NOTEBOOK (PDF)
League Roundup
A month into the league schedule, Missouri State (8-1 MVC) remains atop the MVC standings, while DBU (7-2 MVC) and Bradley (7-2 MVC) sit one game behind the Bears in the standings. Southern Illinois (4-5 MVC) and Valparaiso (4-5 MVC) occupy the fourth spot in the standings, while Indiana State (4-8 MVC) and Illinois State (4-8 MVC) are tied for sixth.
This weekend's schedule is highlighted by first-place Missouri State traveling to second-place Bradley, while DBU will look to take over the top spot as the Patriots travel to Valparaiso.
In other MVC action this weekend, Southern Illinois will travel to Evansville (1-8 MVC) and Indiana State will step out of conference for a three-game series at Louisville.
Wins Over Power Five
Entering this week’s action, the MVC has earned 15 wins over members of Power Five conferences. The Valley has a winning record vs. the Big 12 (6-5), while going 3-4 vs. the Pac-12, 5-12 vs. the Big Ten, 1-3 against the ACC and 0-8 vs. the SEC.
Seven of the eight MVC teams have earned wins against the Power Five. Bradley, Indiana State and Southern Illinois each have one Power Five win, while Missouri State has two, Illinois State and Valparaiso has three and DBU four.
This week’s schedule features seven games against Power Five teams. On Tuesday, Valparaiso will travel to Notre Dame, Missouri State will face Missouri, DBU will host Oklahoma State and Bradley will head to Illinois. Indiana State will face Louisville on the road for a three-game series over the weekend.
Top 50 RPI Wins
Four league teams have won two or more games against teams currently ranked in the Top 50 of the RPI. DBU sits 3-5 against the Top 50, while Bradley (2-4), Missouri State (2-6) and Illinois State (2-6) each have two wins.
Another Top 25 Win
Valparaiso earned its first win over a Top 25 opponent this season, beating #25 Illinois 11-7 Tuesday. The MVC has won eight games against top-25 opponents so far this season. DBU has five of those wins, beating #24 Oklahoma, #22 Sam Houston State (twice), #23 TCU and #4 Texas Tech. Missouri State and Southern Illinois also have wins over Top 25 teams, as the Bears beat #24 East Carolina and the Salukis beat #24 Illinois.
Projected Field
Baseball America has two MVC teams in the projected NCAA field of 64 as of April 19. The publication has DBU as a No. 2 seed in the Corvallis (Oregon State) Regional and Missouri State as a No. 3 seed in the Fayetteville (Arkansas) Regional. The Bears are also currently listed as one of the “Last Four In”.
Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
Five MVC shortstops are among 53 Division I shortstops listed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. MSU’s Jeremy Eierman, DBU’s Jimmy Glowenke, SIU’s Connor Kopach, Illinois State’s Owen Miller and Valpo’s Sam Shaikin are listed among the group. The Valley’s five honorees only trails the ACC (9) and SEC (8) nationally.
Hannah's Hit Streak Ends
DBU's Jameson Hannah’s career high 35-game hit streak came to a close on Friday in Terre Haute, Indiana. The 35-game hit streak was the longest in the nation heading into this weekend. Hannah, also saw his streak of reaching safely in 46 consecutive game also come to an end on Friday.
Streaking at Horner
DBU holds an 18-4 home record during the 2018 season and has a current Horner Ballpark win streak of 8 consecutive victories since March 20. The streak includes wins over a pair of ranked opponents, beating #23 TCU and #4 Texas Tech. The Patriots will put that streak to the test against #23 Oklahoma State Tuesday.
Current Home Win Streaks (NCAA)
16 Michigan
12 Tennessee Tech
10 St. John’s, Stetson
9 Marist
8 DBU, Creighton, Elon, NC A&T, North Florida
Valley Home Success
After registering a record-setting 22-game win streak in Missouri Valley Conference play over the previous two seasons, Missouri State has continued their winning ways at home this spring to fashion yet another memorable string of victories. With their three-game sweep of Illinois State over the weekend, the Bears stretched their Hammons Field win streak to 21 straight regular-season wins over Valley foes. MSU, which last suffered a home setback to an MVC opponent on May 8, 2016 vs. Southern Illinois, has hit .338 and outscored the opposition by a 184-65 margin over the course of the streak.
Guttin Gains Ground
With Missouri State’s 6-3 win over Illinois State Saturday, Bears head coach Keith Guttin moved past former Southern Illinois coach Itchy Jones into sole possession of the No. 21 spot on the NCAA’s Division I career coaching wins list. With a career record of 1,244-770 (.618), Guttin needs 11 more wins to catch Jack Stallings (Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Southern) and move into the top 20. Guttin is the second-winningest coach in MVC history, while his win total ranks sixth among all active Division I head coaches.
Blackfan’s Hitting Streak
Logan Blackfan extended his active hitting streak to 20 games, the second-longest in the MVC this season and the longest for an SIU player since 2012 (Chris Serritella). He is the 11th player in the NCAA to record a 20-game hitting streak this year. Blackfan’s streak is tied for the fifth-longest in SIU history.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are Missouri State's Drew Millas and Indiana State's Tyler Ward, respectively.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Drew Millas, So., C, Missouri State
Missouri State sophomore catcher/DH Drew Millas turned in another torrid stretch at the plate, hitting .533 (8-for-15) with a pair of home runs and seven RBI to help the Bears go 3-1 last week. Millas logged his third four-hit performance of the season against No. 3 Arkansas Tuesday, then drove in seven runs in the Bears’ MVC series sweep of Illinois State. The Swansea, Illinois product went 2-for-3 with the decisive seventh-inning, three-run home run that snapped a 3-3 deadlock in an eventual 6-3 Bears victory, then helped finish off the sweep with another home run and three more RBI in the finale—a 12-3 MSU win.
Other Notable Performances: Luke Mangieri (BRAD); Devlin Granberg (DBU); CJ Huntley (INS); Logan Blackfan (SIU); Giovanni Garbella (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Tyler Ward, Jr., RHP, Indiana State
Indiana State junior pitcher Tyler Ward put together a masterful performance Friday night as he pitched a complete game shutout against No. 23 DBU. Ward allowed just six hits to the high-powered Patriots offense that entered the game with 251 runs scored in 34 games. The right-hander shut down much of the DBU lineup with just five Patriots recording base hits. Ward also ended DBU leadoff man Jameson Hannah’s 46-game reached base streak and his school record 35-game hitting streak. Ward, a Santa Claus, Indiana native, improved to 6-3 on the season after striking out eight and walking just two Patriots. He also retired eight of the final nine batters he faced.
Other Notable Performances: Connor Sechler (MSU); Dylan Givens (SIU); Jon Tieman (VALPO)