Box Score
Valparaiso advanced
to the finals of the Horizon League Tournament’s winner’s bracket on Friday
afternoon with a thrilling come-from-behind 11-9 victory over UIC at Nischwitz
Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
The Crusaders
trailed 9-8 heading into the eighth inning before Bobby Martin (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge H.S.) delivered a
two-out, bases loaded single to put Valpo on top for good. Martin extended his hitting streak to 16
straight games with his two-hit effort, tallying three RBIs as well.
“We kept our
composure and battled back twice,” head coach Tracy Woodson said. “Martin’s
been big the last three weeks for us. He’s
driving in the runs, and a lot are coming with two outs.”
Every Crusader had
at least one hit for the second straight game, as Valpo pounded out 18 hits,
giving the Brown and Gold 37 total in the first two games of the tournament. The Crusaders have 55 hits dating back to the
regular season finale, as the bats have come alive at the right time.
Martin’s single
scored Andrew Bain (Indianapolis,
Ind./Park Tudor H.S.) and Chris Manning
(Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro H.S.), as the duo led off with a single and a walk
respectively to start the eighth.
Steven Scoby (Delton, Mich./Delton Kellogg H.S.) scored
an insurance run in the ninth after leading off with a single. He scored two batters later on a Bain hit.
Justin Frane (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.), who came
out of the bullpen in the seventh inning to pitch for the first time since
April 30, struck out the side in the ninth, facing UIC’s three, four, and five
hitters. Frane earned the win (3-2) with
2.1 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out four and allowing just one hit
among the eight batters he faced.
“Frane might have
had one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen,” Woodson stated. “We didn’t know what to expect with his
injury. He hadn’t pitched in awhile and
he was just great. He lifted everyone
up. The dugout really got behind him in
the ninth. Everyone was up on the top
step.”
Valpo jumped on the
scoreboard in the top of the first. With
two outs, Will Hagel (Arlington
Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) singled and moved to third on a double by Kyle Gaedele (Arlington Heights,
Ill./Rolling Meadows H.S.). Both runners
scored on Robbie Robinson’s (Brea,
Calif./Olinda H.S.) double to the left-center field gap.
UIC plated a run in
the second on a double play ground out before Valpo added to the lead in the
third. Manning scored on a throwing error
and Gaedele crossed the plate on a double by Martin. After Ryan
O’Gara (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) plated Robinson with a ground out the Crusaders held
a 5-1 lead.
Alex De LaRosa
tripled to score one run for the Flames in the third and later scored on a
single by Jason Ganek. UIC took the lead
in the fourth, scoring four times. Steve
McGuiggan had a triple while De LaRosa and Ganek followed with a double and
single respectively.
Trailing 7-5 heading
to the fifth, Valpo responded. Michael Morman (Rockford, Ill./Boylan
Catholic H.S.) plated a pair of runs with a two-out single to left-center,
tying the game.
“It was an up and
down game throughout,” Woodson added. “We
never quit and just kept battling.”
Hagel put Valpo on
top in the sixth with a RBI single, plating Manning, who had doubled, chasing
UIC starting pitcher Joey Begel. Begel
went 5.1 innings allowing eight runs, four of which were earned, and 12 hits.
Ganek, who had four
RBIs for the Flames, gave UIC the 9-8 lead with a two-run home run in the
bottom of the seventh, setting the stage for Valpo’s dramatic rally.
Tyler Deetjen (Saint Charles, Ill./East H.S.) started and
worked 6.2 innings for the Crusaders before yielding to Frane. The junior allowed 14 hits and nine runs, but
did not walk anyone in the no decision.
Manning finished
four-for-five with three runs scored while Bain and Hagel each had three-hit
days. De LaRosa also had three hits for
UIC (27-25) in addition to Ganek, as the Flames finished the afternoon with 15
hits.
Eric Wyman suffered
the loss (1-3), allowing the two eighth inning runs in relief.
“It’s all about what
you do at tourney time in this league,” Woodson concluded. “It’s exciting. We’ve never been to the finals of the winner’s
bracket before. We have something
special going and we hope to continue it tomorrow.”
Valparaiso (24-30), tournament's fourth seed,
advances to Saturday afternoon to face top seed and tournament host Wright State.
First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. CDT.