Valley baseball teams continued to add Power Five wins last week, tallying three to the league total. Missouri State earned a win at Kansas and at home vs. Indiana, while Indiana State claimed a neutral site win over Michigan. The league now has four wins vs. the Big Ten and one each vs. the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
As a league, The Valley went 14-16 (.467) overall during the week.
In the ever so early RPI, The Valley ranks ninth nationally behind the SEC, Big 12, ACC, American, Pac-12, Ivy League, Sun Belt and Big Ten. (WarrenNolan.com).
BRAD: Balanced Attack
The Braves features a balanced attack at the plate this season. On Saturday, all nine starters recorded at least one hit at Southeast Missouri State – marking just the third time a Valley school has accomplished the feat this season (in 81 possible games). Overall, Bradley is the only MVC school to feature five different players that are hitting at least .300 this season and eight different players with at least one home run in 2022.
DBU: Breaking Out
DBU’s offense broke out last week hitting 11 home runs in their four games. 10 of the Patriots’ 11 round-trippers came on the road in their three-game series against San Diego. After hitting a pair of home runs on Friday, DBU blasted six long balls in Saturday’s 8-6 win over the Toreros. It was the most home runs in a game since the Patriots hit six against Bradley on May 26, 2018, at the MVC Tournament. DBU delivered two more home runs in the Patriots’ 5-4 win in the rubber match of the series finale.
UE: Strikeout Kings
Evansville’s pitching staff was on another level on Friday night against UIC. The Aces staff combined to throw 16 strikeouts, led by starter Shane Gray with 10, while relievers Jakob Meyer and Nate Hardman had four and two strikeouts, respectively. The feat marked the first time since March 23, 2018 that the Aces had struck and opponent out more than 15 times.
ILS: Efficiency is Key
It took Illinois State fifth-year senior Colin Wyman just 42 pitches to record 15 outs against Arkansas State in Saturday’s 7-1 win. Wyman conceded just two hits and walk while recording a strikeout. Wyman had a pair of similar outings in 2021 as he threw five scoreless innings in relief against both Western Illinois and Milwaukee.
INS: Leading The Valley
Through 10 games in the 2022 season, the Sycamores have posted the top batting average in the Missouri Valley Conference as Indiana State has been getting it done 1-through-9 in the lineup. The Sycamores are hitting a Valley-best .314 as a team to remain the only team in the conference with an above .300 batting average in the 2022 season. The Sycamores have been led by Josue Urdaneta’s league-leading .435 batting average as the redshirt sophomore is hitting a Valley-best .435 from the plate with 20 hits on the season. The Maracaibo, Venezuela native has seven multi-hit games in the 2022 season, including a .615 mark (8-of-13) this past weekend at the LeClair Classic against East Carolina, No. 21 Maryland, and Michigan. The Sycamores have posted double-digit hits in six of the last eight games, including 22 two weeks ago against Minnesota.
MSU: Bash Brothers
Missouri State seniors Mason Hull and Dakota Kotowski share the MVC lead in home runs with six apiece and rank 1-2 in RBI through three weeks of the season. Their home run total ranks 11th nationally, while Hull sits in fourth in Division I with 21 RBI and 26th in total bases.
SIU: No Place Like Home
The Salukis defeated Western Illinois, 14-5 on Tuesday, March 1 to improve to 5-0 at Itchy Jones Stadium this season. SIU is one of 22 teams nationally to win its first five home games without suffering a defeat. The Salukis currently rank top-10 nationally in both home runs (9th; 15) and doubles (9th; 25) and are one of only six teams to rank in the top-10 nationally in both categories.
VU: K’s Upon K’s
The Valpo pitching staff accrued 17 strikeouts in Saturday’s game at Omaha, helping the Beacons pick up a 7-5 win to solidify their best eight-game start to a season since 1999. The 17 strikeouts marked the most by Valpo in any game since April 12, 2011 vs. Chicago State. Starter Colin Fields contributed 10, his fifth career double-figure strikeout game, while Nathan Chasey fanned five and Bobby Nowak had two as part of his fourth save.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week are Evansville's Tanner Craig and Evansville's Shane Gray.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Tanner Craig, Sr., 1B, Evansville
Evansville senior Tanner Craig put on a show last week at the plate. On the week in four games, Craig hit well for average, finish 9-for-20 on the weekend with a .450 batting average, while blasting four home runs, including three in one day in Saturday’s doubleheader against Ohio and UIC. Craig also tallied 10 RBIs on the week, helping the Aces pick up a pair of wins. The senior now leads the Aces in average, hitting .319 on the season.
Other Notable Performances: Blayne Jones (DBU); Josue Urdaneta (INS); Dakota Kotowski (MSU); J.T. Weber (SIU); Kyle Schmack (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Shane Gray, Sr., RHP, Evansville
Continuing to produce impressive performances on the mound, Evansville senior Shane Gray was lights out for the Aces on Friday night. Facing UIC, Gray lasted 6.2 innings, allowing two runs and striking out 10 batters in the 4-2 win. Gray’s 19 strikeouts on the season are third-most in the MVC.
Other Notable Performances: Colin Wyman (ILS); Jake Kuntzendorf (SIU); Trent Turzenski (VU)