Valparaiso (14-34, 6-18 MVC)
at Northwestern (16-32, 3-18 Big Ten)
Rocky Berenice Miller Park (600) | Evanston, Ill. 

Tuesday, May 14, 3:30 p.m. CT – RHP Kaleb Krier

Next Up in Valpo Baseball: The Valparaiso University baseball team will play its nonconference finale on Tuesday at Northwestern, the team’s final road contest of the 2024 campaign. The Beacons will face a power-5 opponent as a final tune-up for this weekend’s Missouri Valley Conference series against nationally-ranked Indiana State that begins on Thursday at Emory G. Bauer Field.  

Last Time Out: Valpo saw its hopes of qualifying for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament dashed as the Beacons were swept this past weekend at Murray State. The most compelling contest was the series opener, when Valpo rallied from down six in the ninth thanks to a pair of a three-run homers – one by Kyle Schmack with one away and one by Connor Giusti with Valpo down to its final out – but the Racers won that game 11-10 in 10 innings and went on to win the remaining games in the series 7-3 and 12-3.

Following the Beacons: Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on B1G+. Links to live video and stats are available on ValpoAthletics.com. For in-game updates, follow @ValpoBaseball on X.  

Head Coach Brian Schmack: Brian Schmack (202-328) is in his 11th season in charge of the program. He ranks third in program history in seasons coached and games coached as he coached his 500^th game on March 17, 2024 at Campbell. On April 19 vs. Missouri State, he became the third head coach in program history to secure his 200^th win. Schmack, a member of the 2003 Detroit Tigers, served as pitching coach/associate head coach at Valpo for seven seasons prior to his promotion.

Series Notes: Valpo holds a 9-24 all-time record against Northwestern. This will represent the first clash between the two teams since a 12-5 Wildcat win on April 8, 2014 as part of Brian Schmack’s first season as Valpo head coach. In 2011, Valpo beat Northwestern 5-2.

Schmack’s Home Run Chase

• Kyle Schmack hit two more home runs in the May 10-12 series at Murray State, moving into sole possession of second in program history for both single-season and career long balls.
• With four games left in the regular season, Schmack needs two home runs to tie both records and three to become the program’s sole home run king both for a career and single season.
• Brian Wolotka (2001, 18) owns the single-season record, while J.J. Swiatkowski (1997-2000, 36) possesses the career record.

Home Runs – Single Season

Rank    Player                          Year    HR

1          Brian Wolotka            2001    18

2          Kyle Schmack           2024    16

3          Steve Schank              1985    14

J.J. Swiatkowski         1999    14

5          Mark Pedersen            2001    13

Dan Schrum                2002    13

Home Runs – Career

Rank   Player                         Years              HR

1          J.J. Swiatkowski         1997-2000       36

2          Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      34

3          Mark Pedersen            1998-2002       32

4          Jeff Mandsager           2001-2003       26

5          Joe Gersna                  1982-1985       23

6          Scott Carter                 1981-1984       22

Ken Mannings            1988-1991       22

Shawn Lemmons        1994-1996       22

Nate Palace                 2014-2017       22

10        Dan Schrum                1999-2002       21

Jamie Sykes                1994-1997       21

Dale Polonus               1986-1988       21

Marc Boggio               1999-2003       21

Sam Shaikin                2016-2019       21

In The Other Dugout: Northwestern

• Coming off a 3-1 win at Ohio State on Sunday to salvage the finale of a three-game series.
• Games against MVC teams this season include a 3-2 loss at UIC on April 30 and a 7-6, 10-inning win vs. Illinois State on April 23.
• Led offensively by Bennett Markinson, who owns a .330 batting average with five home runs and 33 RBIs. Preston Knott has the team’s best on-base percentage at .418, while Owen McElfatrick leads the Wildcats in the power categories with 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .549 slugging percentage.
• Under the direction of first-year head coach Ben Greenspan, who previously served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Michigan.

Notes Wrapping Up Murray State (May 10-12)

