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Valparaiso University

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Boynton Murray
0
Valparaiso VALPO 8-30
1
Winner Belmont BEL 20-26
Valparaiso VALPO
8-30
0
Final
1
Belmont BEL
20-26
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Belmont BEL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 1 6 0

W: PERRY, Andrew (2-2) L: Foley, Lucas (1-5) S: HARDEN, Ethan (5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Valpo Falls in Another Pitchers’ Duel on Sunday

The Valparaiso University baseball team received another valiant pitching performance in Sunday's series finale as starter Spencer Boynton (Tampa, Fla. / Seffner Christian) went five shutout innings and the Beacon bullpen yielded just one run over four frames. However, Valpo pitching was once again outdueled, as Belmont prevailed 1-0 behind an eighth-inning run in the series finale at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville.
 
How It Happened
  • Picking up right where Saturday's starters left off, Sunday's starting pitchers engaged in a pitchers' duel. In fact, both men exited the game with no decisions before either team pushed across a run.
  • Boynton delivered five dazzling innings of three-hit, shutout ball. He walked just one and racked up five strikeouts as part of his best start in a Valpo uniform. The biggest jam against him came in the fifth, an inning that started with an error. Boynton wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out pinch, keeping the game scoreless with an infield fly and a ground ball to first.
  • Belmont starter Jacob Timbes yielded just four hits over five shutout innings, walking none and striking out two. The Beacons had two hits in the fifth, but left a pair stranded on base. Timbes exited with no decision after five, as Belmont went to the bullpen for the first time in the series after the starters combined for 22 shutout innings.
  • The Beacons went to the bullpen in the sixth, and redshirt sophomore Ryan Kruse (Detroit, Mich. / U of D Jesuit) cruised through a 1-2-3 frame. The Bruins threatened in the seventh with two on and one away, but Kruse escaped with a fly ball to left and a fielder's choice bouncer to keep it scoreless.
  • Valpo had the potential go-ahead run in scoring position with one away in the eighth after Spencer Warfield (Fullerton, Calif. / Servite) led off with a single and moved to second on a bunt by Kade Reinertson (Huxley, Iowa / Ballard), but the runner was stranded in scoring position.
  • A double, walk and single started the Belmont eighth and put the Bruins in front 1-0. Lucas Foley (Deer Park, Ill. / Lake Zurich) regrouped, inducing a double play and a strikeout to keep the damage to a minimum, but 1-0 stood as the final.
Inside the Game
  • Boynton pitched shutout ball for the first time this season, outdoing his previous best start on Feb. 23 at Memphis, when he went five innings and allowed one run on two hits over five frames.
  • Valpo had no runs on six hits in the three-game series with none of the six knocks going for extra bases.
  • Kruse pitched scoreless ball for the second straight outing and the fourth time in his last six appearances.
  • Valpo slipped to 1-8 in one-run games this season with seven of those eight losses coming in Valley play. Seven of the team's 15 conference defeats have come by a single run.
  • Prior to Saturday, Valpo had not had a 1-0 game since March 7, 2020 at Georgia Southern, but now the Beacons have incurred back-to-back setbacks by that score. Since the start of the 2015 season, Valpo has had only three 1-0 losses, and two of them were the last two games.
  • Four of Valpo's five hits came from the lower third of the order, led by Reinertson with two.
Up Next
The Beacons (8-30, 3-15 MVC) will visit Western Michigan on Tuesday for a midweek matchup that begins at 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET in Kalamazoo. The contest will air on YouTube Live.
 
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