Redshirt freshman Adam Brauch (Waukee, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) launched a home run in each game, but the Valparaiso University baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field, falling 15-8 in Game 1 before incurring an 11-8 setback in the nightcap. The day featured no shortage of offense as the two teams combined for 57 hits over the two games.

How It Happened – Game 1

• Indiana State used a pair of crooked numbers to race out to an 8-0 lead in Game 1. The Sycamores scored three in the top of the first before putting up a five spot in the fourth.
• Valpo got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Brauch belted a two-run homer. Later in the frame, the Beacons added a run as Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) ripped a run-scoring double.
• Valpo moved a step closer in the fifth on a Nolan Tucker (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central) RBI single that reduced the lead to four at 8-4.
• Indiana State scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth to increase the lead back to six at 10-4, but then the Beacons responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning as Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) and Brady Renfro (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) each notched run-scoring singles to make it 10-6.
• The Sycamores poured on two in the seventh and three in the ninth. They posted crooked numbers in five different innings. Hannahs rapped a two-run double to left in the bottom of the ninth to make it 15-8, but that stood as the game’s final score.

Inside the Game – Game 1

• Valpo starter Jake Miller (Chester, N.Y. / Don Bosco Prep) was charged with eight runs (seven earned) in 3 1/3 innings while walking two and striking out three. Josh Cottrill (Pewaukee, Wis. / Pewaukee) yielded no earned runs (two total runs) over his 2 1/3 innings of two-hit, one-walk relief. Cooper Avery (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley [Nova Southeastern]) made his Valpo debut and was not charged with any runs in 2/3 of an inning.
• Valpo produced 15 hits, the team’s second-highest total of the season behind 16 against St. Bonaventure. However, Valpo allowed 19 hits, the most the team has permitted since March 27 of last season against Butler.
• Hannahs accrued four hits, becoming the second Beacon with a four-hit game this season (Tucker vs. St. Bonaventure). This marked the second four-hit game of Hannahs’ career, tying a career high set on May 1 of last season vs. Illinois State.
• Thurston had his fourth three-hit game of the year and his ninth multi-hit output. Hannahs moved into a tie for the team lead with 11 multi-hit contests.
• Ryan and Renfro had two hits apiece.
• Brauch’s homer in Game 1 was the second of his collegiate career.

How It Happened – Game 2

• Valpo struck first on a run-scoring single by Hannahs in the bottom of the first, then Brauch blasted his second long ball of the day, a three-run job to left to lift the lead to four and complete a four-run first inning.
• Valpo starting pitcher Griffin McCluskey (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community), who made his first career weekend start, worked out of a jam in the first before sending down the Sycamores in succession in the second, third and fourth frames. The Valpo righty retired 11 straight Sycamores.
• Valpo added an unearned run in the fourth to expand the lead to 5-0, but McCluskey’s streak ended as the leadoff batter of the fifth smoked a home run to get Indiana State on the board. The Sycamores plated one more in the fifth to trim the lead to 5-2.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Renfro ripped a run-scoring single to make it 6-2.
• The game turned on its head in the top of the sixth inning, when Indiana State scored seven times to go ahead 9-6. The Sycamores added one in the top of the seventh before Brauch continued his big day with a run-scoring double to left center as part of a two-run Valpo seventh to claw the hosts back to within 10-8.
• Indiana State added one in the top of the eighth, and that was the extent of the day’s scoring.

Inside the Game – Game 2

• Brauch’s homer in Game 2 was the third of his collegiate career.
• Brauch went 2-for-3 in the nightcap with a pair of extra-base knocks, recording his seventh multi-hit output of the season. He became just the second Valpo player with a four-RBI game this season, joining Thurston.
• Renfro paced the team with three hits in the nightcap, his second three-hit game of the year, tying a personal best. Renfro totaled five hits in the doubleheader.
• McCluskey’s final line featured four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one in 5 1/3 innings. Grant Jablonski (0-2) took the loss in relief. 

Up Next

Valpo (11-16, 0-3 MVC) is slated to visit Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.