Life in the Valley

Valpo Suffers 2nd No-Hitter in as Many Weekends

UIC junior Brandon Bak pitched a 7-inning no-hitter, blanking the Valparaiso Beacons in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, 10-0. Bak walked 2 and struck out 3, facing 2 batters above the minimum on 82 pitches, a fantastic 3.90 pitches per out (or a 105-pitch pace for a 9-inning effort).

Bak actually walked the first batter he faced, Thomas Cooper, but the Beacons weren’t able to move him along. UIC got Bak all the run support he needed in the top of the 2nd inning, one run scoring on Vidal Colon’s RBI single. He later scored on a throwing error before Lucas Smith tripled in UIC’s 3rd run.

UIC added 3 runs in the 3rd – 1 on a homer by Thomas Curry. In the 4th, Curry homered again, this time a 2-run shot that was part of a 4-run inning. The frame also featured an A.J. Taylor RBI single and a run-scoring triple from Jackson Bessette. Curry had 5 hits in the doubleheader, as UIC won the opener, 9-1.

Staked to a 10-0 lead, Bak was having no issue handling matters from the mound. He retired 15 straight Beacons before Thomas walked again to start the 6th. He was erased, however, on a double play. Liam Patton reached on an error in the 7th, but Bak got Connor Giusti to pop up for the 2nd out, then a 4-6 fielder’s choice off the bat of Case Sullivan ended the game.

The no-hitter is the first thrown by a UIC pitcher since Ryan Zink, who blanked Youngstown State on May 16, 2004, 7-0. It’s the 11th no-hitter all-time in UIC history. The effort lowered Bak’s ERA to 4.94 for the season.

On another front, the win was important for the Flames, who with the weekend series sweep of Valpo, are now 12-9 in the Valley and just 2 1/2 games behind Missouri State for first place. The Bears were knocked off by Illinois State on Saturday to even that series. The win pushed the Redbirds within 3 games of the Bears at 11-9. Missouri State’s Nick Rodriguez extended his now school-record hitting streak to 31 games in the loss. Luke Stulga is on a 20-game hitting streak for Illinois State.

Meanwhile, it’s been a tough go for the Beacons of late. Now 3-18 in the Valley and 8-34 overall, the Beacons have lost 15 in a row. In their last 6 MVC games, Valpo has been outscored, 34-1, been no-hit twice, while also losing in a 1-hitter. The Beacons are 5 games behind Evansville with 9 games to play in the race for 8th.

Elsewhere Saturday, Belmont scored 7 runs in the 9th inning to take down Evansville, 13-8. Mike Sprockett hit a 2-run homer to tie the game at 8, then singled in a run later in the frame to close the scoring. Belmont is now 11-9 in the Valley, while UE at 8-12 finds itself just 1 game ahead of surging Bradley for 8th place and the final transfer spot into the MVC Tournament. That’s because the Braves beat Indiana State Saturday, 7-3. After losing 11 straight games to start the conference season, the Braves have rebounded to go 7-2 in their last 9 as they go for a sweep of Indiana State today.

Note: Saturday’s game between Southern Illinois and Murray State was rained out. The teams will attempt to play a doubleheader today. If Missouri State loses today, and Murray State sweeps SIU, the Racers would take first place alone in the Valley at 15-6, 1 game ahead of the Bears. Murray is 1 game ahead of SIU entering today’s play.

For more on this weekend’s action, check out the Monday 9 tomorrow.

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.