Name something you love to see on the baseball diamond, and chances are it happened on Friday in Charleston, S.C.

From a pitcher flirting with a perfect game to a squeeze bunt to back-to-back home runs to defensive web gems to late drama and clutch hits, it was all part of an entertaining doubleheader sweep of The Citadel for the Valparaiso University baseball team, which prevailed 3-2 in the opener before pulling out a 10-5, 10-inning win in a nightcap that went haywire late after starting with Adam Guazzo (Huntley, Ill. / Huntley) retiring the first 16 Bulldogs. Liam Patton’s (Barrington, Ill. / Warsaw [Wabash]) 10^th-inning bases-clearing double, Alex Thurston’s game-tying squeeze bunt in the ninth and a Carson Husmann (Hanna, Ind. / South Central [Bradley]) home run in each game were a few of the many highlights of an entertaining day in The Holy City.

How It Happened – Game 1

• The two starting pitchers exchanged zeros over the game’s first three innings. Valpo threatened but did not score in the third, leaving two in scoring position after a two-out double by Kevin Denty (Tinley Park, Ill. / Marian Catholic).
• Over those first three frames, The Citadel’s best chance came in the third, but a strikeout by Valpo starter Connor Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) snuffed out the threat.
• The first scoring of the game came in the top of the fourth, when Husmann drilled a solo shot to right to put the Beacons on the board first. Thurston added an RBI single, then Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) tripled off the wall in deep center to bring home another run and make it 3-0.
• In the top of the sixth, Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) ripped one off the scoreboard in deep left, but the scoreboard is considered in play as opposed to a home run based on the ground rules at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Field. Ryan was stranded at third in that inning.
• Lockwood left after five shutout innings in which the right-hander yielded four hits and three walks while striking out three.
• The Citadel hit three Valpo batters in the top of the seventh, but the Beacons left the bases loaded.
• The Bulldogs scored twice in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2, but Trent Turzenski (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) got out of the inning with a strikeout to keep the edge intact.  
• In the bottom of the eighth, the Bulldogs threatened with runners at second and third, but Joe Seiber (Homer Glen, Ill. / Lockport [College of DuPage]) worked out of the inning with Valpo still holding the razor-thin advantage. The inning started with a sprawling catch in left by Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) to take away an extra-base hit that would have eventually led to The Citadel tying or taking the lead in that frame.  
• Valpo threatened but did not score in the top of the ninth, then Seiber sent down three of the four men he faced in the bottom of the inning to close out the Valpo victory.

Inside the Game – Game 1

• The triple by Hannahs was the second of his career and the first since the now senior’s freshman campaign on May 21, 2021 at Missouri State.
• Denty’s double represented the fourth of his freshman season.
• Husmann’s home run was his first in a Valpo uniform and the 21^st of his collegiate career including four seasons at Bradley.
• Lockwood earned the win to garner his first victory of the season and the third of his collegiate career. Seiber’s save was his first in a Valpo uniform.
• Hannahs, Denty and Connor Giusti (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Fremd [Wisconsin Oshkosh]) reached base three times apiece, while Husmann was on base four times, walking twice and getting hit by a pitch in addition to the round tripper.  

How It Happened – Game 2

• After Guazzo started the day by sending down the side in order in the opening inning including a pair of strikeouts, Valpo struck first in the top of the second. Thurston poked a ground-rule double, followed by a Hannahs sac fly to make it 1-0 Beacons.
• The Brown & Gold drilled back-to-back jacks in the third, first a two-run shot by Giusti that traveled 387 feet with an exit velocity of 105, then Husmann hit one 400 feet to dead center to increase the lead to 4-0.
• Guazzo sent down the first 16 batters he faced, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning. With one away in the sixth, The Citadel picked up its first hit and produced two runs in the inning (one earned) to cut the lead to two at 4-2.
• Guazzo left after six, with his final line featuring two runs (one earned) on two hits and no walks while striking out six.
• Valpo carried a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Bulldogs scored three times including twice with two outs to take a 5-4 lead.
• Pinch hitter Chase Maifield (Fox Lake, Ill. / Grant [Augustana]) started the bottom of the ninth with a double and eventually came around to score the tying run as Thurston laid down a squeeze.
• The game went to extra innings after Jake Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill. / Huntley [Heartland]) worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to keep it deadlocked at five.
• In the top of the 10^th, Patton unloaded a bases-clearing double to put Valpo ahead 8-5, and later Thurston added a two-run single to make it 10-5.
• Jakubowski stayed on to record the final three outs in succession in the last of the 10^th. He was the winning pitcher.

Inside the Game – Game 2

• Humann’s second home run of the day was the 22^nd of his collegiate career.
• Giusti’s dinger was his second at Valpo and the 12^th of his collegiate career.
• Thurston enjoyed a 4-for-4 performance, while Schmack had three hits and three other Beacons posted multi-hit efforts. Thurston totaled five hits during the doubleheader, while Husmann had three hits, five walks, two home runs, three runs scored and a hit by pitch, reaching base nine times over the two games.
• In the nightcap, Valpo collected a season-high 18 hits, the team’s highest total since May 1, 2021 vs. Illinois State and the team’s highest hit total in a road game since May 8, 2018 at Western Michigan.
• Valpo improved to 4-0 in doubleheader games this season after previously sweeping Alabama State on Feb. 17 in Montgomery.
• The Beacons played bonus baseball for the first time this season, the team’s first extra-inning game since April 28 of last season at Missouri State.
• The 10 runs marked the team’s highest output of the season.
• Valpo’s last four games have either been one-run affairs or to gone extra innings.

Up Next

Valpo (6-7) and The Citadel will close out the series on Sunday at noon CT on ESPN+. Links to live coverage can be found on ValpoAthletics.com.