The Valparaiso University baseball team fell 11-3 to Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field.  

How It Happened

• Purdue Fort Wayne scored three unearned runs in the opening inning, then added another unearned tally in the second. The first two innings featured three Valpo errors plus a passed ball.
• Valpo got back in the game with one swing of the bat in the second as Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) belted a two-run homer to left to slice the deficit in half.
• Purdue Fort Wayne produced three more runs in the fourth including a two-run homer to up the lead to 7-2.  
• The Mastodons added a solo shot in the top of the eighth, then a bases-loaded walk to Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) forced in the third Beacon run of the day in the bottom of the eighth.
• A pair of Valpo pitchers found success out of the bullpen. Jacob Rosenkranz (Lincolnshire, Ill. / Stevenson) worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and later Christian Hack (Oak Forest, Ill. / Tinley Park) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth.
• The second homer of the day for Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jack Lang occurred in the eighth, a three-run blow that made it 11-3 and capped the game’s scoring.

Inside the Game

• Following his first home run this past weekend, Adam Brauch (Waukee, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) enjoyed a big day at the plate on Tuesday, racking up a career-high three hits to lead the team.
• Redshirt freshman Nolan Tucker (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central) collected two hits, extending his hitting streak to seven with his second multi-hit effort of the season, both of which have come in the last three games.
• Maka’s long ball was his first of his collegiate career.

Up Next

Valpo (9-10) will visit UIC for Game 1 of a three-game series on Friday at 4:05 p.m. in Chicago. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.