Life in the Valley

Eight of 9 Valley Teams Begin the League Gauntlet this Weekend

It isn’t exactly the halfway point of the season, but we’re pretty close. However, this weekend, already the 6th of the 2026 college baseball season, does represent a bit of a milestone. It’s the weekend that most Valley teams begin conference play. Evansville is the lone exception to that, as the Purple Aces travel to Cal Baptist for 3 games this weekend. With a 9-team league, somebody has to be idle from the conference slate each weekend, which provides one more opportunity to schedule a good non-conference series. More on the Aces in a bit.

So there’s no better time than now to check in around the league and see where everyone stands as they either head into MVC play or hop on a bird for the west coast. We’ll go in alphabetical order.

Belmont (8-13): The Bruins put together a solid non-conference slate, taking on the likes of Samford, Wofford, Georgia State, UAB, and Central Michigan. Unlike many non-majors this time of year, Belmont has already had 12 home games (4-8), so they might not be as travel weary as some of their Valley rivals.

The Bruins make up for that this weekend with a tough opening league trip to Illinois State. Belmont is hitting .271 as a team and averaging 5.29 runs per game, but individually have some standouts. Charlie Davis leads the Bruins at .356 and had 6 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homers, and 16 RBIs. Davis had an 11-game hitting streak to start the season, then went 4-for-5 in game vs. UAB. Davis has been held hitless just 4 times in 2026.

Cavan McMeans, from my hometown of Leesburg, Va. (alas, different high school), leads the Bruins in RBIs with 18, is batting .308, and is currently riding a 6-game hit streak. Returners Mike Sprockett (.308) and Landon Godsey (.307) are also off to solid starts.

Owen Cavey (1-2, 5.49) and Tate Marland (2-1, 6.97) have been Belmont’s top starters. The Bruins have a 6.37 team ERA. Out of the pen, McKale Stevenson has been the highlight. He’s thrown to a 1.15 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 15.2 innings with 17 strikeouts.

Bradley (4-16): New head coach Justin Dedman entered 2026 after an offseason of roster turnover and is charged with trying to build some long-term success in Peoria. So the slow start might be frustrating in the short term, but it’s part of a much larger learning curve overall. The Braves also haven’t had a home game yet.

That last part won’t change this weekend, as the Braves open up league play at Indiana State. Bradley fans will remember, of course, that the 2025 conference season didn’t get off to a good start, but the Braves rallied over the final few weekends, escaping the Valley cellar and qualifying for the MVC Championship.

Bradley has had trouble keeping opponents off the scoreboard. In one stretch, the Braves gave up at least 8 runs in 8 straight games, going 2-6 over that span. The Braves have a team ERA of 10.16 and team WHIP of 2.36. Walks have hurt Bradley, as the staff has issued more free passes (135) than strikeouts (121).

Offensively, Hayden Miller has been the top run producer with 4 homers and 12 RBIs. But the rest of the team has just 6 homers combined, and Bradley’s slugging percentage (.322) is 52 points lower than its on-base percentage, which is pretty good at .374 given the Braves are hitting .232.

Evansville (5-14): The aforementioned Purple Aces have had anything but a cupcake schedule so far, playing series against Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Xavier, as well as single games against Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, and SEMO (twice).

UE has been bedeviled so far this season by its offense, which is hitting just .203. That puts the Purple Aces dead last in the country of 300 teams. Charlie Longmeier leads the club at .284, and he’s on a 6-game hitting streak, while Reid Haire (4) and Ximi Baftiri (3) lead UE in homers. Drew McConnell has driven in 13 runs. UE strikes out more than 10 times per game.

On the mound, there’s been good news and bad news. Junior Kenton Deverman left his last start at Xavier after just 1 inning and isn’t scheduled to pitch this weekend at Cal Baptist. That launches Max Hansmann into the Friday starter role, but his work this season suggests he’s ready for that responsibility. Hansmann (2-1, 4.78) has struck out 30 batters in 26.1 innings of work, mostly as the Saturday starter. The UE Game Notes have Tanner Graham slated for Saturday’s start. Graham has a 3.52 ERA in 15.1 relief innings. This would be his first start. Owen Byberg (4.43 ERA) is averaging nearly 3 innings per relief appearance.

