Tyler Deetjen
(Saint Charles, Ill./East
H.S.) and four relievers combined on a three-hitter Wednesday afternoon as Valparaiso earned its third straight victory, defeating
Northern Illinois 12-2 at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Ill.
Valpo’s offense staked
Deetjen to a 3-0 lead before he even took the mound as each of the first four
hitters reached in the opening inning. Matt Lenski (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette
University H.S.) doubled to left to score Dan
DeBruin (Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly
H.S.) with the game’s first run. A bases
loaded fielder’s choice off the bat of Steven
Scoby (Delton, Mich./Kellogg
H.S.) plated Kyle Muhlsteff (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza
H.S.) with the second run and Andrew
Quinnette (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) added a third run with a
single up the middle to score Lenski.
The Huskies found the
scoreboard in the third as Joe Buonavolanto’s two-out single, the first hit of
the day against Deetjen, scored Pat Minogue, who reached on a walk and advanced
on a groundout.
Damon McCormick
(Louisville, Ky./Saint Xavier H.S.) made sure Valpo got
the run back in the third, drawing a leadoff walk. He then stole second, moving to third when
the throw went into the outfield. Kyle Gaedele’s (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling
Meadows H.S.) sacrifice fly to right then scored McCormick to increase the lead
to 4-1.
The Crusaders added to the
lead, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four times. Five straight singles, including RBI hits by
Scoby, Quinnette, and McCormick, kept the baserunners moving. Quinnette scored on a wild pitch for the
fourth run of the inning, making it 8-1 Brown and Gold.
A run-scoring single by
Muhlsteff in the seventh and a two-run double by Gaedele in the eighth allowed
Valpo to continue adding on. The
Crusaders added one final run in the ninth as Bo McClendon’s (Chesterton, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) fly ball was dropped by the
rightfielder allowing Paul Heinkel (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago
Lutheran Academy) to score.
“We swung the bats well
again,” head coach Tracy Woodson
said. “It’s always a positive when we’re
able to build upon our lead.”
Northern
Illinois (15-28) added an
unearned run in the ninth following two Crusader errors for the final run of
the game.
Deetjen went five innings for
his first collegiate victory (1-1), allowing two hits and one run while
striking out five. Kyle Glancy suffered
the loss (1-1), pitching 4.1 innings and allowing eight runs, seven earned.
“Deetjen pitched really well
today,” added Woodson. “We only took him
out because of his pitch count. Our
bullpen was really solid then.”
Five Crusaders had two hits
each as the Brown and Gold pounded out 13 on the afternoon. Valpo also took advantage of five Husky
errors.
Valparaiso (21-19) will return to Emory G. Bauer Field on Friday
afternoon to open a three-game Horizon League series against Youngstown State. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. with all the
action carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso)
and online at www.valpoathletics.com.