Recap: Late Push Not Enough for @NCBearsBaseball at Chicago State

Sunday, April 29

Chicago, Ill.

11 am

University of Northern Colorado

23-21, 6-12

Chicago State University

9-32, 4-14

Northern Colorado

Chicago State

4/29/2018 5:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Northern Colorado looked for a ninth inning comeback, but fell short against CSU on Sunday

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

CHICAGO – Northern Colorado baseball looked for its first Western Athletic Conference series win of the season, but was unable to put together timely hits and fell to Chicago State 7-4. The loss puts the Bears at 23-21 for the season and 6-12 in the WAC.

How It Happened
UNC scored first for the third straight time in the series with a run in the top of the second. Jack Pauley and Cole Maltese led the inning off with a single and double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Pauley, crossed home plate when Alex Kiel sent a fly ball to center for a sacrifice fly. The lead did not last long as CSU scored two on three hits in the bottom half of the inning.

Chicago State's pitching duo of Zach Thomas and Dylan Cumming quieted the bats of Northern Colorado from the third through eighth inning allowing just four Bear to reach during that time. While CSU's pitchers took care of business in the top half of the inning, its bats added on two runs in the sixth and three more in the eighth to go up 7-1.

Down by six, Northern Colorado never gave in with Evan Johnson starting the rally in the ninth with a one-out double. Alex Kiel followed it up with a single to put two on for Brett Minnick. Minnick delivered with a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 7-4. Another runner would reach for Northern Colorado, but the comeback effort ended there.

Game Changer
Starting pitcher Zach Thomas did a good job keeping the UNC bats at bay all game long. He earned his second win of the season by pitching 6.0 innings allowing just one run on five hits while walking one and striking out eight.

Stat to Know
Chicago State did not give UNC a chance at a comeback on Sunday, with just two free passes. UNC walked once and was hit by a pitch once.

Game Notes
- The five and six-hole for CSU were big on Sunday going 5-for-6 with five runs scored, an RBI and a walk.
- Jack Pauley had another strong day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
- Besides Pauley, Dean Lawson was the only Bear to record multiple hits with two.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado starts its final month of play with a six-game home stand beginning on Friday when UT Rio Grande Valley comes to Jackson Field. First pitch of the three-game series is set for 3 pm MT.

To stay up to date on all things UNC basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.