League Roundup
A month into the league schedule, Illinois State (8-1 MVC) remains atop the MVC standings, while Indiana State (6-3 MVC), DBU (6-3 MVC) and Evansville (6-3 MVC) sit two games behind the Redbirds in the standings. Bradley (4-5 MVC) and Missouri State (4-5 MVC) occupy the fifth spot in the standings, while Southern Illinois (1-8 MVC) and Valparaiso (1-8 MVC) are tied for seventh. 

This weekend's schedule is highlighted by first-place Illinois State traveling to second-place DBU.

In other MVC action this weekend, Bradley will travel to Missouri State, Indiana State will host Southern Illinois and Evansville will head north to Valparaiso. 
 
Valley RPI Ranks No. 6
According to the latest RPI update from WarrenNolan.com (April 22), the Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 6 amongst 31 leagues, moving up one position from last week. Four of the Power-Five conferences (SEC, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC) hold four of the top five positions, while the American sits fifth just ahead of The Valley.

The last time the MVC finished a season rated 6th in conference RPI was in 2015 when the league sent Bradley, DBU and Missouri State to the NCAA Tournament. 

Five in RPI’s Top-100
Five league teams continue to rank in the top-100 of the RPI, led by Illinois State (No. 29), DBU (No. 30), Evansville (No. 38), Indiana State (No. 41) and Bradley (No. 79).

Elite Company
The Valley has four teams ranking in the Top 45 of the RPI, joining four other leagues in the club.  The SEC leads the nation with 11 teams in the RPI top 45, while the ACC (7), Big 12 (6), Pac-12 (6) and MVC (4) round out the elite club. 

Top 50 RPI Wins
Four league teams have won three or more games against teams currently ranked in the Top 50 of the RPI. DBU sits 5-8 against the Top 50, while Evansville (5-9) also has five wins.  Missouri State (3-16) and Indiana State (3-3) each have three wins.

High Percentage
Indiana State enters the week with the 10thbest winning percentage in the nation (.763).  The Sycamores’ 29-9 mark features five losses which were by just one run.   

Impressive Streak Ends
Bradley ran its winning streak to 12 games by rallying to win at Illinois Tuesday and downing DBU in the opening game of the weekend MVC series. The Patriots swept Saturday’s doubleheader to snap Bradley’s streak, which equaled the second longest in program history. Bradley had not won as many consecutive games since a 12-game ride from March 19-April 7, 1993.  The 12-game streak is tied for the 8th longest in NCAA Division I this season. 

Road Success
Entering this week’s schedule, Illinois State is tied for second in the NCAA in road wins.  The Redbirds have 16 road wins on the season which ranks tied for second with Creighton.  Bryant leads the NCAA with 18 road wins this season.  

Projected NCAA Field
Baseball America has one MVC team in the projected NCAA field of 64 as of April 17. The publication has DBU as a No. 3 seed in the Fayetteville (Arkansas) Regional.  Indiana State is currently listed among the “First Four Out”, while Evansville is in the “Next Four Out.”

Patriot Profile
DBU enters the week with a perfect record of 15-0 against teams with an RPI of 100+.  The Patriots join UCLA (3-0), Arkansas (10-0), Louisville (11-0), Mississippi State (15-0), Kentucky (15-0) and Washington (8-0) as the only teams in Division I with zero losses to teams rated outside the RPI Top 100. 

National Players of the Week
Bradley’s Dan Bolt and Missouri State’s Ben Whetstone earned a spot on this week’s Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week list. Bolt belted four home runs with seven RBI over four games as he went 8-for-16 at the plate. In the process, he extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Whetstone clubbed three home runs and drove in 10 runs while scoring six runs.

This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are Bradley's Dan Bolt and Missouri State's Logan Wiley, respectively.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Dan Bolt, Jr., OF, Bradley
Bolt hit .500 (8-16) with four home runs and seven RBI during Bradley’s 2-2 road swing to Illinois and DBU, while extending his personal hitting streak to 14 games.  Bolt was 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs in Tuesday’s 12-8 win at Illinois. Bolt was 1-for-4 in Friday’s 2-1 win at DBU, scoring what proved to be the winning run after singling in the seventh inning.  The junior started Saturday’s doubleheader at DBU by going 2-for-3 with a home run, then finished the road trip by going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in the first inning and a sacrifice bunt that positioned the eventual tying run in the seventh inning. Having raised his average 71 points during his current 14-game hitting streak, Bolt is batting .331 and now leads the Braves with eight home runs and a .581 slugging percentage, while sharing the team lead with 30 RBI.        
 
Other Notable Performances: Jackson Glenn (DBU); A.J. Fritz (UE); Max Wright (INS); John Privitera (MSU); Philip Archer (SIU); Blake Billinger (VALPO)

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Logan Wiley, Jr., RHP, Missouri State
Missouri State’s Logan Wiley recorded his first complete-game effort as a Bear in Friday’s 6-1 win that clinched a series win over New Orleans. The Springfield, Mo., native struck out a career-high nine hitters, scattered four hits and four walks while permitting just one unearned run to notch his second mound victory of the season. The junior right-hander retired the first seven hitters of the game in order, then set down eight in a row from the sixth through the eighth innings, including four-straight strikeouts during one stretch. 

Other Notable Performances: Mitch Janssen (BRAD); MD Johnson (DBU); Matt Walker (ILS); Collin Liberatore (INS); Matt DeSomer (SIU); Jon Tieman (VALPO)