The Valparaiso University baseball team fell 12-3 to Murray State in Sunday’s series finale at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Ky. The Racers scored five times in the bottom of the eighth to pull away.

How It Happened

• Valpo grabbed the early lead as Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) ripped a two-run homer in the top of the first. Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) had worked a leadoff walk and was along for the ride.
• Murray State’s Drew Vogel hit a leadoff home run to begin the bottom of the first inning in all three games of the series. His leadoff bomb to begin the bottom of the first sliced the Valpo lead in half and made it 2-1.
• After starting the game by allowing a home run and a walk, Valpo starter Adam Guazzo (Huntley, Ill. / Huntley) sent down seven of the next eight he faced including three strikeouts.
• Murray State’s Dustin Mercer disrupted Guazzo’s groove with a home run to tie the game at two in the third.
• Valpo had the bases loaded with nobody out in the top of the fourth, but a shallow fly ball and a ground ball double play ended the inning as the opportunity went to waste.
• Murray State took its first lead of the game on a solo homer by Dan Tauken to lead off the fourth. The Racers threatened for more in that inning but Guazzo worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no further damage, ending the inning with a strikeout.
• Murray State added three in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-2.
• A Racer home run in the sixth made it 7-2 in favor of the hosts.
• Valpo lefty Lucas Foley (Deer Park, Ill. / Lake Zurich) entered the game in the seventh and sent down the side in order including a pair of strikeouts.
• The Beacons moved a step closer when Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) smoked a home run to lead off the eighth, cutting the lead to 7-3. Carson Husmann (Hanna, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) followed with a ground-rule double, but was left stranded at third base.
• Murray State broke it open with five in the bottom of the eighth.

Inside the Game

• Schmack’s home run was his 16^th of the season and the 34^th of his collegiate career. He is just two home runs away from tying the program’s single-season and career home-run records.
• The home run by Maka was his fourth of the season and the 16^th of his career.
• The lone two-hit game by a Beacon came from Husmann, while Ryan singled to extend his on-base streak to 17.

Up Next

Valpo (14-34, 6-18) will visit Northwestern on Tuesday for the road and nonconference finale starting at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on B1G+.