Valparaiso University baseball redshirt junior Connor Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) delivered a shutout and turned in an immaculate inning, striking out 11 in total to lead the Beacons to a 9-0 victory over Alabama State on Saturday night in Montgomery, Ala. The Beacon bats used a pair of four-run innings and outhit the Hornets 12-3.
 
How It Happened

• Lockwood achieved one of baseball's most uncommon feats in the bottom of the second, when he tossed an immaculate inning (one inning, three strikeouts, nine pitches.) He got each of the first two Hornets swinging before the final batter of the frame was caught looking. Alabama State did not notch its first hit of the game until the fourth.
• A squeeze bunt by Gavin Bennett (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) got Valpo on the board in the fifth, then Brayden Pleau (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) stroked a run-scoring single to make it 2-0. Case Sullivan (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) clubbed a two-run double to right center, doubling the lead to four and completing a four-run frame.
• Lockwood retired the side in order again in the fifth and sixth innings, then Valpo added on in the seventh as Bennett led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch to make it 5-0. Later in that inning, Riley had an RBI single to make it 6-0, then Javin Gauthier (De Pere, Wis. / De Pere) and Cal Schembra (Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove) added run-scoring singles to make it 8-0.
• In the top of the eighth, Michael Kuska (Pontiac, Ill. / Pontiac Township) added a two-out, RBI single to up the lead to nine.
• Lockwood put up zeros in the eighth and ninth innings to complete the CG, striking out the final two batters he faced.

Inside the Game

• Lockwood's immaculate inning was Valpo's first since March 13, 2021 at Middle Tennessee, when Colin Fields had one as part of his no-hitter.
• Lockwood reached the 200-strikeout milestone for his collegiate career on Saturday.
• Lockwood's 11 strikeouts were the most by a Beacon since he had 11 on Feb. 22 at Memphis.
• This marked Valpo's first shutout since Bryce Konitzer on April 28, 2024 in a seven-inning game. It was Valpo's first nine-inning shutout since Ellis Foreman on April 23, 2017.
• This was Valpo's first complete game since Harry Deliyannis on April 26, 2025 at Belmont.
• In addition to yielding only three hits and striking out 11, Lockwood did not issue any walks.   
• Pleau had his fourth multi-hit game of the season and recorded a season-high three hits.
• Schembra notched a pair of hits, his fifth multi-hit game already on the young season.
• Valpo has scored nine runs or more in four of its last five games.
• All nine Valpo batters in the lineup had at least one hit.
• This was the first time the Beacons shut out an opponent since April 19, 2019 at SIUE.

Up Next
The Beacons (4-5) will close the series at Alabama State on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will air on SWAC TV.