Jared Spencer (Indiana State) and Garrett Ferguson (Missouri State) were named to the initial Watch List for the 19th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award on Feb. 14.
Opening weekend saw Valley schools combine for 219 runs scored. Southern Illinois (43), Illinois State (34) and Evansville (31) led the way for the league. The 43 runs scored by the Salukis are the eighth most in the country while the Redbirds' 34 were the 25th most in NCAA Division I.
Southern Illinois (3-0), Indiana State (2-0) and Murray State (2-0) are three of 57 teams in the country that started their seasons undefeated.
The Salukis lead the nation in base on balls (37) after opening weekend. Jake Allgeyer leads SIU and the country in the category with eight.
Illinois State (.390) and Murray State (.384) rank sixth and ninth, respectively, in NCAA Division I in batting average, while the Racers' 1.50 team ERA is the 11th best mark in the country.
Belmont BRUINS
- Belmont took care of business on Opening Weekend against Eastern Michigan, as the Bruins won the series. Belmont’s pitching on Friday and Saturday helped the Bruins win two one-run ball games, while the bats took care of business in the final game of a Sunday doubleheader.
- Belmont saw two new faces make an impact this weekend. Junior Landon Godsey hit two solo home runs on Friday in Belmont’s 4-3 win and finished the weekend with three hits and reaching base five times in ten at-bats. Freshman Pete Daniel shined in Sunday’s doubleheader. The Nashville, Tennessee native went 3-for-5 on Sunday, and hit his first collegiate home run in game two, helping the Bruins win the second game, 9-7.
- Jett Thielke made an impressive debut on Saturday for the Bruins, as the redshirt senior shut the Eagles’ offense and picked up the save in Belmont’s 3-2 win. Thielke entered the game in the top of the sixth inning in a 2-1 ball game. After the leadoff man reached on an error, Thielke struck out the next three Eagles to leave the tying run at second base. He allowed only one hit through his first three innings of work with four strikeouts. The right-hander, who made a team-high 24 appearances out of the bullpen last year, slammed the door on the Eagles in the ninth inning. Thielke earned the save with a final stat line of four innings, only two hits, one run, and five strikeouts. The outing was tied a Thielke’s career-best four-inning save, which he previously accomplished last season on May 18 against Bradley.
BRADLEY BRAVES
- For the second time in three seasons, Bradley picked up a win on opening day, outlasting Western Kentucky, 5-2.
- The five runs scored in the season opener marked the most to begin a season for the Braves since using 11 runs to take down Western Michigan in the 2022 opener.
- Tyrese Johnson led the way for the Braves, going 4-for-10 (.400) from the dish in three starts.
- On the mound, Noah Edders picked up his first win of the season, striking out three and allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work in the Braves' 5-2 win over the Hilltoppers.
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
- Evansville won head coach Wes Carroll's 800th career game as head coach of the Purple Aces on Sunday with a 7-6 victory at #26 Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Carroll is one of only 10 men in MVC history to coach in over 800 career games, and he is the only one of the 10 men to not only coach all 800 games of his career in the MVC, but to also play his entire collegiate career in the Valley. Carroll was a four-year standout at UE from 1998-2001 and was voted to the MVC's All-Centennial Team as a player.
- Evansville posted its first season-opening series victory since 2015 this past weekend, winning two out of three games from 2023 College World Series participant #26 Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles were ranked #26 in the NCBWA preseason poll this year, and were receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches preseason poll as well. The season-opening series win for UE was its first since winning two out of three games at Arkansas-Little Rock in 2015.
- Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman impressed in his first collegiate outing on Saturday, as he shut down #26 Oral Roberts over 6.0 innings of relief work to power Evansville to a 14-3 victory over the 2023 College World Series participant. Entering the game in the bottom of the third inning with UE up 3-2, Deverman immediately quieted an ORU offense which hit .321 as a team last year. After giving up a lead-off single to 2023 NCAA All-Regional infielder Holden Breeze, Deverman recorded the next eight outs in a row, all on the infield or via the strikeout. Deverman recorded a pair of 1-2-3 innings, while also striking out the side in another frame. His lone blemish on the afternoon was a solo home run after UE had erupted to take a 14-2 lead in the seventh inning. Overall, Deverman held Oral Roberts to a single run on five hits (four singles and a home run) over 6.0 innings of work, while striking out eight without issuing a walk.
UIC FLAMES
- UIC put up 26 runs and finished 2-1 on the weekend in a three-game series with Kansas to start the 2024 season.
- With victories in the first two games of the series, UIC earned its first series win over a Power 5 program since taking two of three from California on the road in 2022.
- Jackson Bessette went a team-best .467 from the dish in three starts against the Jayhawks, notching seven hits, while Dillon Schueler earned the Flames' first win of the season on the mound allowing just one earned run in five innings of work.
- Zane Zielinski helped propel the Flames to a series victory over Kansas on opening weekend, going 5-for-11 at the plate (.455) and driving in four crucial runs. He also reached base twice via walk and was two for three in stolen base attempts on the weekend.
- Dillon Schueler earned the victory in his first start as a Flame in UIC’s season opener against Kansas Friday. The sophomore pitched five innings in the victory, scattering six hits and allowing just one earned run.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
- In the season opening win over St. Thomas, Illinois State totaled 18 runs and 20 hits to gather the program’s fourth straight season opening win.
- The 20 hits are the most in a game for the Redbirds since March 2019 when ILS finished with 22 hits at SIUE. Meanwhile, the 18 runs are the most runs scored in a season opener for ILS since a 27-run outburst at Belmont to start the 2019 season as well.
- Designated hitter Noah Rabin finished 7-for-13 (.538) with two home runs, 13 total bases and three RBI over the course of the three games.
