Chicago, Ill. - Valpo swept a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader from Chicago State by scores of 13-9 and 8-0. In the first game, the Crusaders (9-14, 2-2) won behind a 17-hit attack. In the nightcap, Nick Mazzone and Dallas Cawiezell combined on the four-hit shutout.

In the first game, Kevin Perri, Matt Augustine and Korey Pulluaim each had three hits and two RBIs, while Brian Rzepka also had three hits. Jeff Rickert finished with two hits and three RBIs in the second game. Kevin Kutansky had four hits and two RBIs in the twinbill.

In the first game, Valpo took a 1-0 lead in the first when Rzepka led off with a double, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on Perri's groundout to second base. Chicago State tied the game in the bottom of the first and added three more in the third to grab a 4-1 advantage.

The Crusaders tied the game at 4-4 with a three-run fourth. Augustine delivered an RBI double, Jon Rupno added an RBI groundout and Rickert produced an RBI single. A five-run fifth allowed Valpo to take control with a 9-4 lead. After Mike Arensdorff, Perri and Kutansky began with three straight singles, Augustine and Tyler Lowell drew bases-loaded walks and Rupno added a sacrifice fly. Pulluaim had the big hit of the uprising, a two-run single.

Chicago State (3-30, 2-2) pulled within 9-6 after plating two runs in the seventh. Valpo responded by scoring two runs in each of the eighth and ninth frames. Perri's RBI triple and Kutansky's sacrifice fly accounted for the eighth-inning tallies. In the ninth, Pulluaim led off with a single and stole second before Arensdorff brought him home with a single. Arensdorff eventually scored on a wild pitch to give the Crusaders a 13-6 lead. The Cougars scored three in the ninth for the final outcome.

Harvey Yergin (1-4) earned the win, pitching 8 innings. The sophomore righthander allowed five earned runs on 12 hits, while striking out four and walking two. Chris Riley (2/3 inning) and Adam Knobel (1/3) combined to pitch the ninth. Knobel earned his fifth save.

John Torres (1-4) took the loss, allowing eight runs and 10 hits in 4 innings. Chris Goya and Jason Grace had three hits each for CSU.

In the nightcap, Mazzone (1-0) and Cawiezell dominated on the mound. Mazzone quieted the Cougar bats, allowing four hits in 5 innings. A sophomore lefthander, Mazzone fanned three and walked two before Cawiezell, a freshman, hurled 2 innings of hitless ball.

Valpo scored single runs in the third and fourth innings and added two in the fifth to extend its lead to 4-0. Kutansky's two-out RBI single produced the first run and Rickert's double in the fourth scored Josh Piazza who led off the inning with a double. The fifth-inning run came as a result of a balk and a wild pitch.

Chicago State committed four errors in the seventh, leading to four unearned Valpo runs. Rickert belted a two-run single to highlight the inning.

Valpo travels to play at Indiana State on Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m.