Slow Start Dooms Chicago State Baseball At Grand Canyon

Dane Mehring pitched well in relief for the Cougars.

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PHOENIX, Ariz. - A six-run first inning by Grand Canyon ended up being too much of an obstacle to overcome for Chicago State baseball in their 12-6 loss to the Antelopes in a Western Athletic Conference contest on Saturday (March 29) afternoon.

The Cougars trailed 7-0 before scoring five straight runs and making a game of it. Freshman Sanford Hunt (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) singled in junior Mattingly Romanin (Burlington, ONT/Notre Dame) in the fourth to make the score 7-1. The next inning it was Romanin singling in junior Jared Patterson (Ventura, Calif./Buena) to make the score 7-2. However the following frame, the sixth, was the one that made it a game again. Senior Nathan Poff (Sellersburg, Ind./New Albany) doubled to score freshman Evan Regez (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher). Sophomore Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) followed with a sacrifice fly to score Hunt, making the score 7-4. Poff sat at third with two outs before Patterson doubled to score Poff and make the tally 7-5.

It would be as close as the Cougars would get. Grand Canyon scored a single run in the seventh and then four in the eighth to make the score 12-5. A two-out pinch hit solo home run by CSU freshman Stefan Panayiotou (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro) in the ninth inning made the final 12-6. The solo shot was Panayiotou's first career home run.

Junior Ean McNeal (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) took the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) over two thirds of an inning. Andrew Naderer picked up the win for Grand Canyon. He allowed five runs on 10 hits over 7.1 innings.

Offensively, Hunt led the Cougars with four hits, a run scored and an RBI. Patterson scored a run, notched an RBI on two hits. Junior Dane Mehring (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) allowed just one unearned run over 3.1 innings of relief for the Cougars.

"It wasn't one of our best efforts today," Chicago State head coach Steve Joslyn said. "We made too many mistakes early with errors and missed plays. Dane came in and pitched well and it was nice to see Stefan pick up his first home run, but just too many mistakes. We'll come back tomorrow and try to get a win."

The Cougars fall to 9-12 (0-2 WAC). The 'Lopes improve to 13-11 (4-1 WAC). The two clubs will close their three-game series on Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. CT first pitch.

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