Valparaiso (8-21, 3-9 MVC)
at #8 Notre Dame (20-8, 18-8 ACC)
Frank Eck Stadium (2,500) | Notre Dame, Ind. 

Tuesday, April 27, 4 p.m. CT – RHP Griffin McCluskey vs. LHP Aidan Tyrell

Next Up in Valpo Baseball: The Valparaiso University baseball team will face off with a nationally-ranked opponent for the sixth time this season as the team makes its way to Notre Dame on Tuesday afternoon to battle the No. 8 Fighting Irish in midweek action. This marks the second of three matchups between the instate foes this season. Valpo will hope to carry the momentum garnered during a series win this past weekend into the nonconference tilt.

Last Time Out: Valpo opened its new field turf in memorable fashion, sweeping a doubleheader from Southern Illinois on Friday by winning both games in walk-off style. Jonathan Temple smashed a game-ending home run in the bottom of the ninth of the opener before Riley Dent walked it off with a single in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2. After dropping the Saturday game, Valpo clinched the series with a 4-2 triumph on Sunday behind a strong pitching performance from Zach Fricke.

On the Air: The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Links to live video and stats are available on ValpoAthletics.com.  

Series Notes: Notre Dame leads 77-21 in the all-time series, which dates all the way back to 1958. Each of the last three matchups have been tight with Notre Dame winning 6-3 on March 23 of this season, 4-3 on April 23, 2019 and 6-5 on April 25, 2018. Valpo has lost nine straight head-to-head meetings since a 7-4 triumph on May 2, 2012.

Head Coach Brian Schmack: Brian Schmack, the 17th head baseball coach in Valparaiso University history, is in his eighth season in charge of the program. Entering the 2021 season, he has served as the head coach for 336 games at Valpo, the fourth-most in program history with Tracy Woodson third at 397. This year, he moves into a tie for third in program history for number of seasons coached with eight, matching Donald Warnke (1946-1953). Schmack has now been at Valpo longer than his predecessor Woodson, whose seven-year run lasted from 2007-2013. Entering the season, Schmack’s win total of 136 ranks fifth in program history, with Rick Ferchen fourth at 147. The former big-league pitcher led Valparaiso to 25 wins in his inaugural campaign in 2014, a school record for victories by a first-year skipper. He followed that up with a 22-win season in 2015, then guided the team to its first winning record since 2013 in 2016. In 2017, Schmack continued his success despite managing a youthful roster that featured 11 freshmen and 15 total newcomers. He led his team to 24 wins, including a strong finish to the regular season that saw them win eight of their last 11. The 2018 season saw Valpo transition to the Missouri Valley Conference. The Brown & Gold made an immediate splash in the highly-respected baseball league, putting together a strong showing in the 2018 MVC Tournament, including a 13-10 victory over host Dallas Baptist, a team that went on to receive an at-large NCAA Regional berth. During the 2019 season, Schmack’s squad equaled its win total from the year prior despite playing in a conference that was ranked sixth nationally in RPI and sent three teams to NCAA Regionals. Schmack, a member of the 2003 Detroit Tigers, served as pitching coach/associate head coach at Valpo for seven seasons prior to his promotion.

A Grand Opening

• Valpo debuted its new infield turf at Emory G. Bauer Field in style by sweeping a doubleheader from Southern Illinois on Friday, April 23. Valpo won both games in walk-off fashion, winning 7-6 behind a ninth-inning homer by Jonathan Temple in Game 1 before enjoying a 4-3 triumph on a Riley Dent walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2.
• The Temple walk-off home run was Valpo’s first since Zack Leone drilled one on March 30, 2018 vs. Bradley. Both came on special occasions as Leone’s provided Valpo’s first-ever Missouri Valley Conference win, while Temple’s came in the first game on the new turf.
• Valpo swept a doubleheader for the second time this season after previously taking both from Middle Tennessee State on March 13.
• The field renovation project was made possible by lead gifts from Valpo alumni Lynn Scheutzow ’74 Young and Carl Young ’73 and the Deetjen family. The Young and Deetjen families both had sons who played baseball at Valpo.

