Life in the Valley

Mizzou Outlasts Missouri State; Beacons Fall at Notre Dame

Three tests against Power-4 competition Tuesday brought the Valley a win and 2 losses, as Indiana State was the lone school to notch a victory, as the Sycamores defeated the Big Ten’s Indiana, 7-5, in Bloomington.

Elsewhere, Missouri (SEC) built a 7-0 lead early, only for Missouri State to come back and tie the game, but the Tigers eventually prevailed, 10-9. Valparaiso made the short trip up to ACC opponent Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish came away as 7-1 winners.

Beck Scores 3 in Indiana State Win: Carter Beck went 2-for-3 with an RBI and 3 runs scored in Indiana State’s 7-5 win at Indiana. Beck drove in a run in the 6th with a double to give the Sycamores (19-17) a 5-2 lead. He later scored on Nomar Garcia’s ground out. Beck also scored in the 5th inning on Keegan Garis’ single, and in the 8th on a Carlos Pena single. Indiana State led, 7-3, in the 9th inning before the Hoosiers (20-17) rallied for 2 runs, but Jake Stadler flied out to end the game. Pena, Beck, Mason Roell, and Zack Henderson all had 2 hits for the Sycamores. Ryan Karst got the win while Carson Seeman picked up the save. The teams split this year’s season series, 1-1.

Bears Rally From 7 Down in Loss at Mizzou: The Missouri Tigers (13-23) plated 7 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning to take what seemed to be a comfortable 7-0 lead. But given Missouri State’s offense, no deficit is too much. The Bears scored 7 in the middle innings to tie the game, including homers from Nick Rodriguez (grand slam) and Curry Sutherland (who also doubled). But in the bottom of the 6th, Mizzou added 3 runs to take a 10-7 lead. Caden Bogenpohl’s homer in the 9th cut the deficit to 1, but the Bears (19-16) couldn’t get any closer. Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 22 games, while Bogenpohl had 3 hits and 3 RBIs.

One Bad Inning Sinks Beacons: Notre Dame broke open a scoreless game in the 4th inning with 5 runs and Valparaiso never recovered as the Fighting Irish recorded a 7-1 win. Valpo’s (8-23) lone run scored in the 6th inning on a Notre Dame error. The Fighting Irish outhit the Beacons, 12-4, and all 4 Valpo hits were singles. The Beacon bullpen, however, combined to pitch 5 innings of 5-hit ball, allowing just 2 runs with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts. Notre Dame had 8 extra-base hits in the win. In the 4th, the first 4 Notre Dame batters combined to hit for the cycle.

Racers Edge RedHawks: Dom Decker doubled home Luke Mistone in the bottom of the 8th inning with the eventual game-winning run as Murray State knocked off Southeast Missouri, 4-3. Mistone went 3-for-4 in the game and scored 2 runs. Decker, Mistone, Carson Garner, Jonathan Hogart, and Conner Cunningham all doubled for Murray State, which improved to 24-9 on the season. Hogart now has 20 doubles on the season and the Racers have 86 two-baggers as a team. Reese Oakley pitched 3 innings of scoreless, 1-hit relief to get the win.

Salukis Fall in 11: Michael Mylott’s sac fly in the bottom of the 9th inning tied Southern Illinois’ game with Arkansas State at 8-8, but the Red Wolves scored 2 in the top of the 11th to beat the Salukis (24-12), 10-8. Jordan Bach homered for SIU as part of a 2-for-4 night with 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and 2 walks. Mylott also had 2 hits. The teams combined to use 17 pitchers, with Arkansas State running through 10 hurlers to get the win. The game featured 444 total pitches, 15 walks, and 25 strikeouts.

Blue Raiders Romp at Belmont: Middle Tennessee got 4 hits and 4 RBIs from Brett Rogers and 3 RBIs each from Keaton Ray and Matt Wolfe in an 11-2 victory at Belmont. Pete Daniel (.392) continued his strong season at the plate for the Bruins (16-23) going 3-for-5 with a run. Blake Barton also had 3 knocks for Belmont, in a game where the teams combined for 28 hits. But the Bruins were only able to manage 2 runs on 12 hits and 4 walks. The Bruins left 14 men on base, including at least 1 in every inning except the 8th.

Four-Run 2nd Propels Panthers Past Flames: Two run-scoring singles and a bases-loaded hit by pitch guided Milwaukee to a 4-run 2nd inning and the Panthers never looked back, beating UIC, 7-4. Luke Nowak, Pambos Nicoloudes, and Christian Holmes all had 2 hits each for the Flames (9-25). Will Flanigan doubled. Payton Barton, Michael Vitellaro, Payten Jibben, and Bobby Barrera held the Panthers scoreless over the final 4 innings with just 1 hit, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.

Today on Valley Diamonds: Just one game in the Missouri Valley Conference today as Bradley visits Iowa for a 7:02 p.m. Central first pitch on B1G+. Iowa is 23-11 on the season, including 14-4 in the Big Ten, which is good enough for 2nd place, percentage points behind UCLA. Bradley is 5-26 and 1-11 in the MVC, but is coming off its first conference win of the season over Belmont on Sunday. Iowa has 7 regular starters who bat at least .313 and 12 Hawkeyes have hit a home run this season, though no Iowa player is in double figures. The Hawkeyes bat .310 as a team with a spectacular 3.70 team ERA. Iowa took 2 of 3 from Nebraska last weekend.

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.