Box Score GREELEY, CO - The Chicago State Cougars split a Sunday double header with the Northern Colorado Bears in the first weekend of WAC play. The Cougars finish with a 1-2 record on the weekend, and now have a 6-14 record on the season.
Game One - CSU 9, UNC 15
The Cougars dropped game two of the series despite taking a commanding 4-0 lead early. The Green and White held four run leads at two different points in the game, only for the Bears to put up two comeback efforts that eventually led them to the win.
The Cougars scored four runs in the 2nd inning, with the first two runs of the game coming from bases loaded walks. Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.) added two more runs on a single to right field that scored Zack Stockton (Stockton, Calif., Tokay) and Matt Cox (Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf). CSU held the four run lead until the 4th inning, when the Bears plated five men to take a 5-4 lead. The Cougars used the 5th and 6th innings to eventually score a combined five runs and take a 9-5 lead.
The Bears would be the next to strike, as they scored nine unanswered runs starting in the bottom of the 6th to the bottom of the 8th. At the end of the 8th inning, UNC held a 15-9 lead. That would be more than enough as they halted the Cougars from scoring after their three runs in the 6th.
Vinnie Venturi (Pacifica, Calif.) started on the mound for the Cougars, as he threw three complete innings and struck out five. Vinnie Venturi's day was ended early after a line drive deflected off his glove and hit him in the face. He would be forced to exit with injury, and he was replaced by senior Edward Kang (Taoyuan, Taiwan, Pingzhen). Edward Kang threw two innings before being replaced by Kyle Merkel (Los Angeles, Calif.), who struck out one over one inning of work. Yunis Halim (Chicago, Ill., Oak Lawn) would be the last to pitch for the Cougars in the game, as he struck out three batters in two innings of work.
On the hitting side, Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.) extended his hit streak to five games after hitting 1-for-5 with one RBI. The Cougars got two RBIs from Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.), and one RBI each from Reggie Brock Jr. (Chicago, Ill., Simeon), Matt Sullivan (Lake in the Hills, Ill., Huntley), Tyler Lowe (Northville, Mich., Northville), Zack Stockton (Stockton, Calif., Tokay), and Gabriel Coburn. Tyler Lowe and Matt Sullivan scored a pair of runs each, and Reggie Brock Jr. was walked a season high three times.
Game Two - CSU 6, UNC 5
The Cougars won their first conference game of the year in seven innings in the second game of the day by a score of 6-5. The Bears rallied big late, but Blake Kaplan (Las Vegas, Nev., Sierra Vista) and Calvin Peacock (Bartonville, Ill.) teamed up to keep them from tying the game.
It was all Cougars through the first five innings of the game. Cole Hansel (Edwardsville, Ill.) got the Green and White offense going in the top of the 2nd when he tripled down the right field line to score Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.). Cole Hansel then scored shortly after when he crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Reggie Brock Jr. (Chicago, Ill., Simeon) added onto the CSU lead in the 3rd after he scored on an error when UNC catcher Lucas Allen threw a ball into center field while attempting to throw out Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.) stealing.
The Cougars utilized their half in the 5th inning well as they scored two runs. Matt Sullivan (Lake in the Hills, Ill., Huntley) picked up his 16th RBI of the year after singling to score Gaytan. Gabriel Coburn then picked up his second hit of the day when he singled in Matt Sullivan. The last run of the day for the Cougars came in the 6th when Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.) hit a sacrifice fly that scored Patrick Arndt (Chesterton, Ind.). The Bears made a huge comeback effort in the bottom of the 6th when they scored five runs. Despite trimming their deficit to one, UNC was shut down by Calvin Peacock in the 7th, and the Cougars took home their first WAC win of the year.
Anthony Leedle (3-2) delivered a tremendous performance en route to his third win on the year. In 5.1 innings, he allowed just one hit and one earned run, in addition to striking out two. Blake Kaplan relieved Anthony Leedle in the 6th as he pitched one inning before making way to Calvin Peacock. Peacock entered the game in the bottom of the 7th with one out, and he induced two fly outs to secure the win for the Cougars and pick up the save.
Reggie Brock Jr. and Gabriel Coburn were catalysts in the Cougar lineup in game two, as they both recorded multi-hit games. Andy Gaytan, Matt Sullivan, and Patrick Arndt all went 1-for-3 with a run to propel the Cougars to the win. In addition, Cole Hansel went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Kilian Bloat (Liberty, N.Y.) chipped in one hit in the win. The Cougars combined for nine hits in game two.
Next Up
The Cougars will be back in action on Tuesday when they will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on ACC foe Notre Dame. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
