Cougars Earn 12 Walks But Fall 7-3 To Utah Valley

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CHICAGO – Chicago State baseball dropped a 7-3 decision to Utah Valley on Sunday (April 6) afternoon at Cougar Stadium. The Cougars earned a season-high 12 walks in addition to a hit by pitch and six hits, however, getting them home was the challenge of the day. Chicago State tied a season-high with 14 runners left on base.
 
Chicago State starter Ean McNeal (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) allowed three hits and two runs in the first inning. However after the first frame he settled down. Utah Valley recorded just one hit, a solo home run by Greyson Bogden in the fourth, in the following four innings. 
 
Bogden's home run gave Utah Valley the lead again at 3-2 after the Cougars knotted it at two. CSU's first run came in the first inning on an RBI single by junior Chase Matheson (McHenry, Ill./McHenry). Chicago State's second tally came in the third on a two-out RBI single by junior Mattingly Romanin (Burlington, ONT/Notre Dame) to score junior Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech). The Cougars answered Bogden's home run with a single run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. It came on a bases loaded walk by junior Jared Patterson (Ventura, Calif./Buena) to force Romanin home.
 
The game was tied at three entering the sixth, but two Utah Valley runs in the sixth and one each in the eighth and ninth opened the contest up. The Cougars left runners on base in seven of the nine innings.
 
"When it comes to leaving guys on base you just have to keep grinding," Chicago State head coach Steve Joslyn said. "That's the only way I know how to say it. If you keep battling and getting guys on we will get those big innings. You just have to keep grinding."
 
Patterson, Matheson and Romanin each worked three walks apiece. Matheson also added two hits and an RBI.
 
McNeal suffered the loss for Chicago State. He is now 2-3. He gave up five runs with three strikeouts over five innings. Utah Valley reliever Devin Nelson picked up the win to move his mark to 3-4. He didn't allow a run in four innings of work.
 
Utah Valley improves to 13-18 (6-3 Western Athletic Conference). The Cougars fall to 9-17 (0-6 WAC). Chicago State steps out of conference play on Tuesday (April 8) when Notre Dame comes to CSU's campus for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.