• Valpo improbably rallied for six runs in the top of the ninth of Friday’s series opener, creating a 10-10 tie only to fall 11-10 in 10 innings.
• Kyle Schmack and Connor Giusti both hit three-run homers in the inning. That marked the first time Valpo had two home runs worth three or more runs each in the same inning since April 25, 2016 when Giovanni Garbella hit a grand slam and Josh Clark had a three-run shot against Purdue North Central. Before that, Valpo had not slugged a pair of home runs worth three runs or more in the same frame since at least 2006.
• Giusti’s home run came with two outs and Valpo down 10-7. It marked the second time this season that Valpo has been down to its final out and hit a home run to tie or take the lead. Brady Renfro had a walk-off home run with Valpo down to its final out against Missouri State.
• Murray State’s Drew Vogel hit for the reverse natural cycle, hitting a home run, triple, double and single in that order. His single to lead off the 10^th clinched it before he eventually scored the winning run. Previously, a Valpo opposing player hit for the cycle on May 13, 2018 – Illinois State’s Owen Miller, now in the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• The Friday game marked Valpo’s fourth extra-inning contest of the season, with the Beacons dropping to 2-2 in such games. Valpo played its 11^th one-run game of the season and fell to 3-8 in those games. The squad played its 18^th game decided by two runs or fewer, falling to 4-14 under those circumstances.
• Six Beacons had multiple hits on Friday, led by Kyle Schmack and Kade Reinertson with three hits apiece. Each team produced 16 hits in the game, Valpo’s second-highest total of MVC play behind 18 on April 28 at UIC.
• Valpo experienced the wrong side of a walk-off for the fifth time this season in the Friday game at Murray State. The Beacons were previously walked off on April 30 at Western Michigan, April 23 at Northern Illinois, March 15 at No. 21 Campbell and March 5 at Jacksonville.
• Murray State won the middle game of the series 7-3 on Saturday despite Valpo nearly doubling up the Racers in the hit column, 11-6. Eight Valpo players had at least one hit including multi-hit games from Kaleb Hannahs, Ryan Maka and Alex Thurston. Alex Ryan extended his on-base streak to 16, and then stretched that streak to 17 with Sunday’s series finale.
• Valpo lost the final game of the set 12-3 despite home runs by Maka and Schmack.

Beacon Bombs

• Valpo has launched 64 home run this season, the team’s second straight year with 50 or more.
• The program’s 2024 total is tied for second in program history. During the May 10-12 series at Murray State, this year’s team moved into a tie with the 1985 squad for second in program history.
• This marks the club’s top home run total since 2001, which Valpo set a program record by drilling 81 dingers.

Year    HR

1          2001    81

2          1985    64

            2024    64

4          1999    55

5          2023    50

#SCTop10

• Center fielder Alex Ryan made an incredible leaping catch in the bottom of the third inning on April 28 at UIC, robbing Ryan Nagelbach of a grand slam. The catch instead ended the inning with no damage done.
• Ryan’s incredible play was featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on Sunday evening, checking in at No. 4 on the popular daily countdown on ESPN.
• The snag was also featured on D1Baseball’s Top 10 Plays of the Weekend.

Extinguishing the Flames

• Bryce Konitzer was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 29 after throwing 10 shutout innings over two games the previous week.
• Konitzer yielded just three hits and two walks while striking out 12 over the two starts. He held opponents to an .094 batting average and permitted just one extra-base hit over the 10 shutout frames.
• Konitzer started at Northern Illinois on April 23 and allowed just one hit and no walks while striking out four over three shutout innings.
• He followed that up with a complete game shutout in the April 28 series finale at UIC, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out eight in seven frames to earn the win as the Beacons beat the Flames 20-0.
• The shutout came on a hitter-friendly day with the wind blowing out against a UIC team that was leading the conference in runs per game (7.8), on-base percentage (.412) and batting average (.306).
• Konitzer became the second Beacon to be named MVC Pitcher of the Week this season, joining Connor Lockwood (April 1). Since Valpo joined The Valley, Konitzer, Lockwood (twice), Colin Fields (twice), Jacob Rosenkranz, Jake Miller, Bobby Nowak and Easton Rhodehouse have accounted for nine MVC Pitcher of the Week awards.
• Konitzer hurled Valpo’s first individual two-hitter since Cole Webb on April 17, 2014 at Milwaukee. (Note, Colin Fields threw a no-hitter on March 12, 2021 at Middle Tennessee).
• The right hander delivered Valpo’s second complete game of the season (Lockwood, March 30 vs. Bradley) and first shutout since Bobby Nowak on April 15, 2023 at Bradley.

Sunday Sluggers

• Valpo blasted UIC 20-0 in seven innings on Sunday, April 28.
• The team slugged eight home runs, tied for the sixth most in a game nationally this season as of April 28.
• This marked just the second time since the start of the 2007 season that Valpo hit five or more home runs in a game, joining May 1, 2021 vs. Illinois State (five). This was the team’s first time hitting six or more in a game since April 4, 2006 at Ball State. The eight home runs marked the team’s most on record in a single game, dating back at least 20 years.
• The 20 runs marked Valpo’s most in a league game since joining the Missouri Valley Conference. This was the team’s highest run total since April 11, 2018 vs. Milwaukee (23).
• Carson Husmann went deep twice, recording Valpo’s first multi-homer game since Kyle Schmack on March 19 of this season vs. Ball State. One of his home runs was a grand slam, Valpo’s first of the year and first since Ryan Maka on May 5, 2023 vs. Southern Illinois.
• The 20-run margin of victory was Valpo’s largest since April 2, 2010, a 26-5 win over Chicago State. This marked Valpo’s most lopsided shutout since April 15, 2004, a 20-0 win over Lewis.
• Brady Renfro had four hits to lead an 18-hit attack, while Kaleb Hannahs had three and six total Beacons had multi-hit efforts.
• The lopsided win helped Valpo break out of a 15-game road skid, returning to the road win column for the first time since March 12 at Gardner Webb. That was the nation’s second longest active such streak before it came to an emphatic end.

