Life in the Valley

Saluki Slugger Posts Another 7-RBI Game, Homers Twice in 17-11 Win

In a game where neither team posted a scoreless half-inning until SIU-Edwardsville was blanked in the top of the 6th, Southern Illinois captured its final non-conference game of the season, 17-11, Tuesday.

Matt Schark homered twice, going 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 7 RBIs. Schark hit a 2-run homer in the 1st and a 3-run homer in the 2nd. It was Schark’s 2nd 7-RBI game in the last 3, as he also turned the trick with 3 homers in SIU’s 13-3 win over Evansville on Saturday. In his last 4 games, Schark is 10-for-16 (.625) with 7 homers and 18 RBIs. Most people would need to turn off their PlayStation after posting such stats, but this is real life for Schark, a redshirt senior, who is now hitting .346 on the season with 22 homers and 77 RBIs. There seems no way he will be caught now in the league’s HR race, and the RBI race is over, ladies and gentlemen. Schark’s average probably won’t increase enough to put him in Triple Crown territory, but 25 HRs and 80 RBIs are certainly attainable.

Schark entered Tuesday tied for 4th nationally in homers. His 2 could push him to 2nd alone (NCAA leaders weren’t updated yet as of this writing), only behind Oregon’s Mason Neville, who has 26. Schark’s 77 RBIs would also put him 2nd nationally, 1 behind South Carolina-Upstate’s Johnny Sweeney, again pending last night’s results. The 22 homers are already a school record, Schark having surpassed J.T. Weber who hit 19 in 2022. His 71st RBI of the season eclipsed Robert Jones’ 1986 school mark of 70.

But the Saluki slugging machine isn’t all about Schark, either. Southern Illinois has scored 43 runs in its last 3 games. Last night, John Lemm homered and scored twice; Michael Mylott went 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs; Jordan Bach scored thrice; and Gabe Petrucelli went 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs. With Bach in front of him and Cecil Lofton behind him in the order, there’s not necessarily an easy way around Schark in the order. SIU is now hitting .298 on the season with 89 homers, 112 doubles, and a .941 team OPS.

Southern Illinois (36-16, 15-9) wraps up its regular season at Valparaiso starting Thursday. The Salukis are 2 games behind conference leaders Missouri State with 3 games left; 1 behind 2nd-place Murray State. But the Bears and Racers play each other this weekend.

Parade of Baserunners Lifts UE to Cross-town Win: Down 7-0 after 5 innings at western city rival Southern Indiana, it didn’t look like Tuesday was going to be a good night for Evansville, during a frustrating season.

Then, 10 walks, 7 wild pitches, 4 hit batters, and 11 hits later, Evansville had an astounding 18 runs and with it, a 10-run win over USI to close its non-conference schedule. The Screaming Eagles used 8 pitchers in the final 4 innings, 5 of whom managed just 1 out or less. UE scored 18 runs with just 2 extra-base hits – a double by Kaleb Wilkey, and Ty Rumsey’s 9th-inning 2-run homer that closed the scoring. At one point, Drew McConnell singled to load the bases with UE up 13-8, then proceeded to take his trip around the bases on 3 USI wild pitches. Every Aces starter had at least 1 hit except leadoff man Charlie Longmeier, and he drew 4 walks, scoring 3 runs. Aaron Nehls drove in 4 runs, while Rumsey knocked in 3, along with 2 RBIs each from Evan Waggoner and Kevin McCormick. Rumsey also stole his MVC-leading 30th base of the season.

Jack Clevidence made his first collegiate start, going 2 innings with 2 strikeouts. Jack Wills got the win, throwing a scoreless 7th.

Evansville welcomes Bradley starting Thursday to wrap up the regular season. The Purple Aces (16-35, 9-15) trail the Braves by a game for the 8th and final spot in the upcoming MVC Tournament.

Bruins Give Vols a Battle in Knoxville: For #17 Tennessee, it was supposed to be an easy night that would allow the focus to be on honoring outfielder Hunter Ensley, the Vols’ lone senior and a mainstay of their College World Series championship team in 2024. Belmont, however, had other ideas.

After falling behind 5-0, in part due to Ensley’s solo homer in the 2nd, the Bruins fought back to within 5-3 in the 7th inning when Landon Godsey scored on a ground out. But Tennessee pulled away, eventually winning, 9-4. Michael Lareau and Blake Barton homered for the Bruins, while Godsey and Mike Sprockett doubled. Logan Brock and Trey Maeker pitched a combined 4 1/3 scoreless innings in the middle or the game to keep the Bruins (24-29, 13-11) within striking distance.

In a 3-way tie for 4th in the Valley with Illinois State and UIC, the Bruins are at the Flames starting Thursday.

Redbirds Walk-Off Eastern Illinois: After seeing a 5-0 lead evaporate in the late innings, Illinois State dusted itself off and grabbed the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, as Josh Outlaw’s double scored Chris Danko with the winning run in the Redbirds’ 6-5 triumph. The game-winning double came at the end of an epic at-bat for Outlaw, who got up in the count 2-0 against EIU pitcher Nate Marshall, then after a strike to make it 2-1, Outlaw fouled off 11 straight pitches before delivering the game-winner.

Ryan Weaver, Michael Addari, Thomas Harper, and Braden Roesch combined to start the game with 7 scoreless innings on just 5 hits. Kyle Gibson and Brayden Bakes each had 2 hits for the Redbirds, with Bakes hitting Illinois State’s lone homer. The Redbirds stole 5 bases.

Illinois State (25-25, 13-11) visits Indiana State (23-28, 11-13) this weekend in an important series for conference tournament seeding.

Northwestern Dominates Late to Down Valparaiso: Northwestern parlayed 3 doubles and 3 homers into a 12-4 victory over Valparaiso on Tuesday. Kevin Denty, Case Sullivan, and Connor Giusti all had 2 hits for the Beacons (8-39, 3-21), who close out their season at home this weekend vs. Southern Illinois. Valpo trailed only 3-1 early and then 6-4 at the Stretch, before the Wildcats (24-25) added 2 runs in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th, including a solo homer by Owen McElfatrick.

Remember, all Valley series this week start on Thursday and run through Saturday, weather permitting. The conference tournament starts Tuesday in Normal, Ill.

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.