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Valparaiso University

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Lucas Foley NIU
8
Winner Northern Illinois NIU 15-24
6
Valparaiso VALPO 8-27
Winner
Northern Illinois NIU
15-24
8
Final
6
Valparaiso VALPO
8-27
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northern Illinois NIU 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 8 10 0
Valparaiso VALPO 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 6 10 3

W: Nick Bassi (1-0) L: Guazzo, Adam (1-3) S: Gavin Micklinghoff (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baffa, Foley Deal Before NIU Rallies Late

The Valparaiso University baseball team received a combined seven innings of quality pitching from freshman righty Nick Baffa (Glenview, Ill. / Notre Dame College Prep) and sophomore lefty Lucas Foley (Deer Park, Ill. / Lake Zurich) on Tuesday and led 4-1 through six and 4-2 through seven, but visiting Northern Illinois rallied with six in the eighth to prevail 8-6 at Emory G. Bauer Field.
 
How It Happened
  • Valpo committed a pair of errors in the second inning, leading to an unearned run to start the scoring.
  • Baffa fired a 1-2-3 third punctuated by a strikeout, then Case Sullivan (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) clubbed a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at one. Later in the frame, Connor Giusti (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Fremd) worked a walk with the bases juiced (no pun intended) to force in the go-ahead run.
  • The first three batters of the top of the fourth reached base as a single was sandwiched around a pair of hit batters. Head coach Brian Schmack went to the bullpen and Foley entered in a precarious spot and struck out the side with three straight swinging strikeouts.
  • An RBI single by Spencer Warfield (Fullerton, Calif. / Servite) added a run in the bottom of the fourth to increase the Beacon lead to 3-1. Foley drilled two batters to begin the fifth, but then worked out of his own jam this time, once again striking out three in succession to keep the two-run lead intact.
  • A solo bomb by Thomas Cooper (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood) in the bottom of the inning elevated the lead to three. Foley recorded two more strikeouts in a scoreless top of the sixth.
  • NIU got one in the seventh on a two-out single by JP Gauthier, the brother of Valpo's Javin Gauthier.
  • Foley's glowing outing came to an end in the eighth, and when it ended so did the good times for the Beacons. An E-4 to the leadoff man of the inning set the tone for an ugly frame where 11 men came to the plate against three different Valpo pitchers and six runs crossed the dish to flip the game on its head.
  • Valpo did battle back in the bottom of the ninth, scoring twice on a two-run single by Cooper and getting the potential winning run to the plate with one away, but NIU held on.
Inside the Game
  • Sullivan spanked his fifth home run of the season and third in the last six games.
  • Cooper's home run was his third, both of the year and of his career. It marked his first home run since March 18 at Ball State (he missed time with a shoulder injury from March 22 to April 18).
  • Cooper, Sullivan, Warfield and Aidan Thaxton (Chicago, Ill. / St. Ignatius College Prep) all had multiple hit games. Thaxton reached base four times including two HBPs. Cooper drove in three of the team's six runs.
  • Foley racked up nine strikeouts in just four innings, the second-highest strikeout total in his collegiate career and highest since he fanned 11 in his collegiate debut on Feb. 17, 2024 at Alabama State. His nine Ks outdid his previous season best of three by a wide margin.
  • This was Valpo's eighth loss decided by two runs or fewer.
Up Next
The Beacons (8-27) will head to Belmont for a three-game series beginning on Friday. The game will air on ESPN+ with a link to live video and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.
 
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