Midweek Marathon

• Valpo’s game on April 30 at Western Michigan went 15 innings and saw the Broncos prevail 8-6 on a walk-off home run.
• That marked Valpo’s longest game in terms of innings played since April 17, 2012, a 16-inning contest at Indiana State.
• It was just the sixth game in the nation to go at least 15 innings this season. Washington at Long Beach State was in the 17^th when it was called a 3-3 tie on Feb. 18 due to Washington travel. Valpo’s game at Western Michigan tied with four others for the longest game in the nation that had a winner this season.
• The time of the game was four hours, 12 minutes. This was Valpo’s longest game in terms of time elapsed since the team enjoyed four hours, 29 minutes of excitement in an 8-7, 13-inning win on May 5, 2015 against – guess who? – Western Michigan.

200-Win Milestone

• Head coach Brian Schmack reached the 200-career win milestone with a 7-6, 12-inning victory over Missouri State on April 12.
• Schmack ranks third in program history in career victories, trailing only Paul Twenge (1988-2006, 378) and the legendary Emory G. Bauer (1954-1981, 359).
• Schmack reached a milestone on March 17 at No. 21 Campbell, his 500^th game at the helm of the program. He became the third skipper in program history to reach that number, joining the aforementioned Twenge (1,011; 1988-2006) and Bauer (1954-1981; 606).

Schmack schmacks

• In addition to the aforementioned home run chase, Kyle Schmack ranks among the program’s all-time top 10 in doubles, RBIs, walks, hits and runs scored.
• See below to check out where Schmack ranks in each of those categories with four games remaining in the season.