Road Warriors

• When Valpo lifted the lid on its home slate on April 23, it became the final team in the nation to open the home portion of its schedule.
• The team snapped a stretch of 45 consecutive games away from home dating back to May 14, 2019, a 4-3 victory over Chicago State.
• Playing home games is always important in terms of results as Valpo has finished with a winning record at home in four of the last five seasons and 11 of the last 13 campaigns.

Walk-Off Wins

Valpo accomplished the rare feat of achieving two walk-off wins in the same day during the April 23 doubleheader sweep of Southern Illinois. Here is the full list of walk-off wins during the Brian Schmack Era at Valpo. The Dent walk-off single in Game 2 on April 23 was Valpo’s 10^th walk-off victory under Schmack.

Date                Opponent       Score              Walk-Off

4-23-21           SIU                  W 4-3              Riley Dent single

4-23-21           SIU                  W 7-6              Jonathan Temple homer

5-10-19           SIU                  W 5-4 (14)      Kevin Barry single

5-15-18           Chicago St      W 3-2              Blake Billinger two-run single

5-30-18           Bradley           W 5-2  (10)     Zack Leone three-run homer

5-18-17           Milwaukee      W 5-4              Christian Barczi walk

4-29-16           UIC                 W 2-1              James Stea scores on wild pitch

3-26-16           Wright St        W 3-2              Josh Clark two-run single

5-5-15             Western Mich W 8-7 (13)      Jeff Edwards single

4-28-15           Chicago St      W 2-1 (11)      Spencer Mahoney single

Who’s Hot?

• Riley Dent is hitting a team-best .392 over the last 14 games after starting the season with a .155 average over the first 15 contests.
• Dent hit .429 during the Southern Illinois series, one of four Valpo players to bat .400 or better.
• Matt Olive went 5-for-9 in the series, while Parker Johnson (.462) and Angel DiFederico (.455) had robust weekends at the plate as well. Johnson and DiFederico drove in four runs apiece during the set.
• Brady Renfro has reached base in 17 consecutive games.

Pitching Prowess

• The Valpo pitching staff racked up 45 strikeouts in 34 innings of work during the series win vs. Southern Illinois (April 23-25).
• Zach Fricke had a career-high nine strikeouts and did not allow an earned run over his six innings on Sunday, April 25. He earned his first win of the season while yielding just four hits and walking one.
• Jon Tieman made his first start of the year in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Friday, April 23 and tossed five frames while scattering six hits and racking up nine strikeouts against one walk.
• Easton Rhodehouse appeared in three of the four games in the series and totaled five innings while permitting just one earned run, walking two and striking out six. He garnered a win and a save in the series. The save was his first of the year and the ninth of his career, moving him into a tie with Adam Paetznick (2001-2004) for sixth in the program record book in career saves.

Probable Pitcher: Griffin McCluskey, Fr., RHP

• Has made five appearances spanning 7 2/3 innings this season.
• Will make his first start of the year on Tuesday.
• Enjoys playing the guitar.
• Qualified for state in golf in high school and finished in the top 10 in school history for 3-point field goals in basketball.

A Look Back at the First Matchup: Notre Dame 6, Valpo 3 (March 23)

• Valpo showed well against the Fighting Irish, who were ranked No. 14 nationally at that time. The Brown & Gold held a 3-2 lead through five, but the hosts scored two in the sixth and two in the seventh in a game where each team had seven hits.
• Jeremy Drudge had his first triple of the season.
• Zach Fricke made his first start of the season, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk in four innings. He received no decision.

