VALPARAISO, Ind. – Chicago State baseball opened the month of April with a doubleheader defeat at Valparaiso today by scores of 26-5 and 13-3 at VU's Emory G. Bauer Field. The Crusaders improved to 7-16 with the wins, while the Cougars fell to 1-15 on the year.
The visitors opened the game with a 3-0 lead in the top of the first behind an two-RBI ground-rule double from sophomore William Hill (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard South) (Wheaton, Ill.) along with run-scoring singles from junior Billy Les (Oak Lawn, IL/South Suburban College) (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and senior Patrick Hernandez (Romeoville, IL/Triton CC) (Romeoville, Ill.). Valpo gained two runs in the bottom half of the first thanks to a two-run homer from junior Justin Frane to slice its deficit to 3-2.
The Crusaders tied the game at 4-3 in the third inning after sophomore Kyle Gaedele drove home senior Kyle Muhlensteff with an RBI double to left center, while Andrew Bain posted a two-run double through the left side to increase the home team's leading margin to 5-3 after the fourth inning.
Valpo posted 21 runs in the fifth inning that included a grand slam from Robbie Robinson and a two-RBI single by David Klein to hike its advantage 26-3, but the Cougars scored twice in the sixth on a two-run double from junior Miguel Camacho (Chicago, IL/Oakton CC) (Chicago, Ill.) for the final margin.
Redshirt junior Albert Carpen (Whiting, IN/Clark) (Whiting, Ind.) and freshman Christian Prince (Hudsonville, MI/Hudsonville) (Hudsonville, Mich.) each recorded two hits to lead Chicago State at the plate. Senior Austin McDowell (Coal City, IL/Olney Central College) (Coal City, Ill.) saw his pitching record fall to 0-5 after allowing 13 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Muhlsteff and Cribbs paced Valpo with four runs scored and three hits apiece, while Damon McCormick (3-0) recorded four strikeouts in seven innings to earn the win in addition to allowing five runs on nine hits.
The home team started the second game with a 2-0 advantage in the first inning with an RBI triple by Frane, who later crossed home plate on a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Heinkel.
CSU sliced its deficit to 2-1 in the top of the third after McDowell lined an RBI single to right field that plated Albert Carpen (Whiting, IN/Clark), who tripled to open the inning, but two more runs crossed the plate for Valpo in the bottom of the third as its leading margin grew to 4-1.
McDowell hit his first home run in a Cougar uniform in the top of the fifth with a two-run shot to right field that also scored junior Michael Carpen (Whiting, IN/Clark) (Whiting, Ind.) that brought the Cougars to within a run at 4-3. The Crusaders added five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 9-3, highlighted by Muhlensteff's two-run homer and a two-RBI single from Klein.
RBI doubles from McCormick and Frane helped Valpo hike its advantage to 11-3 in the sixth inning. Mulhsteff and Thibault each recorded RBI singles in the seventh inning for the final margin.
McDowell finished the game hitting 3-of-4 with three RBI, while Prince hit a perfect 3-of-3 at the plate for CSU. Albert Carpen (Whiting, IN/Clark) also went 2-of-3 and scored a run in the contest, and sophomore pitcher James Tucker (Gary, IN/Calumet) (Gary, Ind.) took the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in four innings thrown.
Valpo was led offensively by Frane, who went 4-of-4 with three triples, three runs scored, a double and three RBI. Junior Jon Gulbransen captured the win for the Crusaders after recording seven strikeouts to go along with giving up three runs on three hits in seven innings pitched.
Both teams close out the series tomorrow afternoon at Bauer Field with a start time of 12 noon.
~CSU~
