MVC Roundup
With just two weekends remaining in regular-season league action, Indiana State (11-4 MVC) has a one game lead over Illinois State (12-5 MVC) atop the league standings after the Sycamores took the series over the Redbirds last weekend.

DBU (9-6 MVC) and Bradley (9-6 MVC) currently sit in third place in the standings. The Patriots dropped two games in Springfield against Missouri State (6-9 MVC) over the weekend, while the Braves took two out of three against Valparaiso (3-12 MVC). 

Evansville (8-7 MVC) fell to fifth-place after dropping three on the road to Southern Illinois (4-11 MVC).

This weekend's schedule is highlighted by first place Indiana State traveling to third place DBU. In other MVC action, second place Illinois State will travel to face third place Bradley, Valparaiso will host Southern Illinois and Evansville will entertain Missouri State.

Tight Races
Since the start of the 21-game conference schedule in 2010 (three-game series), the top two places in the regular-season standings have been separated by one game or less four times. 

2010 - Wichita St. & Illinois St. 15-6 
2011 - Creighton 15-6 & Wichita St. 14-7
2012 - Indiana St. 14-7 & Missouri St. 13-7
2014 - Evansville 15-6 & DBU/Indiana St. 14-7

Valley RPI Ranks No. 6
According to the latest RPI update from WarrenNolan.com (May 6), the Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 6 amongst 31 leagues. Four of the Power-Five conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Pac-12) 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-75 of the RPI, led by Indiana State (No. 29), Illinois State (No. 31), DBU (No. 33), Evansville (No. 64) and Bradley (No. 95).

Wins Over Power Five
Entering this week’s action, the MVC has earned 27 wins over members of Power Five conferences (27-41 record).  The Valley sits 1-0 vs. the Pac-12, 2-1 vs. the ACC, 17-21 vs. the Big Ten, 5-9 vs. the Big 12 and 2-10 vs. the SEC.  

Seven of the eight MVC teams have earned wins against the Power Five.  Indiana State leads the league with eight Power Five wins, including an 8-4 mark vs. the Big Ten. DBU has seven Power Five wins, while Evansville has four. Illinois State has three, while Missouri State and Bradley each have a pair.  Southern Illinois has one win.

This week’s schedule features one game against a Power Five team.  Valparaiso will travel to Michigan State on Tuesday, looking for its first Power Five win of the season. 

Top 50 RPI Wins
Five league teams have won four or more games against teams currently ranked in the Top 50 of the RPI. DBU sits 6-7 against the Top 50, while Evansville (5-9) and Missouri State (5-17) have five wins.  Indiana State (4-5) and Illinois State (4-12) each have four wins.

High Percentage
Indiana State enters the week with the 8th-best winning percentage in the nation (.756).  The Sycamores’ 34-11 mark features six losses which were by just one run.   

Road Success
Entering this week’s schedule, Illinois State is tied for second in the NCAA in road wins.  The Redbirds have 17 road wins on the season which ranks tied for second with Fairfield.  Bryant and Creighton lead the NCAA with 21 road wins this season.  The Redbirds’ 33 road games are third nationally, trailing only Lafayette (34) and Oakland (35). 

Projected NCAA Field
Baseball America has three MVC teams in the projected NCAA field of 64 as of May 1. The publication has DBU as a No. 2 seed in the Fayetteville (Arkansas) Regional, Illinois State is the No. 3 seed in the Morgantown (West Virginia) Regional and Indiana State as the No. 3 seed in the Louisville Regional. Evansville is currently listed among the “Next Four Out.”

Strong Arms
Bradley boasts the nation’s second-best team ERA at 3.01. Indiana State’s staff is also enjoying a great season, sitting 6th nationally in team ERA (3.10).

NCAA Leaders (Team ERA)
    1.    UCLA                       2.74
    2.    Bradley                    3.01
    3.    Oregon State           3.03
    4.    Michigan                  3.06
    5.    Texas A&M              3.09
    6.    Stanford                  3.10
           Indiana State          3.10

Indiana State ranks 5th nationally with a 1.17 WHIP, while Bradley sits 15th (1.22 WHIP).  Bradley sits 4th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.89), while the Sycamores sit 14th (7.46).  Indiana State also ranks 16th with five shutouts. 

This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are Southern Illinois' Aiden McMahan and Indiana State's Collin Liberatore, respectively.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Aiden McMahan, Sr., C, Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois’ Aiden McMahan had 12 RBI in only 12 at-bats for the Salukis in their 5-0 week. McMahan went 5-for-12 and had a double, triple, home run, 12 RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases. He slashed .417/.500/.917 for the week and had at least one RBI in all four games he played in. He went 1-for-2 with three walks and three RBIs in the win over Illinois and followed that up with a 3-for-4, 6 RBI performance in the series opener against Evansville—a game in which he was just a single shy of the cycle.   
 
Other Notable Performances: Dan Bolt (BRAD); Jake Means (INS); Drew Millas (MSU); Blake Billinger (VALPO)

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Collin Liberatore, Jr., RHP, Indiana State
Indiana State’s Collin Liberatore (9-0) put together another phenomenal performance on the mound against Illinois State to even the series in Normal Saturday. Liberatore went for at least seven innings for the eighth time this season as he cruised to his MVC leading ninth victory. The right-hander sat down the Redbirds in order in four different innings and retired seven batters in-a-row on two separate occasions. In total, Illinois State was able to spray just five hits against Liberatore over the course of eight innings as he shut down the Redbirds much of the day. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania native struck out eight and issued just two walks. Liberatore has a 1.80 ERA in 12 starts overall and a 0.67 ERA in MVC games.   

Other Notable Performances: Mitch Janssen (BRAD); Jordan Martinson (DBU); Brent Headrick (ILS); Davis Schwab (MSU); Trey McDaniel (SIU); Jon Tieman (VALPO)