The Valparaiso University baseball team scored three times in the bottom of the ninth and brought the potential winning run to the plate, but No. 20 Indiana State escaped Emory G. Bauer Field with an 11-9 victory on Friday afternoon. Brady Renfro (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) drilled what would have been a game-tying home run to deep right with two outs in the sixth, but Indiana State right fielder Parker Stinson leaped up and robbed the would-be home run, a play that proved pivotal in the game’s outcome.

How It Happened

• Indiana State hit back-to-back jacks with two outs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead.
• Valpo responded in the bottom of the inning when a two-run double by Alex Ryan tied the game and a two-run single by Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) put Valpo ahead 4-2. Valpo knocked the Indiana State starting pitcher out of the game before he recorded an out.
• A bunt single by Renfro that was compounded by an Indiana State throwing error in the bottom of the second helped Valpo extend the lead to 5-2.
• A five-run third that included a two-run homer by Luis Hernandez – his second blast of the day – put the guests up 7-5.
• Another Indiana State home run in the fourth made it 8-5. Joe Seiber came in to pitch the fifth and did not yield a run in the fifth, sixth or seventh innings. Valpo moved a step closer on an RBI single by Chase Maifield (Fox Lake, Ill. / Grant [Augustana]) in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-6.
• Seiber came out for a fourth inning of work but left after the first two batters reached, including a home run. After Seiber’s exit, a two-run shot by Randall Diaz – his second home run of the day – extended the Indiana State lead to 11-6.
• After Maka doubled and Maifield was hit by a pitch, Liam Patton (Barrington, Ill. / Warsaw [Wabash]) belted a three-run homer to left center to make it 11-9 with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. After another Valpo base hit, Indiana State made a pitching change with the tying run at the dish and nobody out in the inning.
• The next two batters were retired in succession, then a walk to Renfro on a payoff pitch brought the potential winning run to the plate, but a fly ball to center concluded the contest.

Inside the Game

• Ryan, Maka, Brady Nowicki (Big Bend, Wis. / Mukwonago [Indiana Hills CC]) and Alex Thurston (Fowler, Ind. / Benton Central) had two hits apiece on a day where the Beacon bats totaled a dozen hits.
• The Valpo bullpen did a respectable job against a nationally-ranked opponent, allowing three runs while scattering nine hits over five innings without issuing any walks.
• The Beacons fell to 4-15 in games decided by two runs or fewer.
• Patton’s home run was his second in a Valpo uniform.

Up Next

Valpo (14-37, 6-20 MVC) will close out the season on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the series finale vs. No. 20 Indiana State on ESPN+. The Senior Day ceremony recognizing Valpo’s 15-member senior class will begin at 12:35 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field.