Valparaiso tied a NCAA record with 21 runs in the fifth inning
of game one of Friday afternoon’s doubleheader on the way to a sweep of Chicago State 26-5 and 13-3 at Emory G. Bauer
Field.
The 21 runs tie for the most
ever in Division I in a single inning while setting a new record for most runs
ever in a fifth inning of a contest. The
Crusaders set 25 batters to the plate while breaking open a close ball game.
“We swung the bat okay
today,” head coach Tracy Woodson
said. “We got some balls up in the air
and took advantage of the wind.”
In the nightcap, Justin Frane (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll
H.S.) tied a NCAA Division I record with three triples, and nearly had a
fourth, settling for a ground-rule double in the sixth inning.
Game one saw Valpo fall
behind in the opening inning as Chicago State used five straight hits to take a
3-0 lead. Crusader starter Damon McCormick (Louisville, Ky./Saint
Xavier H.S.) settled down though, working out of a bases loaded, one-out jam
after allowing the three runs, and retired 12 of the next 13 hitters he faced.
The Brown and Gold’s offense
took over in the bottom of the first as Frane hit a two-run homer to cut the
lead to 3-2. A Kyle Gaedele (Arlington
Heights, Ill./Rolling
Meadows H.S.) RBI double in the third tied the game and the Crusaders took the
lead in the fourth as Andrew Bain (Indianapolis, Ind./Park
Tudor H.S.) singled home a pair of runs.
In the record-setting fifth,
the Crusaders pounded out 12 hits, took advantage of three Cougar errors, four
walks, and three hit batsmen, and ever starter scored in the inning. Robbie
Robinson (Brea, Calif./Olinda
H.S.) had one of the big blows, a grand slam while David Klein (Aurora,
Ill./Oswego East H.S.) also had
three runs batted in in the inning.
Chicago State scored two runs in the sixth, but that would be all
the Cougars could manage the rest of the way.
Bain and Robinson each drove
home four runs in the win while Billy
Cribbs (Rochester, Mich./Rochester
H.S.) and Kyle Muhlsteff (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza
H.S.) each had three hits as part of a 20-hit attack.
McCormick went the distance
for the win (3-0), scattering nine hits, including just four after the first,
while striking out four and walking one.
Austin McDowell (0-5) suffered the loss for Chicago State,
pitching 4.1 innings and allowing 13 runs, eight of which were earned, and 13
hits.
Game two saw the Crusaders
strike again in the opening inning.
Frane’s first triple of the contest scored Muhlsteff and he scored
himself on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Valpo. Chicago
State cut the lead in
half with a run in the third but the Brown and Gold answered with two more in
the bottom of the inning. Frane’s second
run-scoring triple again plated Muhlsteff and Frane scored on a ground out.
A two-run homer by Austin
McDowell in the fifth pulled the Cougars within 4-3, but it was all Valpo after
that.
A five-run fifth, including a
two-run blast by Muhlsteff and a two-run single by Klein made it 9-3
Valpo. Three more doubles in the sixth
added two more runs and the Crusaders tacked on two more in the seventh to
close the game out due to the 10-run rule which was invoked.
Frane went 4-for-4 with three
RBIs while Muhlsteff also had four hits and drove home three in the night
cap. McCormick added three hits as part
of an 18-hit effort for Valpo while Paul
Heinkel (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy) added three
runs batted in.
Jon Gulbransen
(Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran H.S.) went the
distance, allowing just the three runs and 10 hits for the win (2-2), striking
out seven and walking three. James
Tucker took the loss (0-5), pitching four innings allowing four runs and five
hits.
“Overall we pitched well
today the way the wind was blowing,” Woodson added. “I’m just glad to get two wins.”
Valparaiso (7-16) and Chicago
State (1-15) will wrap up
the three-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for noon at Emory G. Bauer
Field.