Baseball

MVC Baseball Weekly Notebook (Feb. 24)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its baseball weekly honors on Tuesday. Valparaiso's Javin Gauthier has been named the MVC Player of the Week and UIC's Mason Lei has been tabbed the Newcomer of the Week. Evansville's Kevin Reed and Tanner Graham have been named the MVC Pitcher and Freshman of the Week, respectively.

Conference News & Notes
  • Evansville earned a 1-0 win over No. 18 Kentucky in the series finale on Saturday afternoon. Starting pitcher Kevin Reed and rookie reliever Tanner Graham dominated on the mound, limiting the Wildcats to a season-low four hits for the Purple Aces’ first shutout and win of the season.
  • Despite the final game of the four-game set with Central Michigan, Belmont took the series over the Chippewas. Skipper Dave Jarvis is closing in on 800 career victories in his illustrious 29 years at the helm, sitting just eight wins away.
  • UIC earned its first series win of the season at Sam Houston. The Flames opened with a 2-0 shutout, its first of the year, before picking up the 2-1 victory in game two of the series. Ashton Kampa extended his hitting streak to five games, recording his first multi-hit performance in the finale.
  • Murray State swept its three-game series with Butler over the weekend, becoming the first MVC team this season to pull off a series sweep. The Racers used a 9-strikeout performance by Nic Schutte, who earned the 10th win of his career on the mound while reaching 110 career strikeouts. The right-hander allowed just two hits over seven innings.
  • Valparaiso closed the weekend with a pair of wins over USC Upstate and Presbyterian. Sunday’s 21-9 win over Presbyterian marked the team’s highest run total in a road game since May 8, 2005, a 21-1 victory at Oakland. The team’s 20 hits against the Blue Hose were its most since May 13, 2016, at Youngstown State (21).
  • Illinois State and Indiana State each went 2-1 at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida, over the weekend. 
  • Illinois State flew past UMass Lowell in eight innings, 12-1, before picking up the 9-7 victory over Brown. With the pair of wins to open the event, the Redbirds’ 5-1 ledger marked the best start through a six-game stretch under eighth-year head coach Steve Holm.  
  • Big bats and strong pitching carried the Sycamores to an 11-3 win over Miami (OH) in the Snowbird Classic opener, before powering past UMass Lowell in the event finale. Ty Brooks carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, finishing with a career-high seven strikeouts. Brooks leads the Indiana State pitching staff with a 2-0 record and 1.20 ERA. 
  • Murray State’s Parker Airhart leads the MVC in on-base percentage (.739) and batting average (.625) while ranking second and third in Division I in each category, respectively. Valparaiso’s Javin Gauthier joins Airhart inside the Top 25 nationally in batting average, hitting at a .526 clip.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Javin Gauthier, Valparaiso
Redshirt-Freshman | Infielder | De Pere, Wis. (De Pere HS)
Valpo redshirt freshman Javin Gauthier posted a slash line of .667/.765/1.083 in three games this week, racking up eight hits including three for extra bases and his first collegiate home run to help Valpo take two of three in South Carolina. He totaled 13 bases, scored six runs and drove in eight while also drawing five walks and posting a perfect fielding percentage on the left side of the Valpo infield, splitting time between third and short. He was on base four times on Friday at Wofford before recording three hits and four RBI, including the long ball, to help Valpo beat USC Upstate 10-5 on Saturday, a victory over a 36-win NCAA Regional Team from last season. Gauthier had three hits on Sunday, his third multi-hit game of the weekend, and played a key role in Valpo’s 21-9 victory at Presbyterian. 

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kevin Reed, Evansville
Junior | LHP | Martinsville, Ind. (Martinsville HS)
Evansville’s Kevin Reed dominated on the mound in the series finale against No. 18 Kentucky, limiting the Wildcats to just three hits and two walks while striking out five in six innings of work. Reed’s performance, along with rookie Tanner Graham in relief, helped the Purple Aces shutout a ranked opponent for the first time since the 2010 season. Additionally, the shutout of the Wildcats marked the first time that Kentucky has been blanked since 2024.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Mason Lei, UIC
Junior | RHP | Freeport, Ill. (Rock Valley CC)
In his second appearance of the season, UIC’s Mason Lei led a three-pitcher complete game shutout of Sam Houston to open the series with the Bearkats. The junior went 6.1 innings, giving up just four hits and a pair of walks while fanning 10 in the win. Lei’s 10 strikeouts are the most in a game by a Valley pitcher this season and it marked the most by a UIC Flame since Nate Peterson struck out 11 in 2022. 

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Tanner Graham, Evansville
Freshman | RHP | Rocheport, Mo. (Hickman HS)
Evansville’s Tanner Graham played a vital role in Saturday’s 1-0 shutout of No. 18 Kentucky, taking over in relief on the mound. Graham, who was making his second appearance of the season, limited the Wildcats to just one in three scoreless innings of work, collecting his first-career save.