Heading into week five of the 2024 season, six teams in the Valley sit in the top 100 in the latest RPI report, issued on March 11. Missouri State leads the way, checking in at No. 11 while Murray State (25) and Indiana State (33) join the Bears inside the top 50. Valparaiso (61), UIC (73) and Belmont (87) round out the league's showing in the top 100.
Collectively, the Valley earned 23 wins and posted a .622 win percentage during week four while five teams went undefeated. Murray State led the way with a perfect 5-0 ledger while UIC and Southern Illinois each posted 4-0 records on the week.
Evansville's offense continues to shine nationally, as the team ranks in the top-25 in batting average (.322), doubles (45) and hits (173). The Purple Aces' 3.00 doubles per game are the second most in NCAA Division I as Brendan Hurd leads the way with eight on the year. Of the 15 Purple Aces that have recorded an at-bat, 12 have registered at least one double while 10 have tallied two-or-more through the first 15 games of the season.
Southern Illinois has drawn a league-high 119 walks this season, ranking seventh nationally in the category, while Jake Allgeyer's 20 free bases are the eighth most in NCAA Division I. The senior infielder is one of just 10 in the country with at least 20 walks this season, and teammate Bennett Eltoft follows closely behind with 19 free bases.
Murray State's Carson Garner has blasted a league-leading nine home runs this year, ranking fourth nationally in the category. The infielder has 20 hits, 23 RBI and 16 walks in 54 plate appearances. As a team, the Racers are 19th in NCAA Division I with 29 long balls.
Southern Illinois leads the Valley with 141 runs scored this season, averaging 9.4 per contest. Steven Loden has 26 RBI - the eighth most in NCAA Division I - while Jake Allgeyer and Jordan Bach have each scored 20 runs through the first 15 games.
Belmont BRUINS
- Belmont took care of business over the weekend, with a series win over UAB. Four players recorded four or more hits in the series: Jack Rando (5), Sam Slaughter (5), Brodey Heaton (4), and Pete Daniel (4).
- Jack Rando led the Bruins’ offense during the week in his return to the starting lineup. Rando posted a team-high .500 batting average with six RBI. He remained consistent at the plate in the series against UAB, as he batted .500 with runners in scoring position. He ranks second on the team with a .313 batting average and fourth in RBIs (9).
- Dominic Baratta picked up his first win of the season in Saturday’s 11-3 win. He tossed six innings and allowed three runs, one earned, with three strikeouts.
- Joe Ruzicka’s six strikeouts on Sunday is a new season high for the sophomore right-handed hurler.
BRADLEY BRAVES
- Bradley was unable to overcome Stetson this weekend on the road, going 0-4 in the series.
- Despite the losses, junior Cole Luckey and senior Ryan Vogel homered this weekend for the Braves, marking Bradley's second and third home runs of the season.
- Bradley has yet to play a game at home this year, and will not do so until the conference-opening series with Illinois State (March 22-24).
- Tyrese Johnson leads the way for the Braves at the dish, hitting .304 on the year in 14 starts.
- On the mound, Travis Lutz has a team-best 3.92 ERA while Noah Edders has struck out a team-leading 23 batters.
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
- UE graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger continues to find a way on base by any means necessary this year, as he has reached base safely in 31-straight games dating back to last season. Last year, despite battling injuries, Shallenberger finished the year reaching safely in his final 16 games played.
- This year, Shallenberger has reached in all 15 games, while hitting a team-best .407, working a team-best 12 walks, and getting hit by a pitch a team-best nine times. In fact, his nine HBPs currently is tied for first in the Valley with Indiana State’s Dom Listi.
- Evansville junior outfielder Ty Rumsey has been given the green light on the base paths so far this year, and it has paid dividends. Despite playing just 15 games, Rumsey has already posted a single-season high for stolen bases, as he is a perfect eight-for-eight in the stolen base department this year.
- His previous season high was seven stolen bases last year in 59 games played. Rumsey is now 20-for-21 in his UE career in the stolen base department, with his only caught stealing coming in his second career stolen base attempt against Dayton on February 27, 2022.
UIC FLAMES
- UIC is on a five-game win streak, its longest of the season, posting a perfect 4-0 week with a midweek win over Milwaukee and three-game series sweep of St. Thomas.
- The Flames are a perfect 5-0 at home and is one of only two teams in the Valley with an untouched record on its home field.
- Zane Zielinski extended his hitting streak to 14 games during game one of Sunday's doubleheader against St. Thomas, and batted .500 on the week (7-for-14) to lead the way for the Flames.
- Zielinkski leads the Flames in RBI on the season with 18, adding six to that total this week alone.
- Jackson Bessette ranks 14th nationally with 27 hits, averaging nearly two hits per contests (1.93) which is the seventh-best average in NCAA Division I.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
- Luke Lawrence provided the consistency to Illinois State's series at No. 9 Vanderbilt. The sophomore third baseman brought in a team high four RBI, while hitting .333 and going 4-for-12 at the plate with a slugging pct. of .583. In the series opener, Lawrence went 4-for-4 with a home run as he reached base safely six times thanks to two walks as well.