Illinois State (14-7): It’s been a rip-roaring start for the Redbirds, who have scored at least 9 runs in a game on 7 occasions this season en route to winning two-thirds of their games. Illinois State is tied for 47th in the country in home runs with 28, including 6 each from Brayden Bakes and Graham Mastros – who have combined to drive in 43 runs and score 44. Mastros homered 3 times in Illinois State’s season opener. Bakes (.389) and Mastros (.372) are joined among the big batsmen by Luke Stulga (.371), who leads the Redbirds with 23 RBIs and has two 4-hit games already. Stulga is on a 6-game hitting streak, going 15-for-30 (.500) in that span. Illinois State is hitting .310 as a team, tied for 30th in the nation (though NCAA stats have the Redbirds at .306 for some reason).

Another factor in the Redbirds’ success entering this weekend’s series vs. Belmont is their bullpen. There is no relief corps in the Valley comparable to it. Relievers Michael Addari and Lucas Foley have combined to work 42 innings and strike out 45, good for a 1.29 ERA and a combined WHIP of 0.95. Foley, who transferred to Normal from Valparaiso, is 5-0 on the season, all out of the bullpen. Another Valley transfer, Reece Clapp is 3-0 out of the pen with a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. You kind of have to beat Illinois State in 6 innings if you’re going to get them, because the bullpen is as good as there is.

As a staff, Illinois State has walked only 72 batters in 182 innings, while striking out 182.

Indiana State (8-12): Like the old Johnny Cash song, the Sycamores have been everywhere. Indiana State started the season in Puerto Rico, beating Manhattan before falling to N.C. State and Wake Forest. After 6 games in Florida, the Sycamores headed to the Bahamas and took 2 of 3 from Penn State.

The Sycamores come into their MVC series vs. Bradley off a badly needed 4-3 win over Illinois in 11 innings on Wednesday at home. Indiana State had lost 5 in row prior to that to Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Gonzaga, including a 23-16 loss to the Zags in the series finale. Emil Estrella had 3 hits, homered, scored twice, and drove in 2 in the Illinois victory. Estrella is 6-for-16 in his last 4 games with 6 runs and 5 RBIs. He also had a 5-RBI game vs. Western Kentucky. Caden Miller leads the team at .300, while he and Nick Sutherlin each have 21 RBIs.

Control has been a bit of an issue for Sycamore pitchers, as the staff is averaging 5.25 walks per 9 innings with a 6.98 ERA. But Ty Brooks has allowed just 19 hits and 7 walks in 32 innings (0.81 WHIP) while fanning 22. He’s 3-0 on the season with a 2.53 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .168 vs. Brooks, a sophomore who worked a combined 15 innings in back-to-back starts vs. UMass-Lowell and Penn State, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits with 2 walks and 15 strikeouts.

Murray State (13-8): The Racers head to Evansville this weekend, but not to play the Purple Aces, but rather Valpo. The series was moved due to continued renovations at Johnny Reagan Field, where the 2025 College World Series participants will debut April 2 vs. Belmont.

So far in 2026, the Racers have shown flashes of the excellent offense that carried them all the way to Omaha last season, but there’s been some inconsistency. Murray State has scored in double figures 7 times, including 20 or more twice, but have also been shutout three times, including twice in a recent series vs. Lindenwood.

Who’s not inconsistent is Luke Mistone, a veteran of that ’25 team who is hitting .378 with 25 RBIs. Mistone went 5-for-6 with 9 RBIs vs. Kentucky State and has 10 multi-hit games, including one stretch of 5 straight where he went 11-for-22 (.500) with 7 RBIs. Despite the shutouts, the Racers are still averaging nearly 8 runs per game.