Doubles

Rank    Player                          Years               2B

1          Marc Boggio               1999-2003       58

2          Michael Arensdorff    2003-2007      57

3          Mark Pedersen            1998-2002       56

4          J.J. Swiatkowski         1997-2000       51

5          Kyle Gaedele              2009-2011       48

6          Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      45

7          Nate Palace                 2013-2017       44

8          Chris Moore                1998-2001       41

Kevin Kutansky          2003-2006       41

10        Rob Hadrick               1994-1997       40

Runs Batted In

Rank    Player                          Years               RBIs

1          J.J. Swiatkowski         1997-2000       151

2          Mark Pedersen            1998-2002       142

3          Marc Boggio               1999-2003       141

4          Kevin Kutansky          2003-2006       133

5          Rob Hadrick               1994-1997       130

6          Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      129

7          Chris Manning            2011-2014       127

8          Dale Polonus               1986-1988       126

9          Kyle Gaedele              2009-2011       121

10        Todd Poepard             1996-1999       116

Nate Palace                 2014-2017       116

Walks

Rank    Player                          Years               Walks

1          Spencer Mahoney       2012-2015       138

2          Marc Waite                 1989-1992       137

3          Sam Shaikin                2016-2019       104

4          Todd Poepard             1996-1999       102

5          Steve Wigdor              1985-1988       98

            Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      98

7          J.J. Swiatkowski         1997-2000       91

            Michael Arensdorff    2003-2007      91

9          Kyle Gaedele              2009-2011       86

10        Rick O’Connor           1992-1995       84

Hits

Rank    Player                          Years               Hits

1          Michael Arensdorff   2003-2007      273

2          Chris Manning            2011-2014       264

3          Mark Pedersen            1998-2002       251

4          Marc Boggio               1999-2003       242

5          Steven Scoby              2009-2012       228

6          Rob Hadrick               1994-1997       222

7          Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      220

8          Andrew Bain               2010-2013       218

9          Spencer Mahoney       2012-2015       216

10        Kevin Kutansky          2003-2006       209

Runs Scored

Rank    Player                          Years               Runs

1          Chris Manning            2011-2014       166

2          Mark Pedersen            1998-2002       158

            Michael Arensdorff    2003-2007      158

4          Kyle Gaedele              2009-2011       148

5          Spencer Mahoney       2012-2015       147

6          Chase Dawson            2016-2019       145

7          Rob Hadrick               1994-1997       144

8          Kyle Schmack           2020-pres.      143

9          Marc Boggio               1999-2003       142

10        Sam Shaikin                2016-2019       133

Inside the Schedule

• Valpo started the season with a four-game series against an Alabama State team that won 41 games and went 26-4 in the Southwest Athletic Conference last season.
• The Beacons played three more in the Heart of Dixie from Feb. 23-25 at Alabama. The Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) also won over 40 games in 2023, posting a 43-21 mark en route to an NCAA Regional crown and Super Regional appearance.
• A challenging early-season docket continued on March 1, when Valpo played at Elon, a team that went 33-22 last season including a 19-9 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
• After a neutral site game on March 3 vs. Binghamton of the American East Conference – another team that finished with a winning record last year – Valpo visited Jacksonville, a 34-win team last year and a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Valpo had a three-game series at No. 21 Campbell (March 15-17) against a team that went 46-15 and 22-5 in the Big South in 2023. The conference champion Fighting Camels reached NCAA Regionals.
• The Beacons made their way to Nashville, Tenn. for a game against preseason No. 6 Vanderbilt on March 26. The Commodores went 42-20 last season, were the runners-up of the College World Series in 2021 and won the national title as recently as 2019.

Pitching Profile – Projected Starter

• #21 Kaleb Krier, Sr. (Altoona, Iowa / Southeast Polk (DMACC) – Made four appearances, all starts, in his first season at Valpo in 2023... Spent two seasons of JUCO ball at DMACC... Favorite MLB team is the New York Mets... Started on March 5 at Jacksonville and allowed three runs on five hits in three innings... Put together a solid start on March 12 at Gardner-Webb, going five innings of one-run, four-hit ball while walking none and striking out one. He received no decision in a game Valpo won 5-2... Started and went four innings while allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk in the March 19 home opener vs. Ball State, an eventual 9-6 win in which he received no decision... Started and went three solid innings on March 26 at No. 7 Vanderbilt, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out three... Started and picked up the win on March 31 vs. Bradley after allowing two runs on just one hit over three innings... Started on April 7 at Illinois State and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in 2 2/3 innings to take the defeat... Started and went three innings, allowing two runs on three hits on April 12 vs. Belmont... Took the defeat on April 16 at Notre Dame, allowing three runs on four hits in three innings... Allowed 10 runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings on April 21 vs. Missouri State... Allowed five runs (four earned) on four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings on April 26 at UIC, taking the defeat... Started and took the defeat after allowing three runs in two innings on May 3 vs. Evansville.