Valpo vs. Ranked Foes: Valpo will take on a nationally-ranked opponent for the sixth time this season on Tuesday. The Brown & Gold previously matched up with the Fighting Irish on March 23 at Frank Eck Stadium on Notre Dame’s campus. In addition, Valpo visited No. 23 Indiana State for a four-game conference series April 16-18, dropping all four. Prior to this year, Valpo last faced nationally-ranked competition on Feb. 21-23, 2020 at No. 3 Louisville. In recent years, the program has Top-25 wins over No. 25 Illinois (April 17, 2018), No. 25 DBU (March 11, 2016), No. 9 Arizona State (April 21, 2013) and No. 4 Arkansas (Feb. 26, 2012).

In the Other Dugout: Notre Dame

• Coming off a series win over Boston College, bouncing back with 5-2 and 13-9 victories after dropping the opener 10-0.
• Ranked sixth nationally by Baseball America, eighth by D1Baseball.com and 14^th by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper as those publications rolled out their latest polls on Monday.
• Led offensively by Carter Putz, who owns a .345 batting average. Niko Kavadas leads the team in the power categories with 15 homers and 36 RBIs in 28 games.

Tieman Strikeout Tracker

• Senior Jon Tieman became just the 11^th pitcher in program history to reach 200 career strikeouts earlier this year.
• The right-handed hurler became the second Valpo player to reach that milestone in the last decade, joining Dalton Lundeen (2013-2016).
• Tieman ranks 24^th nationally among active players with 227 career strikeouts. He has climbed to seventh in program history, most recently surpassing Tom Starck (2001-2004, 222).
• Tieman led the team in strikeouts three straight years from 2017-2019.

Valpo’s All-Time Strikeout Leaders

Name                          Years              Strikeouts

Tim Juran                    1969-1972       371

Jon Robisch                1961-1964       294

Dalton Lundeen          2013-2016       275

Jon Gulbransen           2008-2011       264

Shawn Barker             1987-1990       253

Bryce Shafer               2008-2010       250

Jon Tieman                 2017-pres.       227

Tom Starck                 2001-2004       222

Richard Beumer          1959-1962       217

Chuck Donley             1991-1995       212

Jim Pomeroy               1996-1999       202

Lengthy Streaks

A pair of lengthy individual streaks came to an end during Valpo’s series at Indiana State (April 16-18). Freshman first baseman Kyle Schmack saw his 12-game hitting streak reach its conclusion. That marked the program’s longest such streak since Nate Palace’s 14 gamer in 2017. In addition, senior outfielder Steven Fitzsimmons saw his on-base streak end at 18. He became the first Valpo player to reach that number since Giovanni Garbella in 2018. 

Notes Wrapping Up Indiana State (April 16-18)

• Valpo has now played five games against nationally-ranked competition this season – a midweek game at No. 14 Notre Dame on March 23 and the four-game set with the No. 23 Sycamores.
• Easton Rhodehouse started as an “opener” in the Friday game and went two scoreless frames while yielding three hits. The righty has allowed two earned runs or fewer in all 11 appearances this season, and he now has 29 strikeouts against just five walks in 22 innings.
• Valpo pitching issued just one walk against eight strikeouts in the series opener – a 5-0 setback – the fourth time this season the team allowed one walk or fewer.
• Jonathan Temple broke up a no-hit bid from Indiana State’s Connor Cline in the seventh and final inning of Game 1 of the Saturday doubleheader. Temple dashed the no-hit hopes and shutout in one fell swoop with a pinch-hit, RBI double in the top of the seventh.
• Renfro walked in each of his three plate appearances in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, while the Valpo bullpen marked a bright spot of the nightcap. Nathan Chasey and Nolan Lebamoff combined to go 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run in a 6-2 setback.
• Indiana State prevailed 12-1 in seven innings in the series finale, a game that saw Renfro homer to move into a tie for the team lead with three. He enjoyed a multi-hit output in the Sunday contest.