Nic Schutte returned to anchor the pitching staff and is off to a 3-2 start with a 4.15 ERA and solid 1.23 WHIP. Schutte has fanned 24 in 26 innings while allowing just 8 walks. Another familiar face, Jacob Hustedde, is 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 5 starts, though his innings (18) have been limited. Dylan Zentko has been excellent in relief, striking out 14 in 12.1 innings with a 0.73 ERA.

Southern Illinois (8-11): The Salukis hit the road to play UIC this weekend as conference play opens. SIU has a series win over Seton Hall under its belt, to go with a 2-1 mark at the Cambria Classic Tournament in Minneapolis.

SIU has hit 16 homers on the season, with a quarter of those belonging to team leader Cecil Lofton, who also paces the Salukis in RBIs with 14. Tim Simay and Julio Guerrero have each driven in 12. Guerrero had a 3-hit, 3-run, 3-RBI game vs. Southern Indiana on March 13. Simay (.333) leads the club in batting average while Lofton tops qualifiers in OPS at .958.

You can’t discuss SIU’s pitching without bringing up Jack MacIntosh, who hasn’t allowed an earned run in 14 innings over 10 appearances. He has 2 wins and 3 saves. Opponents are hitting a meager .089 vs. MacIntosh. Starters Andrew Evans (3-1, 2.48) and Troy Shepard (0-2, 5.32) have been regulars in the rotation, combining for 9 starts. Evans has 29 strikeouts in 27 innings.

UIC (4-13-1): The Flames will be desperately trying to turn things around with the Salukis coming to town. UIC is winless in its last 10 games, the only notch in that stretch was a 3-3 tie against Northwestern. UIC’s frustrations were particularly strong at Missouri, where UIC held a 12-4 lead in Game 2 before rain suspended the game to the next day. Missouri scored 9 runs to win it, 13-12, and held the Flames scoreless for the rest of the series to complete a 4-game sweep.

That isn’t to say the Flames haven’t had any offense. Jake Busson has been the power man for the UIC lineup, hitting 6 home runs, driving in 18, with a .292 average. Busson is slugging .646 and has a 1.014 OPS. Teammate Will Smoot leads the Flames in batting at .316 while Thomas Curry is also over .300 (.306), but the Flames are hitting just .242 as a team and averaging 4.5 runs per game.

Mason Lei has been UIC’s top starting pitcher, striking out 23 in 25.1 innings, with a 4.26 ERA. He’s 2-2 on the season, including back-to-back scoreless outings against Sam Houston and Tennessee Tech where he allowed just 7 hits in 13.1 innings, while striking out 17 with 4 walks. Zack Millsap has a 1.98 ERA in 7 relief appearances covering 13.2 innings. He’s struck out 13.

Valparaiso (6-10): Like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Jimmy Buffett, the Beacons toured the south to start the season, going 5-8 over a 13-game stretch across the Carolinas and Alabama against decent mid-major competition in Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, and Wofford, among others.

Javin Gauthier and Cal Schembra have emerged as the offensive leaders for the Beacons. Gauthier (redshirt freshman) is hitting .373 with 12 RBIs and has at least 1 hit in all but 3 games he’s played in this season. Schembra, a freshman, announced his presence with authority, going 7-for-12 in his first 3 collegiate games. He also had a 3-hit game vs. Presbyterian and 2-for-5 with 3 runs in Valpo’s most recent game against SIU-Edwardsville. He’s at .328 on the season and leads the Beacons with 17 RBIs.

Connor Lockwood returned for Valpo for another season and has once again proven to be the Beacons’ workhorse. He’s thrown 32.2 innings in 5 starts, striking out 22 and walking just 1. He has a 1.04 WHIP and a 3.86 ERA, numbers any head coach would take from a top starter. Lockwood threw a 3-hit, 9-inning, complete-game shutout with 0 walks and 11 strikeouts vs. Alabama State earlier this season. With 31.1 more innings this season, Lockwood would cross the 300-inning mark for his Valpo career.

Ed Morgans is the founder of mvcbaseball.com. A college baseball fan for 40 years, Ed attended the University of Evansville and Purdue University.