The Valparaiso Beacons baseball team is a baseball team that represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Beacons competed in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship five times before 1970. After returning in 2012 for the first time in 44 years, the Beacons' first round game was almost delayed an additional day, because the preceding game was the second-longest in NCAA tournament history.[2] The Beacons game against the Purdue Boilermakers began at approximately 10:40 pm only 20 minutes before a curfew.[3] In their second game of the NCAA tournament, the Crusaders played the Kentucky Wildcats, who lost the marathon game to the Kent State Golden Flashes. The games were played at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana.
| Valparaiso Beacons baseball | |
|---|---|
 2024 Valparaiso Beacons baseball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1916 |
| University | Valparaiso University |
| Head coach | Brian Schmack (11th season) |
| Conference | Missouri Valley |
| Location | Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Home stadium | Emory G. Bauer Field (Capacity: 500) |
| Nickname | Beacons |
| Colors | Brown and gold[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 1958, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 2012, 2013 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| 2012, 2013 | |
| Regular season conference champions | |
| 2012 | |
The 2012 Beacons team tied a school record with 35 wins.[4]
The Beacons are coached by Brian Schmack and play their home games at Emory G. Bauer Field.
Musketeers in the Major Leagues
| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
| Athlete | Years in MLB | MLB Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Hank Olmsted | 1905 | Boston Americans |
| Grover Baichley | 1914 | St. Louis Browns |
| Freddy Spurgeon | 1924-1927 | Cleveland Indians |
| Wally Gilbert | 1932 | Brooklyn Robins, Cincinnati Reds |
| Al Pilarcik | 1956-1961 | Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox |
| Dick Phillips | 1962-1964, 1966 | San Francisco Giants, Washington Senators |
| Lloyd McClendon | 1987-1994 | Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates |
Taken from Baseball Reference.[5] Updated June 28, 2021.