Twice is Nice

• Valpo pitcher Colin Fields was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time in a three-week span on March 29.
• Fields became the first Valpo player to win two MVC weekly honors in the same season since the program joined The Valley. In addition, he became the first MVC player to win two weekly honors this season.
• The most recent accolade came after the sophomore yielded just two hits over seven shutout innings to propel Valpo to a 7-1 victory over Butler in Game 1 of a doubleheader on March 27. Fields scattered three walks and racked up 11 strikeouts, a total that set a season high and tied a career high. Coincidentally, his previous career high of 11 also came in a game against Butler during the 2019 season.
• Fields struck out the side in both the first and fifth innings and retired the first 10 men he faced.
• The righty is up to 36 strikeouts this season, fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. He crossed the 100-career strikeout mark in the win at Butler as he has fanned 105 in 92 1/3 career innings. Opponents are hitting just .141 this season against Fields, who has reached double figures in strikeouts in two of his last three starts.
• Fields has allowed two hits or fewer in three of his five starts this season. He leads the MVC and ranks 25^th in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings at 4.50.
• His previous MVC Pitcher of the Week nod came on March 15 following his March 13 no-hitter at Middle Tennessee. Fields also earned Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Pitcher of the Week following the no-no.

No-No Notes

• Colin Fields threw the eighth no-hitter in Valpo baseball history and first since 1992 in a 5-0, seven-inning victory at Middle Tennessee State in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday, March 13. The previous Valpo no-no came courtesy of Eric Spillers in a 7-0 victory at Eastern Illinois on March 28, 1992. While it was the eighth no-hitter in program history, it was just the sixth no-no as two of the previous no-hitters were not shutouts.
• The right-hander became just the second pitcher in the nation to throw a no-hitter this season, joining Ohio’s Joe Rock, who tossed seven no-hit frames as part of a doubleheader vs. Morehead State on Feb. 26. Fields’ no-hitter is the third overall in the nation this season as Mississippi State had a combined effort in a nine-inning no-no vs. Kent State on March 7.
• Fields notched the first complete game of his collegiate career and the first by a Valpo pitcher since Zach Fricke on May 11, 2019 vs. Southern Illinois. It was the first shutout by a Valpo pitcher since Ellis Foreman on April 23, 2017 vs. Wright State, and the team’s first shutout since an 8-0 win at SIUE on April 19, 2019.
• Fields racked up 10 strikeouts on his way to Valpo history, his highest single-game strikeout total since his career high of 11 on March 23, 2019 vs. Butler.
• After walking the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first, Fields sent down 19 straight Blue Raiders until the bottom of the seventh. He walked three in the final frame but worked out of the bases-loaded jam to cement the slice of Valpo history.
• Fields accomplished two rare baseball feats in the same game as the third inning of the no-hitter was an “immaculate inning” with all three batters going down on three straight strikes.
• Fields is a Valpo baseball legacy student-athlete as his father Timm played for Valpo in the late 1980s.

All-Time Valpo Baseball No-Hitters

Player                         Date                            Opponent                               Score

Colin Fields                March 13, 2013           at Middle Tennessee               W 5-0

Eric Spillers                March 28, 1992           at Eastern Illinois                   W 7-0

Eric Spillers                March 6, 1992             vs. Bluffton (perfect game)    W 11-0

John Grippi                 March 24, 1986           at IPFW                                 W 4-0

Jamie Macahon           April 25, 1981            Illinois Chicago Circle              W 6-1

Matt Rhode                 March 30, 1976           at Illinois State                        W 1-0

Tim Juran                    April 18, 1970             Indiana                               W 5-0

Tom Winebrenner       May 16, 1931              Concordia (Fort Wayne)        W 13-1

