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Valparaiso University

Calendar

Cooper HR Celebration SIUE
13
Winner Valparaiso VALPO 6-10
9
SIUE SIUE 8-12
Winner
Valparaiso VALPO
6-10
13
Final
9
SIUE SIUE
8-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPO 5 3 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 13 14 1
SIUE SIUE 0 0 4 0 2 2 0 0 1 9 10 2

W: Guazzo, Adam (1-2) L: Johnson, Noah (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Valpo Outdoes SIUE on Windy Sunday in Edwardsville

The Valparaiso University baseball team jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and held on to beat Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite SIUE 13-9 in Sunday's series finale at Simmons Baseball Complex in Edwardsville, Ill. On a tough day to pitch, redshirt junior Adam Guazzo (Huntley, Ill. / Huntley), who had started Friday's game, twirled three innings of one-run ball to finish out the game, earning the victory on his birthday.
 
How It Happened
  • Valpo bounced the SIUE starting pitcher in the opening inning, as the Beacons poured on five early runs, making the Cougars pay for three walks. Freshman Cal Schembra (Greenwood, Ill. / Center Grove) and sophomore Michael Kuska (Pontiac, Ill. / Pontiac Township) had run-scoring singles, while redshirt senior Eli Riley (Zanesville, Ind. / Norwell) lifted a sac fly, Gavin Bennett (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) walked with the bases loaded and another run scored on a wild pitch. The Cougar starter was bounced after 2/3 of an inning, and nine Beacons came to the plate in a prosperous opening frame.  
  • Redshirt junior Thomas Cooper (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood) homered for the second straight day, a two-run shot in the second to extend the lead to 7-0. This one traveled 362 feet after a 447-foot bomb on Saturday. Redshirt senior George Betevis (Hanover Park, Ill. / Bartlett) lifted a sac fly to complete a three-run inning and lift the lead to 8-0.
  • Valpo starting pitcher Nick Baffa (Glenview, Ill. / Notre Dame College Prep) retired eight of the nine SIUE batters the first time through the lineup, allowing no hits and having two outs with nobody on base in the third with Valpo ahead 8-0. An error extended the inning, and then SIUE's first hit was a two-run homer to get on the board. The Cougars lifted another two-run shot in the inning, making it four unearned runs in the frame to slice the lead in half at 8-4.
  • In the top of the fourth, a run-scoring double by Javin Gauthier (De Pere, Wis. / De Pere) boosted the Valpo lead back to five at 9-4. Later in that inning, Betevis crushed one just fair down the left-field line, stretching the lead to 12-4.
  • The Cougars hit their third home run of the day as Ryan Niedzwiedz drilled his second, a two-run job in the bottom of the fifth to make it 12-6.
  • SIUE added two more home runs in the sixth, both solo shots, to cut the lead to 12-8.
  • Guazzo entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and rolled through a 1-2-3 inning.
  • Valpo added a run in the top of the eighth as Gauthier drew a leadoff walk and eventually crossed the dish on a wild pitch.
  • Guazzo struck out a pair in the eighth, making it six straight retired since entering the game and keeping Valpo's 13-8 lead intact through eight.
  • In the bottom of the ninth, SIUE hit a solo home run into the wind to end Guazzo's streak of nine straight scoreless innings spread over four games, but the birthday boy got the final outs to nail down the victory.
Inside the Game
  • After not homering in any of his first 12 games of the season, Cooper went deep for the second straight day on Sunday. He lifted his career total to six long balls.
  • Betevis' home run was his first in a Valpo uniform and the 24th total of his collegiate career.  
  • Guazzo earned the victory by virtue of being the most effective reliever in a game where the starter would have otherwise had the win but did not complete five innings. Guazzo allowed one run on one hit with four strikeouts in three frames.
  • Baffa allowed two earned runs (six total runs) on six hits while walking one and striking out one.
  • Riley and freshman Cole Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) led the way with three hits apiece. Lockwood also drew a walk and scored three runs. Cooper, Schembra and Kuska all had multi-hit games as well, while Betevis had a season-high four RBIs.
  • Valpo issued just one walk, the only one allowed by Beacon pitching over the final two games of the series, while drawing nine bases on balls on Sunday. The nine walks came after Valpo had one total over the previous three games and none in the series before Sunday.
  • The Beacons held a 14-10 lead in the hit column, notching the team's highest hit total since 20 on Feb. 22 at Presbyterian and second-highest of the season.
  • The 13 runs marked Valpo's second-highest output of the season and highest since 21 on Feb. 22 at Presbyterian.
  • Sunday was the first game this season where Valpo hit multiple home runs.
Up Next
The Beacons (6-10) are currently scheduled to host Ball State on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field, weather permitting. The game is slated to air on ESPN+.   
 
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