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Darren Eyring
Senior Jacob Vanitvelt batted 4-for-5 with three RBIs and had the game-winning hit in CSU's 8-7 win over Northwestern
7
Northwestern NU 7-12
8
Winner Chicago State CSU 5-16
Northwestern NU
7-12
7
Final
8
Chicago State CSU
5-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwestern NU 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 7 9 1
Chicago State CSU 1 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 8 12 3

W: Dyer, Drew (2-0) L: Reimer, JR (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Vanitvelt Nearly Hits for Cycle as Cougars Defeat Northwestern in Home Opener

CHICAGO – Senior Jacob Vanitvelt (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) nearly hit for the cycle as the Chicago State baseball team captured a thrilling 8-7 victory over Northwestern in its home opener today at Cougar Stadium.
 
Vanitvelt posted his best hitting effort of the season as he posted a career-best four hits in five at-bats to go along with three RBIs and scored two runs. He also produced two singles, including the game-winning hit, a double and a triple.
 
CSU snapped a 15-game losing streak with the win to improve its season record to 5-16, while Northwestern dropped to 7-12 on the year.
 
The Wildcats posted an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run home run from Jack Claeys before senior Cody Freund (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) blasted a solo homer, his second on the season, in the bottom half to pull CSU within 2-1.
 
Alex Erro lined a three-run homer to left center off CSU starter Dean Youngblood (Melissa, Texas/Melissa) in the second inning increased the visitors' advantage to 5-1.
 
A three-run rally in the third inning helped the Green and White to slice their deficit at 5-4. The rally began with junior Tyler Lowe (Northville, Mich./Northville) bringing home freshman Reggie Brock, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) with an RBI infield groundout. Vanitvelt then lined an RBI triple on the next play to right center that brought home Freund from second before crossing home plate on a passed ball.
 
NU hiked its lead to 6-4 in the top of the fifth on Leo Kaplan's RBI double to left center, but the Cougars tallied three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to claim their first lead at 7-6. Senior Matt Paciello (Wellington, Fla./Park Vista) drew a leadoff walk before stealing home three plays later before Vanitvelt hit an RBI double to score Lowe from second. Junior Matt Cox (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) followed that by lining an RBI single up the middle to plate Vanitvelt.
 
The game was tied at 7-7 in the sixth inning as Northwestern received an RBI fielder's choice from Claeys which brought home Jake Kelly, who led off the inning with a single.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Freund opened with a single to center field and moved to second base on a passed ball before scoring the game-winning run on Vanitvelt's RBI single up the middle.
 
Cox batted 3-for-4 with an RBI followed by Freund hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored three runs. Senior Robert Gutierrez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) improved his season record to 2-0 after producing four strikeouts and allowing only three hits through four scoreless relief innings for CSU.
 
The Cougars host Seattle in a three-game Western Athletic Conference series this Easter weekend which begins on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m.
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