Life in the Valley

Murray State Downs Missouri State, 10-5, to Win MVC Championship

When rain cut their final regular-season series from 3 games to 1, won by Murray State over Missouri State, it was natural to wonder what would have happened had the other 2 games been played. Especially given it decided the 1 and 2 seeds for the MVC Championship.And perhaps, the tournament would give us all a rematch so that those questions could be answered.

In the end, Murray State left no doubt.

The Racers captured their first MVC tournament title with a 10-5 victory over the Bears Saturday night. Dustin Mercer led the way offensively, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs, including 2 singles, a double, and a triple. He also made 2 strong plays in right field in the 9th inning to leave the Racers on the brink of the title. A title secured when Taeg Gollert popped up on the infield and shortstop Conner Cunningham secured the ball and the dogpile began.

Murray State, which hasn’t been to NCAA Regionals since 2003, will hear their name called during Monday’s Selection Show, probably as a 4 seed. But there aren’t many 1 seeds who are going to feel too good about having to face this Racers bunch in their opening game.

Murray State (39-13) won this tournament by playing any style necessary, and with almost a different hero every night. Slugfest? The Racers can do that as seen by their 15-14, extra-inning win over Belmont in their opening game. Lower-scoring battle? Sure, a 5-2 win over UIC put Murray State in the championship round. And 10-5 wins over Southern Illinois and Missouri State to wrap it up. Murray State scored 40 runs in its 4 games during the event.

Murray State’s regulars batted .326 in this tournament, with 19 extra-base hits (11 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 homers0. Dom Decker and Luke Mistone carried the load against Belmont, each with 3 hits and a combined 5 runs. In the win over SIU, Mercer had 4 hits, while Garner and Tauken each had 3, with Tauken doubling twice, scoring twice, and driving in 2. Tauken homered and had 2 hits in the victory over UIC. Tonight, Mercer’s big night led the charge, but Will Vierling had 3 hits, a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs; Cunningham went 2-for-4 with a solo homer; and Jonathan Hogart doubled and scored 3 times.

Mercer went 9-for-18 in the tournament with 8 RBIs and was named MVP. Garner and Tauken each scored 6 runs, while Hogart drove in 7 and scored 7. When called upon, Nico Bermeo went 3-for-7 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs.

It was a total team effort, and that includes the pitchers. Even in the 15-14 win over Belmont, Graham Kelham pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Racers level and eventually win. Dylan Zentko got 8 outs without allowing a run to sew up the win over the Salukis. Against UIC, Kane Elmy and Jacob Hustedde combined to allow just 2 runs on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts.

Tonight, Issac Silva improved to 7-2 with a 5-inning start, striking out 5 and allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits against a powerful Missouri State lineup. When the Bears got to Zentko for 3 runs, Reese Oakley came on to get the last 9 outs, allowing just 1 hit with 0 runs on just 39 pitches.

While the Racers wait to find out their destination for Regionals, Missouri State begins preparations in earnest for life in Conference USA starting next season. In 29 Valley seasons, the Bears made the College World Series in 2003, along with Super Regional appearances in 2015 and 2017. Missouri State is the fourth significant program to leave the Valley in recent years, joining Creighton, Wichita State, and Dallas Baptist.

We’ll see how the Valley handles membership additions and conference realignment going forward. But on this night, that’s the furthest thing from the minds of the Murray State Racers, worthy MVC champions.

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.