Pitching Profiles – Bullpen Bits

• #31 Joe Seiber, R-So. (Homer Glen, Ill. / Lockport [College of DuPage]) – Third team junior college All-American at Collee of DuPage... Favorite MLB team is the Chicago White Sox... Favorite movie is Billy Madison... Joined the program prior to the 2024 season as a junior college transfer... Earned his first Valpo save with two shutout innings of one-hit ball while allowing no walks to close out a 3-2 win at The Citadel in Game 1 of a doubleheader on March 8... Was not charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning in the series finale on March 10 at The Citadel... Went 2 1/3 innings of one-run, two-hit ball on March 23 at Southern Illinois... Tossed three shutout innings while allowing one hit and walking none on March 29 vs. Bradley... Allowed two runs on four hits in one inning on April 5 at Illinois State... Tossed two scoreless innings of relief on April 9 at Milwaukee... Earned the victory in relief on April 19 vs. Missouri State... Flipped two shutout innings on April 30 at Western Michigan.
• #36 Trent Turzenski, Sr. (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) – Had a team-best ERA (2.48) in four games out of the bullpen during the shortened 2020 season... Made 13 appearances including 10 starts in 2021... Made seven starts as the team’s Friday starter before going down with a season-ending injury in 2022... Missed most of the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He pitched a scoreless inning and allowed one hit in his lone outing of the year, May 7 vs. Southern Illinois... Played in the Little League World Series Regional Tournament on ESPN twice when he was 11 and 12... Favorite MLB Player is Josh Hader... Nailed down the save with three innings of one-run ball while allowing three hits, striking out four and walking none in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Feb. 17 at Alabama State... Pitched four shutout innings while allowing only one hit and one walk and fanned four to earn the victory on March 1 at Elon... Allowed two runs on three hits and no walks in two innings of relief on March 8 at The Citadel in Game 1 of a doubleheader... Worked a scoreless ninth to finish out the March 12 win at Gardner-Webb... Made his first start in over two years (since April 1, 2022) and took the defeat, allowing five runs on three hits in three innings on April 9 at Milwaukee... Did not allow an earned run over 3 2/3 innings on April 14 vs. Belmont... Heaved two shutout innings on April 30 at Western Michigan.
• #38 RHP Griffin McCluskey, Sr. (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community) – As a freshman, got the starting nod on May 11, 2021 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame and pitched a gem at Emory G. Bauer Field, holding the guests to no runs on one hit – a seeing-eye single through the left side – while walking just one and striking out four in six innings. He left in position for the win after becoming just the third pitcher to hold Notre Dame scoreless while pitching six or more innings all season, joining Duke’s Jack Carey and Boston College’s Emmett Sheehan... Posted the highest fielding percentage by a starting shortstop in program history in high school... Finished in the top 10 in his high school’s history in career 3-point field goals in basketball... Enjoys playing the guitar... Earned his first collegiate victory in his hometown of Normal, Ill. on April 17, 2022, pitching Valpo to a 2-1 win over Illinois State on Easter Sunday. He allowed just one run on four hits and one walk while striking out five over six strong innings... Was Valpo’s 2023 opening day starter vs. Kansas in Corpus Christi, Texas... In 2023, tied for fourth in the league in games started, ranked 13^th in innings pitched and was eighth in strikeouts... Got the Opening Night nod on Feb. 16, 2024 vs. Alabama State and took the defeat... Took the loss on Feb. 23 at No. 17 Alabama, when he was tagged for eight runs on seven hits in three innings... Tossed two innings of relief and allowed two runs on four hits and no walks in the March 10 series finale at The Citadel. This was his return to the mound after being briefly sidelined by an injury... Worked 2 2/3 innings of relief and allowed two runs on March 17 at No. 21 Campbell... Went four innings of solid ball, allowing two runs on two hits while walking four and striking out four on March 24 at Southern Illinois. He received no decision... Worked two scoreless innings and did not allow a hit on April 6 at Illinois State, pitching in his hometown of Normal, Ill... Picked up his first win of the season by delivering five shutout innings of two-hit ball while walking one and striking out six on April 13 vs. Belmont. The Bruins had scored nine runs in four innings before he came out of the bullpen and pitched shutout ball the rest of the way... Allowed one run on two hits in four innings on May 11 at Murray State.
• • #34 RHP Grant Jablonski, Sr. (Mishawaka, Ind. / Mishawaka) – Appeared in four games in 2021 and two in 2020 before appearing in nine games in 2022 and 17 in 2023... 2019 Indiana All-Star while earning all-state honors... Favorite TV show is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia... Did not allow an earned run in his season debut while logging 2 1/3 innings of relief on Feb. 18 at Alabama State... Hurled two shutout innings on Feb. 25 at No. 17 Alabama... Pitched two shutout innings and earned his first win of the season on March 12 at Gardner-Webb... Worked three plus innings and allowed just one run on four hits on March 16 at No. 23 Campbell. He did not allow a run in his first three frames before yielding a solo homer to lead off the start of his fourth frame... Picked up the win with three shutout innings of relief on March 19 vs. Ball State... Allowed one run on one hit in two innings out of the bullpen on March 23 at Southern Illinois... Allowed only one unearned run on one hit over three innings out of the bullpen on March 29 vs. Bradley... Allowed three runs on four hits in three innings on April 5 at Illinois State... Allowed two runs on three hits in two innings on April 9 at Milwaukee... Made his first collegiate start in his 44th career outing on April 14 vs. Belmont, allowing five runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings... Allowed one run on four hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief on April 21 vs. Missouri State... Earned the win after allowing two runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings on May 4 vs. Evansville.
• #39 Jake Jakubowski, Jr. (Lake in the Hills, Ill. / Huntley [Heartland]) – Won a national championship while playing junior college ball at Heartland CC... Played summer ball for the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League (2022) and the Burlington Bees of the Prospect League (2023)... Favorite movie is Super Bad... Retired all six batters he faced while pitching the final two innings of Game 2 of a Feb. 17 doubleheader at Alabama State... Nailed down the save on March 2 at Elon by coming in to record the final out... Picked up the win in Game 2 of a doubleheader on March 8 at The Citadel by firing 2 1/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit or walk... Pitched a shutout inning in the March 12 win at Gardner-Webb... Pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief and was not charged with a run on March 15 at No. 21 Campbell... Entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs on March 26 at No. 7 Vanderbilt and recorded a big strikeout, the lone batter he faced... Worked the final two innings and allowed just one run on three hits on March 29 vs. Bradley... Came in with the bases loaded and two outs and struck out the lone batter he faced on April 7 at Illinois State... Pitched an inning and was not charged with any runs on April 9 at Milwaukee... Picked up the save by recording the final out on May 4 vs. Evansville... Pitched a shutout inning on May 10 at Murray State.
• #42 LHP Lucas Foley, Fr. (Deer Park, Ill. / Lake Zurich) – 2023 IHSBCA 4A First Team All-State and PBR Third Team All-State... Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior in high school in 2023... Enjoys water and snow skiing... Has broken his collarbone four times... Favorite musical group is Cold Play... Went seven innings and allowed just one run on five hits while walking none and striking out 11 on Feb. 17 at Alabama State, getting the start in the second game of a doubleheader and making his collegiate debut. He was one of two freshmen in the country with 11 or more strikeouts in a game over the opening weekend of the season... Incurred his first collegiate setback on Feb. 25 at No. 17 Alabama, allowing six runs on seven hits in three innings... Allowed one run on five hits and one walk in four innings of a start on March 3 vs. Binghamton, receiving no decision... Took the defeat after allowing five runs on eight hits in three innings in his start on March 10 at The Citadel... Made an early exit in his start on March 17 at No. 21 Campbell, when he retired just one batter... Moved to the bullpen and tossed two scoreless innings on March 22 at Southern Illinois... Struck out the side in his first inning of work and racked up six strikeouts in just 2 2/3 frames of relief on March 26 at No. 7 Vanderbilt. He was charged with one unearned run on three hits and one walk... Worked three shutout innings while striking out four, issuing no walks and permitting two hits to help Valpo beat Bradley on March 31... Allowed three runs in his two innings of relief on April 7 at Illinois State.