- Junior Joe Husak continues to lead the MVC in ERA through 13 games, as he made one appearance for the Redbirds at Vanderbilt. The Cambridge, Iowa, native went 3.1 innings at Vanderbilt, giving up two hits while allowing a run and striking out two Commodores. He currently has an MVC-best 1.04 ERA over 17.1 innings.
- Illinois State’s Tanner Perry got the Sunday start for Redbirds, tossing 4.2 innings while striking out six Commodores. Perry gave up four hits over his outing and two earned runs as the junior kept the high-powered Vanderbilt offense scoreless for 2.2 innings on Sunday.
INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
- Indiana State continues to boast one of the best pitching staffs in the NCAA and sits first or second in the Valley in multiple pitching categories through the first month of the season.
- The Sycamores lead the Valley in ERA (4.01), shutouts (2), runs allowed (67), earned runs (53), and strikeouts (147). ISU is also second in the Valley in walks (46) and opponent batting average (.242). The Sycamores have allowed two or fewer earned runs seven times in the 2024 season, while posting double-digit strikeout numbers in 10 contests this season.
- Overall, six Sycamore pitchers have gone double-digit innings on the season, while seven have posted double-digit strikeouts paced by Jacob Pruitt (31).
- Luis Hernandez hit safely in all three games over the weekend on his way to hitting a team-high .462 from the plate with five RBI, five runs scored, and a home run. He currently leads ISU in batting average (.333), hits (19), and runs (13), while sitting third in RBI (13).
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
- Missouri State leads the MVC and ranks among the national leaders with a .224 opponent batting average through 14 games this season.
- In MSU history, that number would tie the 2015 club, which earned the No. 8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, as the third-best on record, trailing only the 1969 and 1970 NCAA Division II World Series clubs.
- The Bears’ bullpen has been even tougher to hit, yielding just a .198 average to opposing hitters. Eric Loomis fired three hitless innings of relief and faced the minimum nine Central Arkansas batters to earn the win in Saturday’s series opener in Conway.
- Loomis entered a 2-2 game in the seventh inning and yielded only a walk in three frames, with that runner erased on a double play, all while striking out three batters.
- Dylan Leach batted .538 and slugged 1.154 in Missouri State’s three-game sweep at Central Arkansas, smacking two doubles and two homers while driving in five runs. In Saturday’s opener, Leach went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a double and the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning of MSU’s 4-2 victory. He picked up three more hits in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader, adding another double and home run while scoring twice, then went 1-for-5 with a run scored in the second game to help the Bears complete the sweep. He also played error-free behind the plate and threw out half of potential base stealers.
Murray State RACERS
- Murray State went 5-0 this week, including back-to-back comeback victories over Lindenwood and are 8-0 at home this season.
- The team is leading the Missouri Valley in home runs (29) and slugging percentage (0.533), and is second in the MVC in WHIP (1.34), strikeouts per nine innings (9.35), hits (169), runs (137) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.73).
- The Racers have scored at least 10 runs in eight of their 16 contests this season.
- The Murray State pitching staff is among the top three in the MVC in ERA (4.74), strikeouts (142), opponents’ batting average (.249) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.42).
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
- Southern Illinois has drawn 119 walks to lead the MVC and ranks seventh in the nation. SIU has six players who have 10 or more walks this season led by Jake Allgeyer who has 20 to rank eighth the country. Saluki designated hitter Bennett Eltoft has 19 walks which is 11th nationally.
- In 15 games the Saluki offense has scored 141 runs to rank first in the Valley. SIU's 9.4 runs per game ranks 28th in the country.
- Easton Dermody pitched six innings of relief work Friday night as Southern Illinois took the series opener over Houston Christian. Dermody entered the game in the fourth and went on to strike out nine batters and allow just two runs out of the bullpen. The right-hander surrendered only two runs while not issuing a free pass in the outing.
- Steven Loden drove in 10 runs and scored four times over the last four games for the Salukis. The infielder hit .400 and added to his team lead in home runs with two on the week. Loden finished with a .867 slugging percentage as well as a .444 on-base percentage after drawing two walks. He drove in five runs in the series opener against Houston Christian and four in the finale with the Huskies to help secure the weekend sweep.
VALPARAISO BEACONS
- Valpo collected a season-high 18 hits in the second game of Friday's doubleheader at The Citadel, a 10-5 win over the Bulldogs.
- That marked the team's highest hit total since May 1, 2021 vs. Illinois State and the team's highest hit total in a road game since May 8, 2018 at Western Michigan.
- Valpo followed with 12 hits in Sunday's series finale and also had a dozen knocks in the first game of the week at Jacksonville. The team's three highest hit totals of the season have all come in the last four games.
- Valpo's Connor Lockwood tossed five shutout innings and yielded four hits while walking two and striking out three en route to becoming the winning pitcher in Valpo's 3-2 victory over The Citadel in the first game of Friday's doubleheader.
- Carson Husmann posted a .462 batting average, .667 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage over four games this week. He had three extra-base knocks including a double and two home runs, one long ball in each game of Friday's double dip. Husmann worked seven walks and was hit by a pitch once while also driving in four runs, scoring three times and going 2-of-2 in stolen-base attempts. He reached base nine times in Friday's doubleheader sweep alone.