Position Player Profiles – Projected Lineup Based on Recent Games

• Steven Fitzsimmons, OF, Sr. (Golden Valley, Minn. / Robbinsdale Cooper) – Was a member of the 2019 and 2020 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team… Had a breakout junior season in 2019, playing in 49 of the team’s 50 games and making 45 starts after playing in 16 games and making three starts as a sophomore… Went from a career .195 hitter with one double over his first two seasons to batting .268 with nine doubles as a junior… … Graduated in May 2020 with a 3.96 GPA in political science… Pursuing a master’s in sports administration… Played in 13 games and made 12 starts during the 2020 season… Batted a team-best .308 over the opening series at UAB including a three-hit performance in the Feb. 19 victory. He posted his first game with three or more hits since mid-May 2019 while also scoring a career-high three runs and accounting for half of the team’s hits in the season-opening triumph… Hit a team-best .444 in a three-game series at Alabama State on Feb. 26-27, going 4-for-9 with a .583 on-base percentage… Reached safely in all four games at DBU (April 1-3) to extend his on-base streak to 18, becoming the first Valpo player with such a streak since 2018. The on-base streak ended at 18.
• Kyle Schmack, 1B, Fr. (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) – After graduating from nearby South Central High School in 2019, Kyle joined his father Brian’s program at Valpo… Is the first Valpo student-athlete to play for his or her parent as a head coach since Bryce Drew in 1998… 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… Reached base three times via a hit and two walks in the Feb. 21 series finale at UAB… Went 5-for-12 (.417) in the three-game series at Alabama State on Feb. 26-27… Hit safely in all four games at DBU (April 1-3) to bolster his hitting streak to 12, the program’s longest since 2017. The hitting streak ended at a dozen games.
• Riley Dent, OF, Sr. (Long Beach, Calif. / Wilson) – Was a 2019 All-MVC Honorable Mention recipient… Entered the 2019 season with a .207 career batting average, but had a breakout year that saw him hit .290 as a junior. Moved to the leadoff spot and transitioned to center field for his junior campaign… Tied for the 2019 team lead with 15 multi-hit outputs… Led the team in batting average at .311 while starting all 16 games in 2020 in addition to ranking second on the team with 11 bases on balls and leading the team in both slugging percentage (.410) and on-base percentage (.417)… Graduated in May 2020 with a degree in marketing and is now enrolled in Valpo’s graduate school… Launched his first home run of the season in a March 20, 2021 victory at Western Kentucky, the second dinger of his career. Ironically, both of his career long balls have come at WKU in separate seasons as he launched the first of his career in a 2020 game in Bowling Green, Ky… Had two hits in each game of the March 27 doubleheader at Butler… Had the first four-hit game by a Valpo player this season, establishing a new career high in that area on April 2 at DBU in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Three of the four hits went for extra bases as he doubled twice and launched a home run… Posted a .308 batting average during Valpo’s four-game series at No. 23 Indiana State (April 16-18)…. Had a walk-off single to help Valpo beat SIU 4-3 in Game 2 of an April 23 doubleheader.