Position Player Profiles – Projected Lineup (based on recent games)

• #15 Kaleb Hannahs, 3B/RF, Sr. (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) – 2021 MVC Freshman of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American, All-MVC Second Team and Valparaiso University co-Male Newcomer of the Year (ARC Awards)... In a very unusual and possibly even unprecedented occurrence, Valpo has two sons of Missouri Valley Conference head baseball coaches in the starting lineup… Hannahs’ father Mitch is the head coach at Indiana State… Fan of Luke Combs, the St. Louis Cardinals and Fernando Tatis Jr… Three-sport athlete in high school, where he earned four letters apiece in football, basketball and baseball… Earned MVC Player of the Week on May 3, 2021 after posting a slash line .556/.636/.667 over five games during the week... Led the team in batting average (.296), hits (55) and on-base percentage (.389) in 2021, becoming the first rookie to pace the team in batting average since Spencer Mahoney in 2012... Finished the 2021 season on a 20-game on-base streak... Started his freshman season with a .200 average over the first 11 games before hitting .336 over his last 36 regular-season contests while posting a .434 on-base percentage in that time... Named to the 2022 MVC All-Defensive Team... Led the team in runs scored with 36 while starting all 48 games in 2022, posting a .275 batting average... Was hit by a pitch on April 9, 2023 at Evansville, suffering an injury that caused him to be sidelined until May 18 vs. Illinois State (with the exception of one pinch running appearance during that stretch)... Drilled a home run in his first plate appearance back in the lineup on May 18 vs. Illinois State... Hit .286 while playing in 30 games and making 29 starts in 2023... Fourth-year starter in 2024... Hit his ninth career home run on Feb. 16, 2024, Opening Night at Alabama State... Extended his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to all 14 games this season based on his performance March 8-10 at The Citadel. He tripled in the first game of that series, the second triple of his collegiate career and the first since the now-senior’s freshman year... Reached base in all three games at No. 21 Campbell from March 15-17, extending his season-long on-base streak to 18... Reached safely in all three games at Southern Illinois on March 22-24, extending his on-base streak to 22... Reached safely in all three games of the March 29-31 series vs. Bradley, extending his season-long on-base streak to 26... Went 0-for-3 on April 5 at Illinois State, bringing his season-long 26-game on-base streak to an end... Returned to the lineup on April 19 vs. Missouri State after missing the previous five games with an injury... Had three hits on April 20 vs. Missouri State... Went 4-for-4 with a homer, double and walk on May 4 vs. Evansville, tying a career high and setting a season high for hits and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
• #30 Brady Renfro, 1B, Sr. (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) – Is an only child… Hobbies include hunting and fishing… Favorite MLB player is Clayton Kershaw and team is the Milwaukee Brewers… Played with STiKS Baseball Academy and the Chicago Scouts Association… Posted a 21-game on-base streak that was snapped on May 2, 2021 vs. Illinois State, at the time Valpo’s longest on-base streak since 2017... Named 2021 All-MVC Honorable Mention... Was one of two players to start all 48 games for Valpo in 2022... Tied for the team lead in both home runs (seven) and RBIs (27) while also posting a .275 batting average during the 2022 campaign... Hit .319 in MVC play in 2022, ranking second on the team in league-only batting average while driving in a team-high 11 runs in Valley action... During the 2023 campaign, had an on-base streak that reached 30 games before it was finally snapped on April 22 vs. UIC. That was Valpo’s longest such streak since 2016... Delivered a grand slam to help Valpo to an upset win over No. 22 Southern Miss on March 10... Missed time with a hip injury from April 23 to May 23... Hit .287 in 2023 while appearing in 34 games, all starts... Is a fourth-year starter in 2024... Had not played since the first weekend of the season (Feb. 17 at Alabama State) due to back issues but returned to action on March 12 at Gardner-Webb... Hit his first home run of the season and the 16^th of his career on March 30 vs. Bradley... Hit his second home run of the season and the 17^th of his career on April 9 at Milwaukee... Hit a walk-off home run with Valpo down to its final out to beat Missouri State 7-6 in 12 innings on April 19... Homered in consecutive games – April 28 at UIC and April 30 at Western Michigan... Hit his 20^th career home run on May 4 vs. Evansville.
