CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago State Cougars baseball team lost the series versus New Mexico State after going 1-2 against the Aggies on the weekend. However, the one win, which came on Saturday, was the Cougars first win versus the Aggies since April 24, 2015. The Cougars dropped Friday's game 9-2, won Saturday's game 7-3, and lost Sunday's game 12-0.
Game One - CSU 2, NM STATE 9
In the opening game of the series, the Aggies took the lead early in the third inning and never gave it away. Despite the Cougars trailing by just two at one point, the Aggies were able to score nine runs in three separate innings. NM State used just two pitchers in their win.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard in the second inning when Tyler Lowe (Northville, Mich., Northville) hit an opposite field home run over the right field fence for his first homer of the year. The solo home run cut the Aggie lead to 3-1. However, two runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh pushed the NM State lead to 9-1. Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.) provided one more run for the Cougars in the ninth when he hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.).
Brett Gregory (Lompoc, Calif., Cabrillo) (1-4) took the loss on the day despite striking out a career high six batters. He allowed seven hits and five earned runs in the loss. Yunis Halim (Chicago, Ill., Oak Lawn) and Kyle Merkel (Los Angeles, Calif.) combined to throw one inning, as Halim did not allow a hit in 0.2 innings of work. Joe Fitka (Anchorage, Alaska, Diamond) had himself a day on the mound after entering in the seventh inning. He threw 2.2 innings and did not allow a single baserunner and struck out five in the process.
On the offensive side, Andy Gaytan and Nick Heidenthal (McHenry, Ill., Grant) combined for five of the Cougar's eight hits. Andy Gaytan went 3-for-4 on the day, and Nick Heidenthal went 2-for-3. Tyler Lowe drove in one of the two runs for the Cougars after hitting his first home run of the season in the second inning. Matt Sullivan (Lake in the Hills, Ill., Huntley) had a 1-for-4 day at the plate as well.
Game Two - CSU 7, NM STATE 3
The Cougars sole win on the weekend came in game two of the series, where they defeated the Aggies 7-3 on Saturday afternoon. The win was highlighted by a huge start on the mound for Dylan Cumming (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc), the Green and White only trailed on one occasion in the game.
The Cougars took the first lead of the game in the second inning when Cole Hansel (Edwardsville, Ill.) singled to right field to score Daulton Ryans (Mishawaka, Ind., Mishawaka). Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.) made the lead 2-0 when he picked up an RBI groundout that scored Patrick Arndt (Chesterton, Ind.). The Aggies struck back in the third inning when they scored one to trim the Cougar lead to one. They would go on to take the lead in the fifth after two RBI doubles from NM State. The Cougars had a breakout inning in the sixth when they scored four runs to take a 7-3 lead which would ultimately be the final score.
Dylan Cumming (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc) (1-1) had a day to remember on the bump, as he tossed eight innings and allowed just six hits while striking out seven. Dylan Cumming threw a career high 146 pitches to get the win for the Cougars. Yunis Halim (Chicago, Ill., Oak Lawn) shut the door in the 9th, when he struck out one en route to a scoreless inning.
Multi hit games from Matt Sullivan (Lake in the Hills, Ill., Huntley), Gabriel Coburn (Windermere, Fla.), and Patrick Arndt (Chesterton, Ind.) propelled the CSU offense to the win, as the three contributed three RBIs. Nick Heidenthal (McHenry, Ill., Grant) did his job in the leadoff spot as he hit 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Andy Gaytan (Oak Forest, Ill.) was able to grab two more RBIs despite going hitless on the day, and Matt Sullivan contributed two as well on a huge two RBI single in the 6th that was the nail in the coffin for the Aggies. Patrick Arndt scored twice on a 2-for-3 day, as well as picking up his ninth RBI. In addition, Daulton Ryans went 1-for-3, and Cole Hansel went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Game 3 - CSU 0, NM STATE 12
The Cougar bats went cold with the weather on Sunday, as they were shutout in a seven inning loss. Chance Hroch kept the Cougar offense silent after he struck out seven over seven shutout innings. The Aggies scored three runs in the first and that ended up being more than enough to down the Green and White.
Vinnie Venturi (Pacifica, Calif.) took the loss in his fourth start of the season, as he struck out one in two innings of work. Anthony Leedle (Clinton, Wis.) spent the majority of the time on the mound for the Cougars on Sunday, throwing 4.1 innings and striking out one as well. Calvin Peacock (Bartonville, Ill.) was the only other Cougar to get action on the mound, facing three batters and not allowing a hit.
The lone Cougar hit on Sunday came in the 7th inning when Nick Heidenthal (McHenry, Ill., Grant) singled through the left side to break up Hroch's perfect game bid. Heidenthal would not advance past 1st base, however, as the Cougars were shut down.
Next Up
The Cougars will look to avenge last week's loss to Northwestern when they hit the road to play the Wildcats on Tuesday in Evanston, Illinois. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT.
