Life in the Valley

Sophomore Righty Fans 9 in Dominant Performance

On Friday, Belmont starter Joe Ruzicka pitched an 8-inning complete-game shutout, allowing just 1 hit as the Bruins run-ruled visiting Valparaiso, 1-0.

On Saturday, Zane Brown told Ruzicka, “Hold my sports drink.”

Brown, a sophomore from Cottontown, Tenn., who came to Belmont by way of Cleveland State Community College, hadn’t had an outing all season in which he didn’t allow at least 1 run. But that all changed Saturday, as Brown faced 31 batters without allowing a hit. The only Valpo baserunners came via walk (2) or hit by pitch (2). Brown threw 115 pitches, striking out 9, getting 5 other outs on grounders, and inducing 13 fly outs.

One amazing part of Brown’s no-hitter is that the Bruins needed that kind of performance to get the win. Unlike Friday, where Ruzicka had plenty of run support and got to finish up an inning early, there was no such leeway for Brown Saturday. Belmont’s lone run came in the 3rd inning, when Pete Daniel hit a homer to left. The Bruins had just 5 hits themselves thanks to a stellar effort from Valpo starter Harry Deliyannis, the hard-luck loser in this one who allowed just 1 run on 5 hits with 0 walks and 2 strikeouts. He got through 8 innings on just 93 pitches (a tremendous 3.88 pitches per out). Of the 4 other hits Deliyannis allowed, only one went for extra bases (a double by Ty Allen).

Brown hit Kevin Denty with 1 out in the 1st, but Valpo couldn’t put anything else together. Brown got the Beacons 1-2-3 in the 2nd, but hit Spencer Warfield to start the 3rd. After Warfield stole 2nd to get into scoring position with the game still 0-0, two ground outs and Denty’s fly out ended the threat with Warfield stranded at 3rd. After a perfect 4th, Brown walked Patrick Ilitch to begin the 5th. Two outs later, Kade Reinertson walked to put 2 aboard. But Aidan Thaxton grounded to second to end that scoring chance.

Reinertson would also be Valpo’s final baserunner. Starting with Thaxton, Brown retired the final 13 batters he faced, including 6 by strikeout – all swinging. Brown fanned Connor Giusti to end it, before receiving a celebratory bear hug from catcher Mike Sprockett and getting mobbed by the rest of his Belmont teammates.

Brown’s individual heroics were also key for the Bruins (19-26, 8-9) as a team, as Belmont now sits tied with UIC for 6th in the Valley standings. The top 8 make the conference tournament. Valpo (8-29, 3-14) is on the outside looking in right now, 10th in the standings and 4 games adrift of 8th-place Evansville.

Brown’s no-hitter was the first such solo effort by a Belmont pitcher since April 17, 1997, when Lance Sewell no-hit Martin Methodist. It’s also the first solo no-hitter a Belmont pitcher has ever through against a Division-I opponent.

It’s Max Knight … Yeah!: Have a night, Max Knight! The Missouri State sophomore did it all on Saturday against visiting Evansville, hitting a a solo homer in the 8th inning to complete the scoring in Missouri State’s 7-2, series-clinching win, but he also struck out 9 in just 4 innings of 1-hit, scoreless relief to pick up his 3rd save of the season. Knight is tied for the team lead with 13 homers on the season, while also pitching to a 3.51 ERA in 17 appearances, with 40 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. Knight is hitting .281 as a batter and allowing opposing batters to hit .178.

Jason Schaaf pitched 5 innings to get the win, improving to 4-0. Knight, Nick Rodriguez, Taeg Gollert, and Carter Bergman all homered for the Bears (23-18, 13-4), who remain atop the Valley standings in their final MVC season. Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with 2 runs, extending his hitting streak to 28 games.

Charlie Longmeier and Cal McGinnis homered for UE (13-28, 7-10).

Sycamores Get Max Effort to Beat Racers: Indiana State starter MAX McEwen threw 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits with 0 walks and 6 strikeouts on a mere 71 pitches (3.94 ppo) as Indiana State knocked off Murray State, 11-1, in 8 innings. McEwen is now 6-2 on the season.

Carter Beck (3 RBIs) and Keegan Garis each had 3 hits for the Sycamores (21-21, 9-8), who scored 5 runs in the 3rd to break open a scoreless game and take control for good. Garis drew a bases-loaded walk to break the ice, before an error allowed 3 more runs to score. Jackson Taylor capped the rally with an RBI single to score Mason Roell. Beck and Garis both doubled in the win.

Carson Garner homered for the Racers’ (29-10, 11-6) lone run.

Salukis Score Early, Often, in Victory: Southern Illinois put up crooked numbers in each of the first 4 innings Saturday at home vs. Illinois State, taking a 12-0 lead after 4 innings and beating the Redbirds, 14-5. Matt Schark (2-run) and Michael Mylott (solo) homered in the 1st. John Lemm’s 2-run single was the big hit in the 2nd. Up 6-0, SIU (29-13, 11-6) added 4 more n the 3rd, 3 on Schark’s second homer of the game. The Salukis scored 3 in the 4th, 2 on bases-loaded walks.

Schark finished 2-for-6 with 2 runs and 6 RBIs. Jordan Bach had 2 runs, 2 hits, and 2 RBIs. Mylott, Gabe Pretrucelli, and Jaxon Holder all had 2 hits each in the romp. Josh Outlaw doubled and drove in 2 for Illinois State (20-20, 10-7).

Flames Cool Off Braves: Bradley’s recent winning streak came to end in Chicago as the UIC Flames downed the Braves, 8-5. Tied at 3-3 in the 6th, the Flames scored the decisive runs when Vidal Colon hit a 3-run homer to make it 6-3. Bradley got back within 6-5 on Timmy O’Brien’s 15th home run of the season, but the Braves (9-28, 5-12) could get no closer.

Colon, Luke Nowak and Thomas Curry had 3 hits each for UIC (12-28, 8-9), which is tied with Belmont for 6th in the Valley standings. Cole Smith also homered for the Braves, while Beau Durbin had 3 hits and a stolen base. Flames starter Tommy Egan got the win with 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts on 92 pitches. Zack Millsap picked up his 4th save.

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.