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Valparaiso University

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Kruse Murray
4
Valparaiso VALPARAI 6-11
9
Winner Murray St. MURRAY S 14-8
Valparaiso VALPARAI
6-11
4
Final
9
Murray St. MURRAY S
14-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPARAI 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 4 10 0
Murray St. MURRAY S 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0 X 9 15 0

W: Nic Schutte (4-2) L: Bultemeier, Justin (1-1) S: Dylan Zentko (5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Early Pitchers’ Duel Transforms into High-Scoring Affair Late as Valpo Falls to MVC Preseason Favorite Murray State

The Valparaiso University baseball team engaged in a scoreless game into the bottom of the sixth inning with Murray State – a team that reached the College World Series last season and is favored to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champions this season – but the offense for both teams came to life late in a 9-4 defeat to the Racers that took place at Braun Stadium in Evansville, Ind. Redshirt freshman Javin Gauthier (De Pere, Wis. / De Pere) hit his third home run of the season for the Beacons, while redshirt junior pitcher Adam Guazzo (Huntley, Ill. / Huntley) continued to do his job on the mound.
 
How It Happened
  • Valpo threatened in each of the first three innings, but stranded a pair in each frame. The most notable chance came in the top of the third, when the first two men reached via a walk and a hit, then the Beacons advanced the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, but they were left stranded at second and third.
  • Guazzo continued to function as an opener on Fridays, logging two scoreless innings to begin the ballgame. He gave way to Ryan Kruse (Detroit, Mich. / U of D Jesuit), who hurled a scoreless third.
  • Both teams stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth, as Kruse worked around a one-out double in the bottom of the inning to keep it scoreless.
  • The Racers threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, and Justin Bultemeier (Decatur, Ind. / Adams Central) entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs. He induced a ground ball to first, working out of the jam to keep the game 0-0 through five.
  • Murray State took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when a two-out, three-run homer down the right-field line by Connor Chisolm started the scoring. The Racers added a two-run single to right with the runner out trying to advance to second after the runs had scored, making it 5-0 through six.
  • The Beacons got into the bullpen in the top of the seventh, and got onto the scoreboard shortly thereafter. After a double by Michael Kuska (Pontiac, Ill. / Pontiac Township) led off the inning and Cole Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) ripped a single, Gauthier clobbered a three-run homer to right to cut the Murray State lead to 5-3. George Betevis (Hanover Park, Ill. / Bartlett) hit a warning-track fly ball to center to end the inning, just missing what would have been a game-tying home run.
  • The Racers responded in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four times to boost the lead to 9-3.
  • Pinch hitter Louie Kegerreis (Murrysville, Pa. / Franklin Regional) led off the eighth with a base hit and eventually came around to score on a bouncer by Case Sullivan (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) to make it 9-4, which stood as the final score.
Inside the Game
  • Gauthier's home run was his third of the season, moving him into sole possession of the team lead.
  • Kuska went 3-for-3 plus a walk while also notching a double for one of the team's two extra-base knocks. This was his second game with at least three hits this season and first with exactly three, one shy of his career high set on Feb. 22 at Presbyterian. His double was his third of the season and first since Feb. 14 at Gardner-Webb.
  • Lockwood and Gauthier had two hits apiece, joining Kuska with multiple hits.
  • Both teams stranded 10 men on base.
  • The Beacons were outhit 15-10, their second straight double-figure hit total and seventh of the season.
Up Next
The Beacons (6-11) will face Murray State in Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Evansville, Ind. A link to live stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
 
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