DEKALB, Ill. – Chicago State baseball team suffered its seventh consecutive loss Wednesday afternoon after it dropped a 16-2 decision to host Northern Illinois at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Ill. The Huskies improved to 13-21 on the year, while the Cougars saw their season record fall to 3-32.
The home team opened the scoring in the first inning with a 3-0 lead that started with an RBI fielder's choice by junior Jordin Hood that scored freshman Alex Jones from third base. Junior Nick Morreale followed that on the next play with a two-run double off CSU starting pitcher James Tucker (Gary, IN/Calumet) (Gary, ind.) to center field which brought home Hood and junior Dave Reynolds.
CSU responded in the fourth inning with a pair of runs with two outs to slice its deficit to 3-2. Redshirt freshman Albert Carpen (Whiting, IN/Clark) (Whiting, Ind.) began the rally with a walk and advanced to third on freshman Kasey Lewandowski (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King HS)'s (Milwaukee, Wis.) single before scoring on a wild pitch by NIU starter Zach Badgley. Lewandowski crossed home plate on the next play via an RBI single by senior Jeremy Perez (Chicago, IL/Univ. of Dubuque) (Chicago, Ill.) to right field.
In the fifth inning, the Huskies exploded for five runs to capture an 8-2 advantage. The highlights of the inning were a two-run single by Jones and an RBI single from senior Nick Badgley. An RBI sacrifice fly by Morreale and a run-scoring single from Jones increased the leading margin to 10-2 after the sixth inning.
Sophomore Joe Etcheverry blasted a solo home run in the seventh inning to give NIU an 11-2 leading margin. Five additional runs crossed the plate for the home team in the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run single from freshman Troy White, closed the scoring.
Jones paced NIU on the offensive end by hitting 4-of-6 with a double and three RBI. Nick Badgley posted a 3-of-5 day at the plate with a pair of runs driven in. Zach Badgley (1-0) earned the win for the Huskies after giving up two runs on six hits while walking four and striking out three in five innings pitched.
McDowell went 2-for-3 with a triple to lead CSU's offensive unit. Tucker (1-9) took the loss when he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits in four and one-third innings of work in addition to four walks and two strikeouts.
The Cougars return to action on Sunday as they will battle Robert Morris College (Ill.) at Standard One Ballpark in Crestwood, Ill., home of the Frontier League's Windy City Thunderbolts, with the first pitch set for 6:15 p.m.
~CSU~
