NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Weekend Sweeps
Three league teams earned a home series sweep over the weekend, including DBU, Indiana State and Southern Illinois. The Patriots earned a series sweep at home over Houston Baptist, while Indiana State swept Austin Peay and Southern Illinois swept Western Illinois. MVC teams have a 15-3 record at home so far this season.
WarrenNolan.com Rankings
While it is still early in the season, WarrenNolan.com has the Missouri Valley Conference ranked as the No. 10 conference in league RPI.
Top 10 RPI
1. SEC
2. Pac 12
3. Big Ten
4. Big 12
5. ACC
6. Sun Belt
7. American
8. West Coast
9. Mountain West
10. Missouri Valley
WarrenNolan.com also has four teams ranked in the RPI’s top-100, led by Indiana State (No. 32), Bradley (No. 56), Evansville (No. 95) and DBU (No. 98).
Strong Winning Percentage
The MVC currently boasts the nation’s sixth highest non-conference winning percentage through games of Mar. 3. The Valley sits 46-31 overall this season with a winning percentage of .597.
Top 6 Winning Percentages
1. SEC .804
2. ACC .729
3. Pac 12 .696
4. Big 12 .684
5. Mountain West .655
6. Missouri Valley .597
National Players of the Week
DBU’s MD Johnson earned a spot on this week’s Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week list. Johnson struck out a career-high 15 batters in 6 1/3 innings of work against Houston Baptist. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and only allowed one hit and one walk.
Extra Innings Wins
Bradley improved to 3-0 in extra innings this year when the Braves rallied for a 4-3 win in 11 innings Friday night at UTSA. Dating back to last season, Bradley has won each of its last five extra-innings games, all played on the road . The 5-game extra-innings win streak is Bradley’s longest since also winning five in a row in extra frames from March 11, 1990 through April 6, 1993.
DBU's Glowenke Extends Streak
DBU's Jimmy Glowenke extended his reached-base streak to 40, posting a .412 on-base percentage on the week. The sophomore shortstop is coming off a freshman season that saw him named a unanimous Freshman All-American.
Bunch of Triples
On the year, Illinois State is nationally ranked sixth in triples per game with 0.6 and ranked fifth nationally in triples this season with six. Illinois State catcher Tyson Hays is tied for first in the country for triples this season with three.
Strong Pitching for Trees
The pitching staff for the Sycamores has been outstanding through the first 10 games this season, allowing 25 earned runs in 90 innings of work with its 2.50 team ERA ranking 20th in the nation. Over the last three games, Indiana State recorded a pair of shutouts and has allowed just one earned run. Six different Sycamores have ERA’s lower than 2.00 entering the fourth week of the season. Starting pitcher Triston Polley has a 1.00 ERA in three starts and 18 innings while right-handed reliever Austin Cross has not allowed a run in two appearances.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are Bradley's Andy Shadid and DBU's Jordan Martinson, respectively.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Will LaRue, Sr., OF, Southern Illinois
LaRue began the 2019 season with just one hit in his first five games, but caught fire this week to lead SIU to a 4-0 record. In four games, LaRue went 7-for-15 with 7 RBI, two triples, one home run. On the base paths, the NCAA active leader in steals went a perfect 5-for-5 in steal opportunities. On the season, he is now 7-for-7 and leads the MVC in the category. Against Belmont on Wednesday, LaRue reached base twice and stole two bags in a 13-9 win. Over the weekend, LaRue had three-straight multi-hit performances in a series sweep against Western Illinois. He also had an extra-base hit and stole a base in each game against WIU.
Other Notable Performances: Evan Sandmann (DBU); Tanner Craig (UE); Jordan Libman (ILS); Max Wright (INS); Anthony Herron (MSU); Brent Jones (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
MD Johnson, Sr., RHP, DBU
DBU senior MD Johnson took a no-hitter into the final inning of a 12-2 win over Houston Baptist and set a Patriot single-game Division I record with 15 strikeouts Saturday as DBU completed a sweep of the Huskies. Johnson fanned 14 of the first 18 batters he faced, including eight in a row.
Other Notable Performances: Brooks Gosswein (BRAD); Adam Lukas (UE); Colton Johnson (ILS); Triston Polley (INS); Logan Thomazin (MSU); Brad Harrison (SIU)