Cougar Baseball Falls at New Mexico State in WAC Opener

Julian Russell finished 2-for-3 with two RBI in CSU's WAC opener Thursday at New Mexico State

Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Chicago State baseball team opened its Western Athletic Conference schedule here Thursday night as it fell to host New Mexico State by a score of 17-5 in seven innings at Presley Askew Field.

The Green and White took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when sophomore Cody Freund (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) blasted a two-run home run off NMSU starting pitcher Matthew McHugh to right center that also scored redshirt junior Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech). A two-RBI double from Austin Botello highlighted a five-run Aggie rally in the bottom of the first to take a 5-2 advantage.

Sophomore Matt Sullivan (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) led off the top of the second with a double and later moved to third base on a single from senior Chris Hipchen (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) before crossing home plate on a bases-loaded walk from Russell to pull CSU within 5-3. NMSU added five runs in the bottom half of the inning with Trey Stine hitting a triple that scored a pair of runs to increase its leading margin to 10-3.

The home team added four runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the sixth inning to increase its lead to 17-3 before Russell and freshman Cody Grosse (Joliet, Ill./West) each recorded RBI singles for the Cougars in the seventh for the final margin.

Russell batted 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk, while Freund hit 2-for-4 with two RBI. Junior Sanford Hunt (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) also hit 2-for-4 with two doubles for Chicago State (5-14, 0-1). Junior lefty Jake Perkins (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) saw his season record drop to 2-2 after allowing 14 runs on 16 hits in three innings thrown.

Stine paced the Aggies (13-10, 0-1) with a 4-for-4 effort with two doubles and a triple to go along with scoring three runs and five RBI. McHugh posted six strikeouts in five innings of work to capture the win while giving up three runs on six hits.

Both teams return to Askew Field for the second game on Friday night with the first pitch set for 6 p.m., Mountain Time.

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Players Mentioned

#27 Cody Freund: C; 5' 11"; Sophomore; R-R

#19 Chris Hipchen: OF; 6' 2"; Senior; R-R

#25 Sanford Hunt: IF; 6' 0"; Junior; R-R

#31 Jake Perkins: P; 6' 1"; Junior; L-L

#1 Julian Russell: IF; 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior; R-R

#15 Matt Sullivan: IF; 5' 10"; Sophomore; R-R

#10 Cody Grosse: IF/OF; 5' 7"; Freshman; R-L

Players Mentioned

#27 Cody Freund
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; R-R
: C

#19 Chris Hipchen
: 6' 2"; Senior; R-R
: OF

#25 Sanford Hunt
: 6' 0"; Junior; R-R
: IF

#31 Jake Perkins
: 6' 1"; Junior; L-L
: P

#1 Julian Russell
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior; R-R
: IF

#15 Matt Sullivan
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; R-R
: IF

#10 Cody Grosse
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R-L
: IF/OF

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned