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CHICAGO – Baseball returned to the Chicago State University campus on Tuesday (March 18) afternoon as the Cougars hosted Valparaiso in the first ever game at Cougar Stadium. However Chicago State's first home victory will have to wait as the Crusaders earned a 7-1 win over the Cougars.
The Cougars' first hit in the new stadium came off the bat of junior
Chase Matheson (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) in the form of a leadoff ground rule double to left field in the second inning. Matheson was stranded there after three consecutive outs.
Valparaiso turned a 0-0 game into a 3-0 score with a three spot in the top of the third. The Crusaders earned three hits but also benefited from two CSU errors in the frame. Single runs in the fourth and fifth helped expand the Cougars' deficit to five runs.
Ellis Foreman entered on the mound for the Crusaders in the third inning and allowed just one hit to the Cougars through the 3-7 innings. Valparaiso scored two more in the top of the eighth to make the score 7-0. Chicago State got to Foreman in the bottom of the eighth for a run. Junior Matthew Schmidt singled to start the inning. He was on third with two outs when sophomore
Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) beat out a grounder to third. His infield hit gave Schmidt the first ever Cougar run scored at Cougar Stadium and earned Russell the stadium's first RBI.
Foreman picked up the win for Valparaiso. He allowed three hits, one run and no walks over six innings. Chicago State starter
Dane Mehring (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) allowed nine hits, five runs (two earned) and one walk over 5.0 innings. He is 0-3 on the season.
The Cougars fall to 6-8 with the loss. Valparaiso moves over .500 at 8-7. Chicago State returns to the field on Wednesday (March 19) in a home game with UIC. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
