Horizon League Baseball Championship – Day 1
(4) Valparaiso 8, (5) Youngstown State 0
(3) Milwaukee 15, (6) Oakland 11
WHITING, Ind. – The opening day of the Horizon League Baseball Championship brought two contrasting games to Oil City Stadium. Pitching dominated for Valparaiso in the tournament opener ahead of an offensive explosion in the nightcap.
Game 1: (4) Valparaiso 8, (5) Youngstown State 0
Dalton Lundeen’s complete game carried Valparaiso past Youngstown State, 8-0, and into the double-elimination portion of the Horizon League Baseball Championship.
Valparaiso (22-29) moved into a matchup with No. 1 UIC at 12pm ET on Thursday.
Lundeen struck out seven while scattering seven hits, improving to 5-7 on the year; the left-hander limited Youngstown State (16-34) to an 0-for-8 effort with runners in scoring position as the Penguins only put one runner on third base all game.
Valparaiso got on the board in the second on Kyle Schneider’s two-out single to left, plating Daniel Delaney, who had led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice.
In the third, Spencer Mahoney took the second pitch of the inning to right-center field and cleared the fence, his third of the season.
Leading 2-0, the Crusaders tacked on another run in the fourth. Schneider singled to left with two outs and Mark Johnson followed with a fly ball to the left-center gap. The shot eluded Frank Califano’s outstretched glove, falling for a double and plating Schneider.
With Lundeen cruising, Valparaiso put the game out of reach with crooked numbers in the sixth and eighth. Jeff Edwards crushed a Josh North offering off the brick wall in left to drive in Mahoney and Chad Jacob in the sixth to push the lead to 5-0.
Delaney completed a 4-for-5 effort in the eighth with a single to right and would come around to score on Jacob’s two-run single.
Joe King took the loss for Youngstown State, the defending League champions.
Game 2: (3) Milwaukee 15, (6) Oakland 11
After an hour-long rain delay that saw sleet falling at times, both Milwaukee and Oakland’s offenses heated up, combining for 26 runs and 32 hits in Milwaukee’s 15-11 victory.
With the win, Milwaukee (36-18) advanced to meet No. 2 seed Wright State at 4pm ET on Thursday.
Oakland struck quickly in the top of the first. Mike Brosseau worked a five-pitch walk before working his way around to third on a sacrifice and a ground out. Zack Sterry would muscle a Pavlovich offering to center to bring Brosseau home.
Immediately after, Ian Yetsko followed with a drive to center that got up into the wind, which was steadily blowing to center. Milwaukee’s Luke Meeteer went back to the 403-foot sign, but could not make the catch as Yetsko came home on the double, staking Oakland to an early 2-0 lead.
Milwaukee, however, responded in resounding fashion, plating six in its half of the inning. Six straight Panthers reached after Aaron Dehn struck out the first batter of the bottom half.
With the bases loaded, Mike Porcaro’s single to center tied the game at two, and following a walk to Dalton Varsho, Tell Taylor followed in like fashion, as his single to center plated Porcaro and Mitch Ghelfi.
A wild pitch would allow Varsho to score the Panthers’ fifth run, and Ryan McShane’s sacrifice fly brought Taylor home and rounded out the scoring.
Milwaukee extended its lead in the second, as Sam Koening launched his 15th homer of the season with a towering shot to left.
Oakland would add a run on a groundout in its half of the third before the Panthers responded with two more in the bottom half on a Meeteer double and a wild pitch.
The offensive fireworks would continue into the fourth as Oakland plated three to climb back into the game, 9-6. With two on, Tyler Janish lofted a double to the right field corner, bringing Tyler Pagano across the dish. Ben Hart would come home on a sacrifice fly ahead of Trent Drumheller’s drag bunt up the first base line which drove in Janish.
After the teams traded scoreless frames, the Panthers would extend the lead in the fifth. An infield single by Derek Peake brought Ryan McShane home. After a walk to Sam Koenig, Ghelfi greeted new Oakland pitcher Chris Van Dyke with a single through the left side, plating two. A Porcaro ground out drove in Koenig and closed the inning for Milwaukee after a four-run outburst.
The Panthers would build a 15-6 advantage before Oakland struck back in the seventh. Tyler Pagano’s first career home run came at an opportune time, as he cleared the left-field wall to cap a three-run shot and spark the Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland subsequently loaded the bases, chasing Joe Pavlovich after six-plus innings of work. Justin Jaquish entered and allowed one of the inherited runners to score but stemmed the bleeding with Milwaukee in front, 15-10.
Still, Oakland kept battling. Tyler Janish opened the ninth with a double down the left field line and Mike Brosseau followed with a single to close the gap to four.
After a strikeout, Robby Enslen’s single put runners at first and second. After Milwaukee got the second out on a fly out, Enslen was caught stealing to end the game and Oakland’s season.
