Missouri Valley Conference Weekend Recap (March 15th-17th)

2.1K

College Baseball Daily MVC Players of the Week:

Creighton – 2B Jake Peter, 9-13, 2B, 4 RBI, SB

Indiana State – LHP Sean Manaea W(2-1); CG, 6 H, R, BB, 9 K

Illinois State – RHP Brad Sorkin W(4-1); 8.0 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K

Creighton Takes Series over Pacific

Creighton (10-4) took two of three from visiting Pacific (6-12) in Omaha this weekend. In Friday’s 7-2 win, freshman starter Tommy Strunc shut down the Tigers going seven and a third, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out eight. Second baseman Jake Peter had the start of a tremendous weekend, going four for five and knocking in three runs. Pacific rebounded in the second game however, besting the Jays 5-2. Despite another four for five day from Peter, the Jays left twelve on base and struggled to get the timely hit against the duo of Cory Popham and Kyle Crawford. In the rubber match, five CU pitchers held the Tigers to just one earned run as the Jays were able to take the series with a 5-2 win.

Notables:

2B Jake Peter, 9-13, 2B, 4 RBI, SB

RHP Tommy Strung W(3-0); 7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K

Illinois State takes Three of Four from Bowling Green

The Illinois State Redbirds (9-9) took two of three from visiting Bowling Green (4-12) in Normal, IL. After dropping game one 7-5, the ‘Birds held the Falcons to just one run all day as they took both games of Saturdays double-header. In the first game, sophomore Dan Savas tossed a complete game (seven innings) one-hitter. Savas allowed just one unearned run on three walks and struck out six. Shortstop Brett Kay led the way offensively with his first homerun of the season. In game two, four Redbird pitchers shut-out BGSU and freshman Daniel Dwyer launched the first homerun of his career as ISU went on to win 5-0. In Sunday’s game, Redbirds starter Brad Sorkin (4-1) went a career-best eight innings with eight strikeouts to lead his team to a 6-3 win. Shortstop Brett Kay added a three run blast and second baseman Brock Stewart had his second three-hit game of the series.

Notables:

RHP Brad Sorkin W(4-1); 8.0 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K

RHP Dan Savas W(2-0); CG, H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

2B Brock Stewart, 7-12, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI

Wichita State Swept by Long Beach State

Wichita State’s struggles continued this weekend, getting swept by a scrappy Long Beach State team in Long Beach, CA. Despite a gutsy start from Cale Elam in game one, Dirtbags’ starter Shane Carle was even better, going seven innings allowing one unearned run on three hits and striking out seven as the Dirtbags went on to win 4-1. LBSU got even more excellent pitching in their 3-1 victory on Saturday, as the duo of Jake Stassi and Ryan Millison allowed just one run and struck out eight shockers. The Shockers were edged 5-4 in game three as Dirtbag reliever Landon Hunt (2-0) tossed 3.2 innings of perfect relief to stymie any WSU attempt at a rally and lock-up the sweep for his team.

Bradley Sweeps Weekend Series

Bradley (8-9) took three in their weekend trip to Nashville where the squared off against Lipscomb (7-14) and Belmont (13-5). In their first game, Braves starter John Nasshan (1-3) threw eight innings of two-hit, shut-out baseball, allowing three walks and striking out four to lead his team to a 7-0 victory. At the plate, third baseman Curtiss Bunch notched three doubles and centerfielder Max Murphy contributed his second homerun of the season. In their second game, leftfielder Mike Tauchman delivered a clutch base hit in the top of the eleventh to send his team to 4-3 victory. Freshman LHP Brent Stong (3-1) provided four clutch innings of scoreless relief to get his third win of the season. In their series finale, the Braves again went down to the wire, with Tauchman again delivering a game winning hit, this time in an 11-10 barn-burner. Second baseman Nolan Sponsler tallied four hits and Tauchman added three RBI on the day.

Notables:

RHP John Nasshan W(1-3); 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K

LF Mike Tauchman, 6-14, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB

Indiana State Win Series at Minnesota

Junior Sean Manaea tossed the first complete game of his career as the ISU Sycamores (7-7) took game one of their weekend series 2-1 against Minnesota (12-8). Manaea (2-1) went the distance allowing six hits and one unearned run while striking out nine. On the other side of the mound, Gophers starter Tom Windle (2-2) was almost as impressive, also tossing a complete game allowing four hits, and just one earned run, walk and strikeout. The Gophers pitching was even more spectacular in their 3-0 game two victory as starter Ben Meyer threw a complete game shut-out, scattering five hits and K-ing 11. The Sycs’ got the last laugh however, as senior Koby Kraemer’s grand slam led the way in his team’s 9-4 series-clinching win Sunday afternoon.

Notables:

Indiana State – LHP Sean Manaea W(2-1); CG, 6 H, 0 ER, BB, 9 K

Minnesota – LHP Tom Windle L(2-2); CG, 4 H, ER, BB, K

RHP Ben Meyer W(3-2); CG, 5 H, 0 ER, 9 K

Southern Illinois Hosts Illinois

Southern Illinois (9-9) dropped the first two games in their weekend series against Illinois (12-4) at Abe Martin Field. In game one, Illini starter Kevin Johnson (3-1) shut down the Salukis, pitching eight scoreless inning and striking out four en route to a 4-1 victory. In game two, the Salukis took a 4-4 tie into the top of the ninth before the wheels came off and two errors led to three runs, allowing the Illini to take the series. Game three will be played Monday at 5pm in Marion, IL.

Notables:

Illinois – RHP Kevin Johnson W(3-1); 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K

Southern Illinois – DH Matt Jones 3-8, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Missouri State Take Two of Three from Western Illinois

Starter Nick Petree (3-0) tallied nine strikeouts in eight innings as the Missouri State Bears (13-5) took the opener of their series vs. Western Illinois (4-13) 3-2. The Bears followed up by splitting their Saturday doubleheader with the Leathernecks, winning the first game 10-4 and dropping the second game 6-3. Freshman Tate Matheny had a tremendous weekend collecting seven hits in ten at-bats.

Notables:

RHP Nick Petree W(3-0); 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 9 K

CF Tate Matheny, 7-10, 3 R, RBI, 4 BB, SB

Evansville Drops Series vs. Purdue

Despite wrapping up their series with a 15-1 demolition of Purdue (7-11) Saturday afternoon, Evansville (7-11) couldn’t muster the big hit in the first two games and dropped their series to the visiting Boilermakers. In game 1, Purdue Start Brad Schreiber (1-2) held the Aces to just one run over six innings while striking out seven en route to a 4-3 victory. Despite a rally in the seventh, Boilermakers closer Patrick Kenney was able to hold on for his third save of the weekend. In game two, Purdue again was led by strong pitching as starter Jordan Minch (2-2) went six innings of two-hit baseball, walking three and K-ing seven to lead his team to the 4-1 victory. For the Aces, starter Kyle Lloyd (2-2) again gave a terrific performance on the mound pitching a complete game, allowing four runs on four hits but striking out 12. In the series finale, however, the Aces tallied 15 runs and the Boilermakers went through eight different pitchers.

Notables:

Purdue – RHP Jordan Minch W(2-2); 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Evansville – RHP Kyle Lloyd L(2-2); CG, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 12 K