NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Missouri State, Bradley and Southern Illinois each opened up Valley action with a 2-1 mark, earning series wins on the road during the opening weekend of league play.
This weekend will feature another slate of league games, as Valparaiso visits Southern Illinois, DBU makes the trip to Illinois State, Bradley hosts Indiana State and Evansville heads to Missouri State.
Five in RPI’s Top-75
Five league teams continue to rank in the top-75 of the RPI, led by Missouri State (No. 28), Indiana State (No. 37), DBU (No. 62), Illinois State (No. 64) and Bradley (No. 71).
Another two teams, Southern Illinois (No. 125) and Valparaiso (No. 163), also rank in the RPI’s top-175.
Valley RPI Ranks No. 8
According to the latest RPI update from WarrenNolan.com (April 2), the Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 8 amongst 31 leagues, moving up one position from last week. Four of the Power-Five conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC and Pac-12) hold four of the top five positions, while the American sits fifth, the Mountain West sixth and Sun Belt seventh.
Wins Over Power Five
Entering this week’s action, the MVC has earned 10 wins over members of Power Five conferences. The Valley sits 3-2 vs. the Pac-12, 4-5 vs. the Big 12, 2-8 vs. the Big Ten, 1-3 against the ACC and 0-5 vs. the SEC.
Six of the eight MVC teams have earned wins against the Power Five. Bradley, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso each have one Power Five win, while DBU and Missouri State have two and Illinois State three.
This week’s schedule features two games against Power Five teams as TCU visits DBU and Missouri State battles Missouri at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday.
Close Calls
The MVC has an 18-28 record in one run contests this season, including a 6-10 mark in extra inning contests. The MVC has fared better in two run games, boasting a 13-12 overall record. The conference sits 31-40 in games decided by two runs or fewer.
Starting Strong
With their MVC series win at Indiana State over the weekend, the Bears have now won 12 of their last 13 Valley openers and have won or split 11 of their last 13 MVC-opening series. Additionally, MSU is a combined 26-10 in its opening conference series since 2006.
Bears on Tap at Busch
#23 Missouri State and #18 Missouri reached an agreement to add a third meeting to their 2018 baseball schedules and will meet Tuesday (April 3) for a neutral-site contest at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The addition of the Bears’ first-ever game at Busch Stadium also marks the first time the two Show-Me State rivals will square off three times in a season. MSU has won six of the last seven games in the series and holds a 29-25 overall advantage against the Tigers.
Tons of Runs
DBU has scored 10 or more runs in four consecutive games. Starting with a season-high 21 runs on March 25 at Sam Houston State, the Patriots followed with 10 runs versus Southern University on Thursday, and totaled 12 runs and 14 runs in their two games against Xavier. It marks the most consecutive double-digit games by a Patriot offense since DBU scored 10 or more runs in six straight from April 12-20, 2012.
Henderson Wins 200th
SIU head coach Ken Henderson won his 200th game over the weekend at Illinois State. After the series opener, a 6-4 win, Henderson secured his 200th career win. Henderson is the fourth SIU coach to earn 200 wins at Southern. The others are Abe Martin (for whom the field is named), Itchy Jones (for whom the stadium is named) and Dan Callahan (for whom the MVC Coach of the Year award is named).
Netemeyer Sets Saves Record
Ryan Netemeyer saved both games of a doubleheader at Illinois State on Friday. With his first save of the day, Netemeyer broke the program record for career saves with his 31st, and he added on with his 32nd career save later in the day. Netemeyer broke Bryant George’s record of 30 saves from 2007-10. Currently, Netemeyer has 32 career saves and is within striking distance of second place on the MVC’s all-time saves list (Missouri State’s Brian Young [2014-17] is second with 35 career saves).
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are DBU's Devlin Granberg and Missouri State's Connor Sechler, respectively.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Devlin Granberg, Sr., OF, DBU
DBU senior outfielder Devlin Granberg hit .545 (6-for-11) last week and extended his career-high hit streak to 15 games, while also notching his sixth consecutive multi-hit game. Granberg led the Patriots’ offensive attack, which scored 36 runs over three games, in slugging percentage (.909), on-base percentage (.688), total bases (10), hits (6), and runs (6). Granberg also delivered a pair of doubles, a triple, drew four walks, and stole a base, as the Patriots won for the fourth straight time.
Other Notable Performances: Brendan Dougherty (BRAD); John Rave (ILS); Jake Means (INS); Hunter Steinmetz (MSU); Logan Blackfan (SIU); Zack Leone (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Connor Sechler, Fr., RHP, Missouri State
Missouri State freshman reliever Connor Sechler played an instrumental role in the Bears’ doubleheader sweep of Indiana State on Friday, earning a save MSU’s 4-3 win in game one—its 12th victory in a Valley opener in the last 13 years—before picking up the win in the Bears’ 5-4 decision in the nightcap. Sechler struck out two Sycamores in a scoreless inning and two-thirds to log his first collegiate save, then allowed just one hit over 3.1 innings in game two to give his offense the opportunity to mount the decisive two-run rally in the 11th inning. In all, Sechler allowed one run on two hits while striking out five in 5.0 innings to help the Bears lock down the series win.
Other Notable Performances: Ryan Hodgett (BRAD); Trevor Conn (DBU); Trevor Cross (ILS); Donnie Ames (INS); Trey McDaniel (SIU); Wes Gordon (VALPO)