The Valparaiso University baseball team incurred a 6-1 setback to Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite DBU in Thursday’s conference opener at Horner Ballpark in Dallas. Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) reached base three times, while Riley Dent (Long Beach, Calif. / Wilson) had two hits and drove in the Valpo run.
How It Happened
- Valpo starting pitcher Easton Rhodehouse (Gilbert, Ariz. / Highland) struck out a pair as part of a 1-2-3 opening inning, but DBU pushed across three runs on four hits in the last of the second to grab a 3-0 lead.
- Ryan Mintz (Lombard, Ill. / Willowbrook) took over on the mound for Valpo in the third and did quality work, putting up zeros in both the third and fourth before using a double play and a strikeout to face the minimum in the fifth, his third consecutive scoreless frame.
- The Brown & Gold got on the board in the top of the fifth as Dentplaced a double down the left-field line to cut the DBU lead to 3-1. The two-bagger put the potential tying run in scoring position with only one away, but the Patriots escaped the inning without further damage.
- Mintz was touched for a run in the sixth before departing after 3 2/3 innings of one-run, five-hit ball. He walked just one and struck out three in a solid relief outing.
- Valpo righty Nathan Chasey (Ames, Iowa / Gilbert [Indian Hills CC]) came on to get the final out of the sixth, then heaved a scoreless seventh. He fanned a pair and walked one while yielding no hits.
- DBU added two runs in the bottom of the eighth to account for the final score.
Inside the Game
- Schmack base three times – twice via being hit a pitch before his seventh-inning single extended his hitting streak to nine games. Schmack became the first Valpo player to be hit by a pitch twice in a single game since Brent Jones on April 16, 2019 vs. Western Michigan.
- Dent notched a pair of hits, his fifth multi-hit output of the year.
- Dent’s double represented his team-leading fourth, while he lifted his season RBI total to nine, second on the club. The two-base hit by Dent was the team’s lone extra-base knock of the evening.
- Chasey worked shutout ball for the seventh time in his 10 outings this season, while Mintz did his best work of his last four appearances.
Up Next
Valpo (5-13, 0-1) and DBU (15-7, 1-0) will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. at Horner Ballpark. Links to live video, audio and stats courtesy of DBU Athletics can be found on ValpoAthletics.com.
