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Sara Marcotte

Baseball Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Chicago State Baseball Slips Past UTRGV in WAC Series Opener, 5-4

Junior Tyler Lowe batted 3-for-4 in helping CSU defeat UT Rio Grande Valley, 5-4, on Friday
Box Score
CHICAGO – The Chicago State baseball team slipped past the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley by a close score of 5-4 on Friday afternoon at Cougar Stadium in the opener of a three-game Western Athletic Conference series.
 
The top of the first saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Elijah Alexander that plated Anthony Gomez. CSU responded with a three-run effort in the bottom part of the inning to gain a 3-1 advantage with seniors Matt Paciello (Wellington, Fla./Park Vista) and Jacob Vanitvelt (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) hitting RBI doubles to highlight the rally.
 
UTRGV sliced its deficit to 3-2 in the top of the second when Conrad McMahon hit an RBI sacrifice fly to center field which brought home Ivan Estrella. The Cougars then hiked the leading margin to 4-2 in their half of the second when senior Cody Freund (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) lined an RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring home fellow senior Brandon Eyring (Mesa, Ariz./Mesa) from third.
 
Lowe opened the eighth inning with a single to center field then moved to second on a bunt single from Vanitvelt and stole third base before scoring on a suicide squeeze via an RBI sacrifice bunt from junior Tyler Zunkel (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) as CSU's lead increased to 5-2.
 
The Vaqueros made the game interesting in the ninth by scoring a pair of runs with Alexander blasting an RBI triple followed by Coleman Grubbs hitting an RBI single to close within a run at 5-4 before junior reliever Yunis Halim (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) coming in and inducing a double play to seal the win for the home team.
 
Lowe led Chicago State offensively by going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and scored a pair of runs. Vanitvelt hit 2-for-3 with a double and Freund also went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
Senior Grant Trower (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons), in his final home collegiate start, earned his first win of the season despite allowing two runs on five hits in six innings throws yet recorded three strikeouts, while Halim recorded his first save in a CSU uniform.
 
Both teams will face off in the second game of the series later this afternoon with an earlier start time of 12 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Brandon Eyring

#10 Brandon Eyring

OF
6' 0"
Senior
R-R
Cody Freund

#9 Cody Freund

C
5' 11"
Senior
L-R
Matt Paciello

#12 Matt Paciello

OF
6' 0"
Senior
R-R
Grant Trower

#24 Grant Trower

P
6' 0"
Senior
L-L
Jacob Vanitvelt

#23 Jacob Vanitvelt

OF
5' 10"
Senior
L-L
Tyler Zunkel

#1 Tyler Zunkel

IF
5' 10"
Junior
R-R
Yunis Halim

#30 Yunis Halim

P
6' 1"
Junior
R-R

Players Mentioned

Brandon Eyring

#10 Brandon Eyring

6' 0"
Senior
R-R
OF
Cody Freund

#9 Cody Freund

5' 11"
Senior
L-R
C
Matt Paciello

#12 Matt Paciello

6' 0"
Senior
R-R
OF
Grant Trower

#24 Grant Trower

6' 0"
Senior
L-L
P
Jacob Vanitvelt

#23 Jacob Vanitvelt

5' 10"
Senior
L-L
OF
Tyler Zunkel

#1 Tyler Zunkel

5' 10"
Junior
R-R
IF
Yunis Halim

#30 Yunis Halim

6' 1"
Junior
R-R
P