Baseball

MVC Baseball Weekly Notebook (Feb. 17)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its baseball weekly honors on Tuesday. 

Player of the Week: Graham Mastros, Illinois State
Pitcher of the Week: Zack Millsap, UIC
Newcomer of the Week: Kainen Jorge, Murray State
Freshman of the Week: Cal Schembra, Valparaiso

Conference News & Notes
  • Illinois State and Murray State each earned series wins over SEMO and Ohio, respectively. Five teams picked up opening-day victories over their opponents. 
  • The Redbirds swept Friday’s doubleheader, including a 12-1 season-opening win. Illinois State improved to 6-2 in season-opening contests under the direction of eighth-year head coach Steve Holm. The Redbirds’ margin of victory marked the largest in a season opener since a 13-2 win over Austin Peay to begin the 2023 campaign.
  • The Racers’ 13 runs scored on opening day were the most since tallying 15 in 1982. Murray State used a powerful start in the first game of its doubleheader on Sunday to secure the series, launching two three-run bombs in the first inning. The series finale turned into an offensive slugfest with both teams combining for 28 runs and 30 hits. 
  • Bradley scored three runs in the final two innings on Sunday to come from behind and beat Bethune-Cookman, 7-6, for Justin Dedman’s first win as the head coach of the Braves. The victory marked Dedman’s first career win as a Division I skipper.
  • Indiana State will face its third-straight ranked opponent, and third in four games, when it travels to play No. 23 Miami on Wednesday. It is the first time that the Sycamores have played at least three games against a ranked opponent since a four-game series at then-No. 16 Tennesse in 2021. It will be the first time since the 2019 campaign that Indiana State has faced three different ranked opponents in a season. 
  • Evansville plays host to No. 18 Kentucky for a three-game series beginning on Friday. This will mark the first weekend series against a Power Conference opponent at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium since the Purple Aces took a two-game sweep over Purdue on March 17-19, 2023, the first visit from an SEC opponent since Kentucky came to Evansville on May 9, 2007, and the first three-game series against an SEC opponent at home in program history. The Wildcats hold a slim 12-10 advantage in the all-time series.
  • Illinois State’s seven home runs this season rank inside the top 15 nationally, while Murray State’s league-leading 38 hits and 37 runs are both in the top 25 in Division I. 
  • With a victory over Samford during opening weekend, Belmont head coach Dave Jarvis recorded career victory No. 790. 
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Graham Mastros, Illinois State
Sophomore | Infielder | Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS)
Illinois State’s Graham Mastros earned the first MVC Player of the Week selection of his career after an impactful opening weekend at SEMO. He recorded five hits, all for extra bases, including a trio of home runs. All three homers came on opening day, in a 3-for-4 performance with five RBI, marking his first-career multi-hit home run game and the first five RBI game by a Redbird since last April. He added a double in each of the final two games, including a two-RBI double in the Redbirds’ 7-6 series-clinching win. Mastros currently leads the MVC in home runs (3), RBI (7) and slugging
percentage (1.333).

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Zack Millsap, Southern Illinois
Graduate | RHP | Crete, Ill. (Crete-Monee HS)
In his season debut, UIC’s Zack Millsap earned a three-inning save against Incarnate Word in the Flames’ 9-2 victory. He allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three. The graduate pitcher produced a 0.67 WHIP, while hitters were held to a .100 batting average. 

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Kainen Jorge, Murray State
Senior | Outfielder | Miami, Fla. (Old Dominion)
In his first weekend of action as a Racer, Kainen Jorge had an immediate impact. Jorge posted a .462 average on the weekend, notching six hits in 13 at-bats, driving in three runs, and scoring six. Jorge had two three-hit performances over the weekend, his second being just a single shy of the cycle. Jorge led the team on the weekend with 12 total bases along with a .923 slugging percentage.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Cal Schembra, Valparaiso
Freshman | Infielder | Greenwood, Ind. (Center Grove HS)
Valpo freshman Cal Schembra had a huge opening weekend at Gardner-Webb, batting .500 with a double, home run, five RBI and four runs scored. He reached at a .533 clip and slugged .786. Schembra also had a diving catch in foul territory and doubled up the runner who tried to tag and score in the season opener. The rookie had three hits in his collegiate debut before following with two more in Game 2 of the series. He had a third straight multi-hit game including a key two-run homer in Valpo’s one-run win in Game 3 of the series.