• #27 Kyle Schmack, LF, Sr. (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) – After graduating from nearby South Central High School in 2019, Kyle joined his father Brian’s program at Valpo… Was the MVP of the Indiana North/South All-Star Game in June 2019 following his senior year of high school… Also played football during his prep days… Appeared in 20 games and made nine starts during the shortened 2020 season… Appeared in all 51 games and made 50 starts in 2021, posting a .264 average that ranked fourth on the team while tying for second on the club with 24 RBIs and ranking second on the squad with nine doubles... Started all 47 games and batting .322 with nine home runs, 38 RBIs and a team-high 99 total bases in 2023... Fourth-year starter in 2024... Notched his first home run of the season and the 19th of his career on Feb. 18 at Alabama State... Entered the program’s career top 10 for doubles and hit his 20^th career home run during a series where he hit .500 over three games at No. 17 Alabama from Feb. 23-25... Hit his 21^st career home run on March 2 at Elon in a 7-5 win... Hit his 22^nd career home run, climbing into a tie for fifth in program history, while also drilling a double on March 3 vs. Binghamton... Hit his 23^rd career home run on March 10 at The Citadel, climbing into a tie for fourth in program history and taking over the most career home runs by any Valpo player since 2003... Moved into sole possession of fourth in program history with his 24^th career home run on March 17 at No. 23 Campbell... Celebrated his 23^rd birthday with two home runs in a March 19 win over Ball State, climbing into a tie for third in program history for career long balls... Hit two home runs in the March 29-31 series vs. Bradley, increasing his season total to 10... Had his 200^th career hit on April 13 vs. Belmont... Slugged his 11^th home run of the season and the 29^th of his collegiate career on Sunday on April 14 vs. Belmont... Drilled his 30^th collegiate home run on April 21 vs. Missouri State and his 31^st on April 23 at Northern Illinois, climbing into the top five in single-season program history with 12... Moved into sole possession of second in program history in both career and single-season home runs with his 15^th of the season and the 33^rd of his career in the ninth inning on May 10 at Murray State... Hit his 16^th home run of the season and 34^th of his career on May 12 at Murray State.
• #22 Ryan Maka, DH, Jr. (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) – Also competed in golf in high school... Other hobbies include investing and going to the gym... Favorite TV Show is Stranger Things... Became the first Valpo player since 2018 and second since 2008 to notch a three-homer game on May 13, 2022 vs. Bradley. Had four home runs in that series and five extra-base hits en route to earning Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week recognition... Ranked third on the team in MVC-only batting average at .286 and tied for the team lead with four home runs in Valley play in 2022... 2023 All-MVC First Team and 2024 Preseason All-MVC honors... Posted a .345 batting average in 2023, jumping his average nearly 100 points from the previous season... Hit two grand slams in 2023, becoming the first Valpo player since at least 2006 with two career grand slams... Returned to the lineup on March 30 vs. Bradley for the first time since March 1 at Elon after missing 16 games due to an injury... Drilled his first home run of the season and the 13^th of his collegiate career on April 5 at Illinois State... Doubled twice on April 13 vs. Belmont, the fourth Valpo player with a multiple double game this season... Slugged one of the team’s four home runs on April 19 vs. Missouri State... Hammered a 419-foot home run on May 4 vs. Evansville... Hit his fourth home run of the season and the 16^th of his career on May 12 at Murray State.
• #7 Carson Husmann, RF, Sr. (Hannah, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) – Played in 113 games and made 101 starts over four years at Bradley while hitting 20 home runs and driving in 68 runs... His best year was 2022, when he hit .277 with 13 home runs and 45 RBIs... High school teammates with Kyle Schmack at South Central in Northwest Indiana... Was also a four-year letter winner in basketball during his prep days... Homered in each game of a doubleheader sweep at The Citadel on March 8, his first two home runs in a Valpo uniform. He reached base nine times over the course of those two games... Returned for the March 29-31 series vs. Bradley after missing three games with an injury... Had a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in the rubber match vs. Bradley – his former team – on March 31... Homered in the first and third games of the April 12-14 series vs. Belmont... Drilled his third home run in a four-game span (after having two in his first 25 games this season) and the 28^th of his collegiate career on April 16 at Notre Dame, a three-run jack... Had his 29^th career home run and his fourth in a six-game span on April 20 vs. Missouri State... Hit two home runs including a grand slam in the April 28 game at UIC, hitting three total long balls in the series against the Flames.
