at 59.5.

Speaking of Oklahoma State – Illinois State owns a win over the Cowboys this season when they were ranked 25th. The Redbirds are another team with a deep lineup that has produced to the tune of 9.3 runs per game in conference play. The Redbirds have scored in double figures in 5 of their last 8 wins and won their weekend series against Murray State by taking the finale, 13-10. Illinois State beat Iowa, 10-8, last week, building a 10-0 lead in the process.

Murray State, which is off to a 2-4 start in league play having dropped 2-1 series results to Evansville and Illinois State, is still averaging 9 runs per game in Valley play. The Racers’ lineup is as deep as anybody else. Murray State has already scored 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 runs in games this season. Their lone win at Illinois State over the weekend came by a 19-8 score.

Runs Per Game, Valley Play (MVC Record)
12.5, Missouri State (5-1)
12.0, Southern Illinois (5-1)
9.3, Illinois State (4-2)
9.0, Murray State (2-4)
7.7, Indiana State (4-2)
7.7, UIC (2-4)
7.3, Evansville (4-2)
6.8, Belmont (2-4)
5.8, Bradley (0-6)
5.3, Valparaiso (2-4)

Just this past weekend, Valley teams combined to score 113 runs on Friday in 5 games; 136 runs in 8 games on Saturday; and 20 runs in Sunday’s 2-game slate. For the weekend, that’s 269 runs in 15 games, an average of 17.9 total runs per game or 8.97 runs per team per game. Eight of the conference’s 10 teams scored at least 10 runs in a game at least once over the weekend. Indiana State’s Keegan Garis of Indiana State was probably the individual human highlight film of the offensive barrage around the conference, hitting 3 home runs Friday night and driving in 9 runs in the Sycamores’ 16-5 victory over UIC.

But what can’t be lost in all this offense is how competitive the league has been so far, with 5 teams within 1 game or less of first place. And even though Murray State is 2-4, the Racers’ offense has to be respected to the point that we know they can play with anyone and them running off a 5-1 run to get toward the top of the standings in a 2-weekend stretch wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Valparaiso may be 2-4, but the Beacons once again this season have that dog about them, the Beacons are never out of a game. They rallied from 4-0 down after 5 innings at Evansville Saturday, exploding for 11 runs in the final 4 innings in an 11-6 win. Even in Sunday’s 5-4 loss, the Beacons (6-16) were down 3-0 after 3 innings, but scored single runs in each of the last 4 innings to tie the game at 4 when Case Sullivan doubled in a run in the top of the 9th. Unfortunately for the Beacons, Matt Flaherty broke their hearts in the bottom of the 9th with a walk-off solo homer to give the Purple Aces their second consecutive 2-1 record in league play.

UIC is only 2-4 in the conference, but 6th in the league in runs per game. The Flames figure to keep themselves in the race based on their extremely tough non-conference schedule. The slate might have been light on wining results but it had to be long on experience and seeing teams that good like Georgia is great prep for Valley play.

Bradley may be in an 0-6 hole to start conference play, but the Braves have hit 42 doubles in 23 games and Bobby Atkinson leads the club with 20 RBIs. Timmy O’Brien has 6 homers – including matching Garis’ feat earlier this season with 3 homers in a game. And there’s almost always a Brave on base – Bradley has drawn 104 walks and has a team on-base percentage (.358) 109 points better than its batting average.

The point is, if you support a Valley team, never think a game is over. Every team in the league has their offensive prowess and it’s taking shape to make the conference season enjoyable while those of us who follow it go scrambling for media guides to see which record will be broken next.

Tuesday on Valley Diamonds: A busy midweek as the season is on in full force now at about the halfway point. All times Central, all games weather permitting, all streaming info as best as I can find it right now.

Southern Illinois at Lindenwood, 3, ESPN+
North Alabama at Murray State, 3
Milwaukee at Valparaiso, 3, ESPN+
Northwestern at UIC, 5
Iowa at Bradley, 6
Illinois State at Illinois, 6, B1G+
Southeast Missouri at Evansville, 6, ESPN+
Oklahoma State at Missouri State, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+
Indiana State at SIU-Edwardsville, 7, ESPN+

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.