VALPARAISO, Ind. – Valparaiso first baseman Brady Renfro hit a two-run home run with two out in the 12th inning Friday to give the Beacons a 7-6 victory over Missouri State in game one of the Missouri Valley Conference series at Emory G. Bauer Field.
Renfro’s game-winner came after Cody Kelly launched a go-ahead bomb in the top of the 12th to make it 6-5 Bears, which came after quiet three innings for both offenses.
In fact, neither team got much going early either, with a Valpo (15-21, 4-9) solo home run in the fifth the first tally for either side.
VU’s lead lasted all of two pitches as Caden Bogenpohl led off the sixth with his 14th long ball of the season, making him the first Bear since Brayden Drake in 2009 to homer in five consecutive games.
Curry Sutherland and Logan Chambers added two-out RBI singles in that inning, and Tyler Epstein scored on a wild pitch in the seventh for a 4-1 MoState (15-21, 4-9) lead.
Brandt Thompson struck out a season-high eight and allowed four hits through 6.1 innings before exiting with the bases loaded in the seventh during a Valpo rally that resulted two runs scoring on a two-out single followed by an error for a 4-3 score.
Chambers opened eighth with a double and scored on a Bogenpohl sac fly for a 5-3 advantage, and the Beacons countered with two solo homers in the eighth that eventually forced extras.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