• Kaleb Hannahs, 3B, Fr. (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) – In a very unusual and possibly even unprecedented occurrence, both of Valpo’s starting corner infielders are the sons of Missouri Valley Conference head baseball coaches… Hannahs’ father Mitch is the head coach at Indiana State… Civil engineering major… 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… Had a two-hit day in the Saturday game at UAB on Feb. 20, his first two collegiate knocks on a day where freshmen accounted for four of the team’s eight hits… Ripped his first collegiate home run in the second game of a doubleheader at Middle Tennessee on March 13… Led the team with two hits on March 23 at No. 14 Notre Dame… Had a career-high five RBIs in the first game of a doubleheader at Butler on March 27 and finished the day with five hits, three runs scored, three RBIs and three walks over the two games.
• Brady Renfro, 1B/DH, Fr. (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) – Exercise science major… 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… Hit his first career home runs on March 26 at Butler… Joined forces with Parker Johnson to hit back-to-back home runs on April 3 at DBU.
• Matt Olive, Fr., OF (Minneapolis, Minn. / Blake School) – Majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in Spanish and mathematics… Went 5-for-9 in Valpo’s series win vs. SIU (April 23-25).
• Parker Johnson, 2B, Fr. (Golden Valley, Minn.) – Also played varsity ice hockey in high school… Played for the Seattle Mariners Midwest Scout Team (Summer and Fall 2019)… Would rather spend a weekend camping than at a resort… Favorite MLB team is the Twins and favorite TV show is Outer Banks… Had a clutch, two-out hit in the top of the ninth on Feb. 26 at Jacksonville State that tied the game. He picked up the first two hits and RBIs of his young Valpo career in that contest… Had a career-high three hits on March 19 at Western Kentucky… Picked up his second double and fifth RBI of the season on March 23 at No. 14 Notre Dame… Hit back-to-back home runs on April 3 at DBU along with Renfro. That marked his first career home run… Hit a team-best .333 and moved into a tie for the team lead with his third home run of the season during the series at Indiana State (April 16-18)… Drove in four and posted a .462 batting average during Valpo’s series win over SIU (April 23-25).
• Angel DiFederico, C, Fr. (New Haven, Ind. / New Haven) – Projected to share starting catching duties with Kapers… Earned a spot in the 2019 North/South All-Star Game after his senior year at New Haven in Indiana… Had the highest batting average on the team in a limited sample size in 2020, hitting .348 in seven games (six starts)… Drove in four and posted a .455 batting average during Valpo’s series win over SIU (April 23-25).
• Alex Thurston, SS, Fr. (Fowler, Ind. / Benton Central) – Expected to serve as the team’s utility infielder… 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… Started two games during Valpo’s opening weekend at UAB, filling in for the injured Nolan Tucker.

