Baseball

MVC Baseball Weekly Notebook (April 13)

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its baseball weekly award winners on Monday.

Player of the Week: Drew McConnell, Evansville
Pitcher of the Week: Mason Lei, UIC
Newcomer of the Week: Landon Lowe, Bradley
Freshman of the Week: Tanner Graham, Evansville
 
Conference News & Notes
  • Indiana State earned the series win over Illinois State on the road this past weekend to jump into first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with an 8-4 ledger on the year.
  • Evansville took the series, 2-1, over Southern Illinois to move into second place with a 6-3 record, while UIC’s sweep of Murray State moved the two into a tie at third place. The Redbirds, who are 6-6 in MVC play, round out the top half of the league standings heading into the week.
  • UIC completed the three-game sweep of Murray State on Sunday with a come-from-behind win. It marked just the second time in three seasons that the Racers have been swept in a Conference series. The Flames’ pitching staff combined for 23 strikeouts across all three games, while six different players recorded multi-hit performances in the series.
  • Indiana State claimed its fourth-consecutive MVC series win after taking two of three from Illinois State over the weekend. It marked the first time the Sycamores won their first four series since the 2024 season when Indiana State claimed all nine Valley weekend series on the year. Pitchers Ryan Karst and Spencer Johnson each logged career-highs in innings pitched in the pair of wins, while Johnson added a career-best seven strikeouts.
  • After an extra-inning, walk-off win on Friday night, Evansville won its third-straight MVC series on Saturday afternoon, taking down Southern Illinois, 7-3. Rookie Tanner Graham turned in another quality start, striking out seven while allowing just one earned run and three hits over 6.0 innings of work.
  • Bradley earned its first Conference series win of the season on Sunday, outlasting the Beacons, 11-10. AJ Garcia, who stepped into the game initially as a pinch runner in the fifth inning, came up big for the Braves, knocking the go-ahead long ball in the top of the ninth.
  • A pair of Valley pitchers rank inside the Top 20 nationally in ERA, led by Illinois State’s Michael Addari, who is sixth with a 1.50 ERA. Southern Illinois’ Andrew Evans is the only other pitcher in the league with an ERA below 2.00, entering the week at 1.80 to rank 17th in Division I.
  • Valparaiso’s Connor Lockwood ranks fifth in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, averaging less than one (0.94). The right-hander leads the MVC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.50) with two complete games under his belt.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Drew McConnell, Evansville
Sophomore | Shortstop | Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS)
Evansville’s Drew McConnell went 11-for-16 (.688) at the plate this week to help move the Purple Aces into second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. McConnell started his week with a 3-for-4 performance in a win over Lindenwood, scoring two runs with an RBI. He followed that with a pair of 3-hit outings in a series win over Southern Illinois, extending his hit streak to 11 games. McConnell finished the week with a team-high six runs scored, three RBI and a walk. McConnell registered multi-hit performances in all four outings last week. 

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Mason Lei, UIC
Junior | RHP | Freeport, Ill. (Rock Valley CC)
Mason Lei earned his third win of the season on the mound and set the tone for UIC as the Flames swept the series against the defending champs. Lei held the Racers to just .160 at the plate, going 7.0 innings on Friday in the series opener. He allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five. Lei currently ranks third in The Valley with 48 strikeouts on the season with a 4.19 ERA. 

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Landon Lowe, Bradley
Graduate | Infielder | Key West, Fla. (Keiser University)
Bradley’s Landon Lowe led the Braves with a dominant offensive week, going 12-for-18 (.667) at the plate across four games with a 1.000 slugging percentage and .700 on-base percentage. The newcomer added five runs scored, four RBI and three doubles to his stat line with four 3-hit performances to fuel the Bradley offense last week. Lowe played a key role in helping first-year head coach Justin Dedman secure the Braves’ first Conference series win of the season against the Beacons, as Lowe went 9-for-14 (.643) in the series.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Tanner Graham, Evansville
Freshman | RHP | Rocheport, Mo. (Hickman HS)
Evansville’s Tanner Graham is earning his fourth MVC Freshman of the Week honor after helping the Purple Aces clinch the series against Southern Illinois on Saturday. The rookie tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits, while striking out seven. In MVC play, Graham is 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 17.0 innings of work.