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Valparaiso University

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Team HR Celebration
13
Winner Western Michigan WMU 20-16
8
Valparaiso VALPO 9-27
Winner
Western Michigan WMU
20-16
13
Final
8
Valparaiso VALPO
9-27
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Western Michigan WMU 3 4 1 0 5 0 13 14 1
Valparaiso VALPO 0 5 0 0 3 0 8 9 0

W: MALONEY, Matt (1-1) L: Rerick, Colton (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Riley, Gauthier Homer in Midweek Setback to Western Michigan

Senior Eli Riley (Zanesville, Ind. / Norwell) launched a grand slam and redshirt freshman Javin Gauthier (De Pere, Wis. / De Pere) ripped a three-run homer, but the Valparaiso University baseball team fell 13-8 to Western Michigan on Tuesday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field. The game entered a lightning delay after five and a half innings at 4:51 p.m., and the 30-minute lightning timer kept resetting due to strikes in the vicinity. After a delay of over an hour with the threat of darkness looming, the umpires and teams called the game, which was official with over five innings played.
 
How It Happened
  • Valpo's starting pitcher issued three walks and allowed two hits in the first inning and lasted just 1/3 of an inning as Western Michigan got out to an immediate 3-0 lead.
  • The Broncos poured on four more in the second to make it 7-0.
  • Valpo got back in the game in the bottom of the second. The first Valpo run crossed the dish on an RBI single by Gauthier, then Riley cracked a two-out, grand slam to center to make it 7-5.
  • An RBI single helped WMU pick up one in the third, but Valpo turned a double play to get out of the inning.
  • Valpo greeted a new WMU pitcher with a string of three straight hits to begin the bottom of the third, but a fielder's choice with the out at home and two strikeouts ended the inning as a bases-loaded, no-out chance slipped away.
  • Western Michigan added to the lead in the top of the fifth, as a two-run double, RBI double and two-run homer boosted the edge to 13-5 after a five-run inning.
  • The Valpo bats responded in the last of the fifth, as Gauthier launched a two-out, three-run bomb to make it 13-8.
  • Freshman Joey Kafka (Mundelein, Ill. / Mundelein) worked a scoreless top of the sixth as he had the best inning of the day by any member of the Valpo pitching staff, as he was charged with no runs on one hit while walking none and striking out two in 1 2/3 innings. (Note that all stats do indeed count from the top of the sixth, there is a common misconception that the stats and score should revert back to the last complete inning, but that rule only applies if the lead changes hands in an incomplete inning).
Inside the Game
  • Riley's grand slam was the first by a Beacon since Thomas Cooper on April 29 of last season, also against Western Michigan, that one in Kalamazoo.
  • Riley notched his first home run in a Valpo uniform and the 23rd of his collegiate career.
  • Riley extended his on-base streak to 21.
  • Riley and Gauthier each had four RBIs, with Riley setting a season high and Gauthier tying his season high set on Feb. 21 at USC Upstate.
  • Gauthier's home run was his fifth of the season, tied for the second most on the team.
  • Gauthier and Michael Kuska (Pontiac, Ill. / Pontiac Township) had two hits apiece to lead the Beacons.
Up Next
The Beacons (9-27) will begin a three-game weekend series against Belmont on Friday at 3 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. Admission is free and the game will air on ESPN+.
 
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