Wiley Pitches Missouri State Past Valparaiso 7-1

NORMAL, Ill. –  Junior Logan Wiley retired the first 16 Valparaiso hitters, allowing just four hits in eight innings, as No. 6 seed Missouri State beat the No. 7 seed Crusaders 7-1 in the opening game of the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament, Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field.

The Bears (20-34) advance from the single-elimination first round to play in the six-team double-elimination tournament, facing No. 1 seed Dallas Baptist (38-16) at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The season is complete for the Crusaders (14-36).  Missouri State swept the 3-game regular-season series from VU as well.

Wiley, 4-5, who struck out eight and walked two in eight innings, did not allow a baserunner until Jeremy Drudge walked with one-out in the sixth. Sam Shaikin ended Logan’s no-hit bid with a single up the middle leading of the seventh and, one out later, Blake Billinger’s double to center got the Crusaders their only run.

Missouri State took a 2-0 advantage in the second. A wind gusting to 30 miles-per-hour blew Ben Whetstone’s fly ball away from Valpo left fielder Riley Dent for a leadoff single. Brooks Zimmerman followed with a double to left, plating Dent with Zimmerman taking third on the throw to the plate. Dakota Kotowski drove in Zimmerman with the second run.

The Bears added two tallies in the sixth. Kotowski led off with a single and went to second on a Logan Geha sacrifice bunt. Mason Hull singled to right and Kotowski scored on an errant throw to the plate.  Jack Duffy’s double down the right field line scored Hull to make it 4-0, MSU.

MSU answered in the bottom of the seventh when doubles by Geha, Joey Polak and Duffy produced two more Bear runs for a 6-1 lead.  The Crusaders loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth, but Wiley escaped with two strikeouts and a ground out to end the inning.

Valpo starter Jon Tieman, 2-10, took the loss, allowing five earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.