Other Key Position Players

• Jeremy Drudge, OF/DH, Jr. (Plymouth, Ind. / Plymouth) – Spent the 2019 summer playing for the Normal CornBelters of the Prospect League… Came to Valpo as a rookie in 2019 after seeing limited action as a senior in high school due to a torn ACL… Raced go-karts during his youth…Appeared in 12 games and made 10 starts in 2020, collecting six hits including a triple and a home run… Launched his third career home run (one in each of his three seasons) on Opening Day at UAB, a three-run blow that helped Valpo beat the Blazers 6-2 on Feb. 19… Notched a triple on Feb. 27 at Jacksonville State, his second career three-bagger and the first by a Valpo player this season… Combined with Damon Jorgensen to hit back-to-back home runs on March 19 at Western Kentucky, his third home run of the year and the fifth of his Valpo career… Had a two-run triple on March 23 at No. 14 Notre Dame, becoming the first Valpo player to reach a double-figure RBI total this season. In addition, he notched his second triple and team-leading seventh extra-base knock.
• Damon Jorgensen, SS, R-Sr. (Blair, Neb. / Blair [Coffeyville]) – Junior college transfer who started his career at Coffeyville before coming to Valpo for the 2019 season… Hobbies include hunting, snowboarding and wakeboarding… Hit his first home run (and extra-base knock) in a Valpo uniform on March 12, 2019 at Tennessee Tech… Drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded squeeze bunt in the top of the 10^th of Valpo’s 5-3 victory at Western Kentucky on Feb. 17, 2020. That completed the first three-hit day of his Valpo tenure… Started all 14 games in 2020 and ranked second on the team in batting average at .264… Had two hits in the Saturday game at UAB on Feb. 20, his 10^th career multi-hit output… Returned to the lineup and didn’t miss a beat March 12-14 at Middle Tennessee after missing the previous series with an injury. He hit a team-high .375 in the four-game set to go along with a .563 slugging percentage. Launched his first home run of the season and the third of his Valpo career in Game 1 of the doubleheader on March 13… Combined with Jeremy Drudge to hit back-to-back home runs on March 19 at Western Kentucky, his second of the season and the fourth of his collegiate career… Had multiple hits in all three games at Western Kentucky on March 19-21, posting a team-best .500 batting average for the series.
• Jonathan Temple, OF, Sr. (Turlock, Calif. / Turlock [Modesto JC]) – The junior college transfer joined the program for the 2020 season… Attended Oregon State as a freshman…Was named the MVP of the Central California Conference in 2016 after earning first-team all-conference honors in 2015 and second-team all-conference as a sophomore on varsity in 2014… Is from the most agriculturally diverse area in the nation with over 400 commodities grown in the region… Enjoys golfing and snowboarding… Started all 16 games last year during the COVID-19 shortened season and tied for the team lead with three doubles… Broke up a no-hit bid from Indiana State’s Connor Cline in the seventh and final inning of Game 1 of the April 17 doubleheader in Terre Haute. He ended the no-hit bid and shutout in one fell swoop with a pinch-hit, RBI double in the top of the seventh… Hit a walk-off home run to lift Valpo to a 7-6 victory in the April 23 home opener vs. SIU.
• Nolan Tucker, 2B, So. (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central) – Forms an all-local right side of the infield alongside Kyle Schmack… Earned all-conference honors in three high school seasons in baseball and was a two-time conference champion in wrestling… Was the 2019-20 President of Brandt Hall (dorm)… Hobbies include kayaking… Can juggle and walk on his hands… Can drink a bottle of water in 1.5 seconds… Was a three-year class president in high school… Spanked a home run and drove in four in a Feb. 23, 2020 game at No. 3 Louisville. He had three hits while becoming the first Valpo freshman with a four-RBI game since Grant Yoder on April 24, 2012 at Purdue Fort Wayne (then IPFW)… Collected 10 hits and drove in six runs during the 2020 campaign… Played in the Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational on June 4, 2020 on ESPN2 in the first live baseball event since the pandemic.
• Jake Kapers, C, Jr. (Schererville, Ind. / Mount Carmel) – One of three catchers who saw time behind the dish in 2019 in an effort to replace his older brother Scott, who started each of the previous three seasons before leaving a year early to sign with the Texas Rangers after being selected in the 17^th round of the 2018 MLB Draft… Hit .357 over the final four games of the 2019 regular season to lead the team during that stretch… Played in 11 games and made 10 starts in 2020… Caught the Colin Fields no-hitter in Game 1 of a doubleheader on March 13 at Middle Tennessee.
• Alex Ryan, OF/DH, Fr. (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) – Made his first career start at DH in the series finale at UAB… Three-time all-conference pick in high school… Milwaukee Brewers fans… Has a twin sister, Olivia… Hobbies include hiking and playing card games.