- Outfielder Daniel Pacella kicked off the 2024 season with a strong weekend to help the Redbirds secure their first win of the season. For the weekend, Pacella went 5-for-13 (.385) with two homers, eight RBI and 11 total bases. In the season opener against St. Thomas, the sophomore slugger finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, launching a no-doubt three-run homer in the 18-12 victory for the Redbirds. The Mundelein, Ill., product started all three games for the ‘Birds as he slugged a remarkable .846 and finished with an OPS of 1.346. Pacella’s eight RBIs currently lead the MVC in the category and place the sophomore within the top-25 nationally as well.
INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
- You’d have to go back to the start of the 2019 season for the last time Indiana State started off the regular season 2-0 as the Sycamores topped both Louisville and UConn (2023 NCAA Regional Appearance) in back-to-back games down at the USF Baseball Stadium.
- Newcomers to the lineup Henry Brown (5 RBIs) and Dominic Listi (.600 BA, 5 runs) have been among the standouts at the plate in the early going in leading a lineup that features seven starters back from last season.
- Brown came up clutch with the game-winning hits in both of Indiana State’s wins over Louisville and UConn to start the 2024 season. The redshirt sophomore hit .429 from the plate with a 1.500 on-base plus slugging percentage, while scoring two runs and driving in five RBI.
- Cam Edmonson and Jacob Pruitt, the first two weekend starters, combined to go 10.0 innings allowing one earned run while striking out 11 over ISU’s first two games, while the bullpen has posted a pair of saves from Jared Spencer and Adam Berghorst.
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
- With their first home run of the season on Friday, hit by Dylan Leach, Missouri State reached the 200 mark in long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season, best in the MVC. The Bears are tied for 19th nationally in round-trippers over the last two years and change, launching 202 in 119 games since the 2022 opener.
- Jahlani Rogers collected at least one hit and one RBI in all three weekend games at ULM, hitting .333 and driving in five total runs while stealing a pair of bases and playing an error-free centerfield as the Bears went 2-1.
- Eric Loomis did not allow a hit in two relief appearances for the Bears at ULM. Friday, he struck out two in 1.1 innings in the Bears’ season-opening victory, and he retired all three batters he faced with a strikeout on Sunday.
Murray State RACERS
- The bats were hot for the Murray State baseball team after outscoring the Fort Wayne Mastodons 28-3 in two games on Sunday.
- The day was highlighted by stellar starting performances on the mound from seniors Cade Vernon and Bryce Valero. Junior Carson Garner also made his impact with a home run in each game of Sunday's doubleheader.
- Garner drove in two RBI in game one and four in game two. Through seven at-bats, the Franklin, Tennessee, native posted a staggering 2.156 OPS that currently leads the conference. His 1.429 slugging percentage is also atop the MVC and his pair of home runs are tied for the second-most in the league.
- Murray State's 28 runs through their first two games are the most runs scored through a season's first two games in program history. In 2021, the Racers scored 24 runs through their first two games against Butler before scoring 25 in the series finale.
- Bryce Valero displayed a stellar performance in his season debut in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mastodons. The Racers veteran picked up his first win of the season after throwing five scoreless innings allowing just one hit and one walk. He fanned six batters and held the Mastodons to just a .067 batting average.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
- Southern Illinois baseball capped off its weekend with a 15-11 win over Northwestern State Sunday afternoon at Brown-Stroud Field after rallying back from a 7-5 deficit to secure the weekend sweep.
- The three-game sweep marks the first time that SIU has swept a single opponent to open the season since 2017 when the Salukis defeated Stetson on the road. Southern did open the Lance Rhodes era in the 2021 season with three straight victories – however, the wins were over three different opponents.
- The Salukis scored 43 runs over three games against NSU which was the eighth-most in the country over opening weekend. SIU's 14.3 runs per game ranks seventh nationally.
- Aidan Foeller was dominant in his first start in maroon & white. Foeller tossed five complete innings and allowed just one base hit while retiring eight Northwestern State batters on strikeouts. A Nesbit, Mississippi native, Foeller sat down the first seven batters he faced before Lathen Buzard recorded the first and only hit against Foeller in five innings. The right-hander held the Demons to a .063 average against in the outing.
- Mathieu Vallee reached base 11 times, drove in five runs and scored five times as the Salukis swept Northwestern State on the road. Vallee led the team with a .538 batting average recording seven hits in 13 plate appearances, including a double. He had a .615 slugging percentage and a .547 on-base percent after also drawing four walks. Vallee recorded a hit in each game and went for a team-high four hits in the finale for Southern. He was also 1-for-1 on stolen base attempts.
VALPARAISO BEACONS
- Valpo clubbed six doubles in the opening game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Alabama State en route to an 8-2 victory.
- The half dozen doubles marked the team's highest total since May 1, 2021, seven vs. Illinois State. Six of Valpo's 10 hits in the game went for two bases including two doubles by Connor Giusti.
- That victory was the start of a doubleheader sweep that saw the Beacons take game two by a score of 8-1.
- Freshman Lucas Foley made an immediate impact in his collegiate debut in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Alabama State. He logged seven innings while yielding one run on five hits and no walks, racking up 11 strikeouts en route to becoming the winning pitcher. He shut down a Hornets' team that won 41 games and a regular-season conference championship last year to help his team to an 8-1 victory as Valpo secured a doubleheader sweep.
- Connor Giusti had five hits in 16 at-bats this week, accruing four extra-base knocks as the Beacons opened the season with a four-game series split at Alabama State, a team that won 41 games and a regular-season conference title last year. Giusti launched a home run, drove in four and clubbed three doubles. He scored three runs and totaled 11 bases while posting a batting average of .333 and a slugging percentage of .688 this week. He was flawless in the field with 11 putouts and nine assists. Giusti added a base on balls and a sac fly to his productive week.