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Valparaiso University

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Kevin Denty Murray
5
Winner Murray State MUR 27-9
1
Valparaiso VALPO 8-26
Winner
Murray State MUR
27-9
5
Final
1
Valparaiso VALPO
8-26
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Murray State MUR 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 5 0
Valparaiso VALPO 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 2

W: Silva, Isaac (5-1) L: Boynton, Spencer (1-4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Unusual Top of the First Accounts for Difference as Murray State Takes Series Finale

Murray State scored four times in a clunky top of the first inning and that held up as the difference in the game as each team produced just one run the rest of the way on a pitcher-friendly and chilly Saturday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field. The Valparaiso University baseball team was on the wrong end of a 5-1 final to close out the three-game series.
 
How It Happened
  • The top of the first appeared to be over on two occasions, but both times Murray State challenged the final out and the play was overturned to extend the inning. The inning originally appeared to end with only one run across for the Racers. After a fly ball was caught in center for the second out of the inning, the runner at third originally held, but then tried to score when the throw to the cutoff man bounced away. The runner was originally ruled out at the plate on a 2-1 putout, but that call was overturned and the inning continued. Later in the inning, Valpo was originally ruled to pick off a runner at first to end the inning, but that play was once again challenged and overturned. Finally, a batter struck out to end the inning, and thankfully there was nothing to challenge about that, but by that time four runs had crossed the plate.
  • Valpo starting pitcher Spencer Boynton (Tampa, Fla. / Seffner Christian) was solid for the rest of his day, pitching scoreless ball in the second, third and fourth. He did not allow any hits or walks in those three innings, facing one over the minimum as the only batter who reached over his final three frames did so on an error.
  • Valpo went to the bullpen in the top of the fifth, and Murray State made it 5-0 on a solo homer by Carson Garner. The Beacons cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth as Patrick Ilitch (Detroit, Mich. / University Liggett) and Kevin Denty (Tinley Park, Ill. / Marian Catholic) started the inning with back-to-back doubles to make it 5-1.
  • That stood as the final score as neither team scored over the remaining four innings. Ryan Kruse (Detroit, Mich. / U of D Jesuit) and Adam Guazzo (Huntley, Ill. / Huntley) combined for four scoreless frames out of the Beacon bullpen. Kruse entered the game with two on and nobody out in the sixth and worked out of it with no damage.
Inside the Game
  • Valpo held a 6-5 edge in the hit column with Denty and Ilitch combining for five of the team's six hits. Half of Valpo's six hits were doubles.
  • Ilitch just missed his fifth home run in the last five games as his two-bagger banged off the wall. He added a bunt single to the mix, pushing his hitting streak to 11.
  • Denty's three hits equaled a season high as this marked his fourth three-hit game of the year.
  • Redshirt sophomore Thomas Cooper (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood) made his first start since March 22, getting the nod at DH after missing time with a shoulder injury.
Up Next
The Beacons (8-26, 3-12 MVC) will host Northern Illinois on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. Admission is free and the game will air on ESPN+ with links to live video and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.
 
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