Bullpen Bits

• RHP Jon Tieman, R-Sr. (Crystal, Lake, Ill. / Prairie Ridge) – Three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, 2018 All-MVC Honorable Mention selection, 2017 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American… Racked up 78 strikeouts to lead the team in 2019, the most by a Valpo pitcher since 2015… Led the team in strikeouts for three consecutive seasons (2017-2019), becoming the second consecutive Valpo pitcher to do so as Dalton Lundeen led the team in that area from 2014-2016. Before Lundeen, the last pitcher to lead Valpo in strikeouts in three straight years was Shawn Barker from 1988-1990… Has lived in Missouri, Georgia and Illinois… Logged three innings over two appearances during the opening weekend of the season at UAB … Took the defeat on Feb. 26 at Jacksonville State, allowing a run on one hit in 2/3 of an inning… Nailed down the eighth save of his collegiate career and first since his freshman year of 2017 in Game 2 of the March 13 doubleheader at Middle Tennessee. The strikeout that secured a 3-2, extra-inning victory for the Brown & Gold was the 200^th of his career, making him the 11^th member of the program’s 200-strikeout club… Earned the victory with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and struck out five to move into the Top 10 in program history in career strikeouts on March 20 at Western Kentucky… Struck out two in a scoreless bottom of the eighth on March 23 at No. 14 Notre Dame… Climbed to eighth in program history when he struck out five in 2 1/3 innings during the series finale at Indiana State on April 18… Struck out nine over five shutout innings in his first start of the season on April 23 vs. SIU.
• RHP Trent Turzenski (So., Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) – Started the season as Valpo’s Saturday starter… Ranked seventh in the MVC in ERA and 11^th in opponents’ batting average (.236) as a freshman in 2020… Ranked No. 18 on D1Baseball.com’s 2020 list of the Top 50 freshmen pitchers in the nation based on analytics… Had a team-best 2.48 ERA in 2020 over four games out of the bullpen… Struck out 16 against just six walks over 19 innings, sharing the team’s heaviest workload… Struck out 11 while walking just one in six innings on Feb. 28, 2020 at McNeese… Played in the Little League World Series Regional Tournament on ESPN twice, when he was 11 and 12 years old… Took the defeat after allowing two runs on just three hits in four innings in his first outing of the season on Feb. 20 at UAB… Allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out six over five innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Feb. 27 at Jacksonville State… Followed the Fields no-hitter with a strong pitching performance of his own in Game 2 of a the March 13 doubleheader at Middle Tennessee, going seven innings to pick up the victory while allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts… Took the defeat on March 21 at Western Kentucky… Is projected to come out of the bullpen for the first time this season during the April 23-25 series against Southern Illinois.
• LHP Jake Miller, R-Fr. (Chester, N.Y. / Don Bosco Prep) – Was a 2018 Rawlings Perfect Game Preseason All-American… Is just the second Valpo player to hail from the state of New York since 2005, joining Zack Leone… Redshirted last season in his first year on campus.
• RHP Nathan Chasey, Jr. (Ames, Iowa / Gilbert [Indian Hills CC]) – Joined the program for the 2021 season after two years of JUCO baseball… NJCAA Region 11 Honorable Mention in 2019… Enjoys fishing… Favorite MLB team is the Atlanta Braves and player is Chipper Jones… Worked three scoreless innings in relief in the series finale on March 14 at Middle Tennessee, extending his scoreless innings streak to six over his first four appearances of the season… Worked 2 1/3 innings of relief without allowing an earned run in the April 17 game at No. 23 Indiana State.
• RHP Nolan Lebamoff, Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll [Kankakee CC]) – Joined the program for the 2021 season as a JUCO transfer… Majoring in political science… 2019 Second Team All-Region Four NJCAA… 2019 Kankakee CC Pitcher of the Year… Tied for third in the nation in NJCAA D-II in saves in 2019… Finished third on Kankakee’s all-time saves list… Allowed no earned runs on two hits and no walks while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings in two relief appearances at DBU (April 1-3)… Worked two scoreless innings of one-hit ball in relief on April 17 at Indiana State.

Inside the Assistants: Brian Schmack’s staff will have a familiar feel in 2021 as all four coaches return from the 2020 campaign.  

• 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.
• Casey Fletcher is in his third year as an assistant coach. He spent the previous two seasons at Illinois, where he was a volunteer assistant. Prior to joining the Fighting Illini staff, Fletcher played professionally for two seasons with the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League. He enjoyed a prosperous collegiate playing career that featured two seasons as an All-Big Ten honoree at Illinois (2014-2015) and helped Illinois to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history by hitting .326 with 48 runs, three homers and 33 RBIs as a senior. Fletcher was an outfielder in college before moving to catcher in the professional ranks. His father Darrin played in the big leagues from 1989-2002 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays. His grandfather Tom also reached the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 1962 and his great grandfather Glenn spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues.
• A familiar name to Valpo fans took over as the volunteer assistant coach prior to the 2020 season. Sam Shaikin spent the previous four years on the left side of Valpo’s infield while earning a degree in business management from the University in 2019. He clubbed 21 home runs and drove in 106 over 187 career games. Shaikin finished ninth in program history in runs scored with 133, while his home run total ranks tied for ninth. He had a propensity for drawing walks during his playing days, ranking third all-time with 104 bases on balls. Shaikin, who ranks fifth in program history with 392 assists, is the team’s infield coach.