Chicago State Baseball Closes 2014 With A Pair of Losses At NMSU

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game One PDF Box Score / Game One HTML Box Score
Game Two PDF Box Score / Game Two HTML Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Chicago State baseball saw the 2014 season come to an end on Saturday (May 17) as the Cougars were swept in a doubleheader at New Mexico State 8-2 and 22-15. The first contest of the day was a Western Athletic Conference game while the second was a non-conference seven-inning game.
 
Game One: New Mexico State 8, Chicago State 2
The Cougars led 2-0 before a seven-run sixth inning gave the Aggies all the runs they would need. NMSU added one more in the seventh to make the final 8-2.
 
Junior Jordan Stroschein (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) had an RBI in the first inning and junior Robert Swenson (Mason City, Iowa/Mason City) added one in the third to account for the Cougars' only two runs of the game.
 
NMSU had already taken a 4-2 lead in the sixth when Michael Paulson ended the Cougars' hopes with one swing. He took the first pitch he saw to center field for a bases clearing three-run double. His hit made the score 7-2.
 
Junior Eric Hall (Oakville, ONT/Oakville Trafalgar) took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings. Hall finishes 2014 with a 4-5 record.
 
"Eric pitched well," Chicago State head coach Steve Joslyn said. "He was cruising until the sixth and did some good things today."
 
Robert Kraft picked up the win in relief for NMSU. His record is 4-4.
 
Game Two: New Mexico State 22, Chicago State 15
Saturday's game two was wild. The Cougars scored five runs in the first inning only to see NMSU score seven in their half of the first. Chicago State held leads of 5-0, 8-7, 13-9, 15-9 and 15-10 before NMSU scored six runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take the contest 22-15.
 
Chicago State finished with 20 hits in the game, their most since recording 22 on April 20, 2012 at NYIT. That contest was a 12-inning game. Chicago State's 15 runs are the most since the Cougars scored 17 a day later, in a 17-13 victory over NYIT on April 21, 2012.
 
Junior Jordan Stroschein (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) finished with four hits and two runs scored. Sophomore Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) also had four hits along with four runs scored. Freshman Stefan Panayiotou (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro) recorded a career-best four RBI and three hits. Each of the Cougars' nine starters recorded a hit.
 
Junior Matt Schmidt (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) took the loss on the mound for the Cougars. His record is 0-1 after allowing seven runs over 2.1 innings. Matt Moriarty improved his record to 1-0. He allowed just one hit and no runs over the final 3.0 innings.
 
Chicago State hitters earned just one walk in game two while CSU pitchers dished out 16 walks.
 
"What you saw in the second game was two teams completely out of pitching," Joslyn said. "That's what it boils down to. But the good thing is we came out here and took 2-of-3 conference games over a team that was in the regional just a few years ago."
 
The Cougars finish the 2014 season 17-36 (5-19 WAC). New Mexico State finishes the regular season 21-29 (11-13 WAC). Chicago State's 17 wins is their most since 2000.