The Valparaiso University baseball team received a solid start from Kaleb Krier (Altoona, Iowa / Southeast Polk [DMACC]) and the bullpen did good work, helping the Beacons capture a 5-2 road win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday in Boiling Springs, N.C. Valpo hurlers did not issue a walk in the win.

How It Happened

• Gardner-Webb got on the board with a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the first. However, that was the extent of the scoring against Krier, who did not yield a run over his remaining four frames. The righty sent down the Runnin’ Bulldogs in order in each of his final two innings of work, yielding one total run on four hits over five frames while receiving no decision.
• The Valpo bats were quiet over the game’s first four innings, but the Beacons broke through in the fifth when Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) singled with two outs and nobody on base and eventually crossed the dish on a wild pitch to level the score.
• In the top of the seventh, Carson Husmann (Hanna, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) drilled a double, but a runner was cut down trying to score from first. Husmann scored a moment later on a single by Ryan to put the Beacons ahead 2-1.
• Reliever Grant Jablonski (Mishawaka, Ind. / Mishawaka) entered the game in the sixth and faced the minimum over two scoreless frames in which he did not allow a run. He eventually picked up the win, his first decision of the season. Jake Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill. / Hunley [Heartland]) entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with Valpo clinging to a 2-1 lead and posted a zero.
• Valpo tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the ninth that proved crucial. Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) lifted a sacrifice fly, Ryan scored on a wild pitch and Chase Maifield (Fox Lake, Ill. / Grant [Augustana]) added a pinch-hit single to make it 5-1.
• The Beacons inserted Trent Turzenski (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) to get the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth. He did the job as Gardner-Webb did pick up a run on Alec Burns’ second home run of the game. Solo shots by Burns in the first inning and the final inning accounted for the only runs allowed by the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

Inside the Game

• The Valpo pitching staff did not issue any walks, while the bats drew eight bases on balls plus three hit batters. Valpo pitching has allowed two walks or fewer in six straight games.
• Ryan lashed two hits, accounting for two of the team’s five. Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) had three walks.
• Valpo produced five runs on just five hits as the Beacons were outhit 6-5. The lone extra-base knock for the Brown & Gold came from Husmann, who picked up his second double and fourth extra-base hit in 2024.
• Hannahs was hit by a pitch, extending his on-base streak to 15.

Up Next

Valpo (7-8) will play a three-game weekend series at No. 21 Campbell starting on Friday at 5 p.m. CT in Buies Creek, N.C. Links to live coverage will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.