• #17 Alex Ryan, CF, Sr. (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) – Played in 10 games and made one start as a freshman in 2021... Three-time all-conference pick in high school… Milwaukee Brewers fans… Has a twin sister, Olivia… Hobbies include hiking and playing card games... Played in 46 games (44 starts) in 2022... Was a member of the 2023 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team after earning MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention the year prior... Finished 2023 with a .260 batting average while playing in 40 games and making 37 starts... Had Valpo’s second multi-homer game of the season, going deep twice on March 16 at No. 17 Campbell... Ripped a solo shot to account for Valpo’s lone run in a 13-1 loss at Southern Illinois on March 23... Belted a home run and made a great catch in his home state of Wisconsin on April 9 at Milwaukee... Drilled one of the team’s four home runs on April 19 vs. Missouri State... Had three of the team’s eight hits including a double and a home run on April 21 vs. Missouri State... Ranked No. 4 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays by robbing a grand slam on April 28 at UIC. He also drilled a home run of his own in that game.
• #9 Connor Giusti, 2B, Sr. (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Fremd [Wisconsin Oshkosh]) – Played in 117 games over four seasons at Wisconsin Oshkosh before transferring to Valpo for the 2023 campaign... Named to the all-defensive team and all-conference honorable mention at Oshkosh... Big Chicago Bears fan and loves football... Hit his 11^th collegiate home run and first at Valpo on Opening Night on Feb. 16 at Alabama State... Had three hits on April 23 vs. Northern Illinois... Homered in consecutive games – April 28 at UIC and April 30 at Western Michigan... Had a dramatic, game-tying, three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth on May 10 at Murray State, completing a six-run rally to force extras.
• #33 Liam Patton, C, Gr. (Barrington, Ill. / Warsaw [Wabash]) – Spent the last three seasons at Wabash College, where he hit .384 with six home runs, 50 RBIs and a .582 slugging percentage in 2023... Had a go-ahead, two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning on March 5 vs. Jacksonville, a game Valpo eventually dropped 6-5 on a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth... Came up clutch again in the second game of a doubleheader on March 8 at The Citadel, when his bases-clearing double in the top of the 10^th spurred a 10-5 victory... Hit his first Valpo home run on April 19 vs. Missouri State.
• #19 Kade Reinertson, C, R-Jr. (Huxley, Iowa / Ballard Community) – Played in 18 games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2023 after playing in 22 games and making 17 starts in 2022... Did not see game action as a rookie 2021... Named second team all-state in high school in 2019... Also played football and basketball in high school... Kicks with his left foot but does everything else right handed... Enjoys golfing and disc golfing.
• #6 Alex Thurston, SS, Sr. (Fowler, Ind. / Benton Central) – Finished as the Valedictorian of his high school senior class… Won the 2019 Nanoline Automation National Championship with three classmates after creating an automated paint brush cleaner… Three-year all-conference honoree on the diamond while also playing four years of tennis and one year of basketball in high school… Appeared in 40 games and made 39 starts in 2021... Posted five hits on April 29, 2022 at Southern Illinois, becoming the first Valpo player with a five-hit game since Scott Kapers on May 8, 2018 at Western Michigan... After hitting .158 in 2021, made a significant jump with a team-high .301 batting average in 2022 while playing in 47 games, all starts... Played in 46 games – all starts – while turning in a .238 batting average in 2023... Is a fourth-year starter in 2024... Hit his fourth career home run on Opening Night, Feb. 16 at Alabama State... Laid down a squeeze bunt to drive in the tying run in the ninth inning of an eventual 10-5, 10-inning win in Game 2 of a March 8 doubleheader at The Citadel... Homered and had a team-high three hits in the March 19 home opener vs. Ball State... Hit his second home run in as many games and his third of the season on March 22 at Southern Illinois, when he drove in three runs... Hit his fourth home run of the season and third in a six-game span on March 31 vs. Bradley... Had his seventh career triple and the team’s first in over a month on April 9 at Milwaukee.

Inside the Assistants: Top assistant Kory Winter returns to head coach Brian Schmack’s staff this season, while assistant coach Jeff Mayes is back for Year 2 and assistant coach Adam Brian has joined the fold.

• After spending three seasons as a volunteer assistant, Kory Winter was hired as Schmack’s top assistant and hitting coach beginning with the 2019 campaign. Winter played collegiately at Wittenberg and has completed coaching stints at Muskingum University and Shippensburg University. He is also Valpo’s outfield instructor.
• Jeff Mayes is in his second season on the Valpo coaching staff, serving as the team’s infield coach while also assisting with the team’s hitters and manning the third base coaching box. He spent the previous three seasons on staff at his alma mater Aurora University, a Division-III institution in Illinois, where the program amassed an 83-21 record during his tenure. Prior to that, he enjoyed a standout playing career for the Spartans.
• Adam Brian is in his first season on Valpo’s staff after graduating from Bradley. He works with the team’s catchers and holds down the first-base coaching box. Brian’s father Braden Brian played college baseball at Eastern Kentucky and was selected in the 30^th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Montreal Expos.