IOWA CITY, IA - The Chicago State baseball team dropped a heartbreaker to Big Ten opponent Iowa in Tuesday's midweek matchup. The Cougars never trailed in the game before Iowa took the lead in the bottom of the 9th to walk it off.
The Cougars wasted no time in taking the lead, as a Daulton Ryans (Mishawaka, Ind., Mishawaka) two RBI single in the top of the 1st gave the Cougars a 2-0 advantage early. Ben Norman trimmed CSU's lead in half in the bottom half of the 1st, when he picked up a RBI single of his own to score Izaya Fullard. The Hawkeyes eventually tied it up in the 2nd inning on a Fullard RBI single.
The game would not stay tied for long, however, as Reggie Brock Jr. (Chicago, Ill., Simeon) led off the 3rd inning with a triple, then Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.) singled him in to take the lead right back. Iowa tied it once more in the 5th before CSU took the lead back in the 8th when Daulton Ryans (Mishawaka, Ind., Mishawaka) picked up his third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly. The Cougars held a one run lead in the bottom of the 9th, but the Hawkeyes managed to plate two and win the game in walk-off fashion.
Edward Kang (Taoyuan, Taiwan, Pingzhen) started on the mound for the Cougars, and delivered a great start that set the Cougars up for success early. He tossed four innings and only allowed two earned runs while striking out one. He was replaced by Dean Youngblood (Melissa, Texas, Melissa) who kept the Cougars in the game by throwing a strong 1.2 innings where he struck out one. The Hawkeyes managed to load the bases in the 6th, but Yunis Halim (Chicago, Ill., Oak Lawn) entered the game and picked up a huge strikeout to keep the game tied. Yunis Halim's day came to a close after 0.1 inning, and he made way to Calvin Peacock (Bartonville, Ill.), who struck out the one man he faced. Calvin Peacock was replaced by sophomore Blake Kaplan, who delivered a performance that was instrumental in keeping the game as close as it was. Blake Kaplan threw two innings and only allowed two hits in addition to striking out two.
Although the Cougar offense came in patches, multiple names were pivotal in providing runs for CSU. Reggie Brock Jr. (Chicago, Ill., Simeon), Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.), and Daulton Ryans (Mishawaka, Ind., Mishawaka) all recorded a multi-hit game. Reggie Brock Jr. also scored three of the Cougar's four runs. Daulton Ryans was a catalyst in the Cougar offense, as he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the loss. Tyler Lowe (Northville, Mich., Northville) was the only other Cougar with a hit, as he picked up an infield single in the 9th.
Next Up
The Cougars will head to Greeley, Colorado this weekend to begin WAC play as they will be taking on Northern Colorado on the road. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday, March 22nd with first pitch time slotted for 2 p.m. CT.
