The Crusaders snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over the visiting Chicago State Cougars Wednesday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field. 

"We've played pretty well lately so it's nice to see the team get rewarded. This was a much-needed win coming into the weekend," head coach Brian Schmack said.

Bryce Hara (Irvine, Calif./Northwood [Irvine Valley College]) smacked his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning. Hara finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Michael Morman (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) boosted his team-leading batting average to .273 after a 2-for-4 day at the plate that included a walk. Morman scored twice.

Trevor Haas (Mount Prospect, Ill./Hersey) settled in after a rocky first inning that saw Chicago State plate a run on three hits. The sophomore turned in six innings as he scattered eight hits, walked a couple and struck out a batter. Haas lowered his ERA to 3.82 as he earned his second win of the season.

Zack Walsh (Batesville, Ind./Batesville [Connecticut]) racked up six strikeouts in two innings of relief work. The Cougars managed two unearned runs off the right hander.

Jason Condit (Putnam, Ill./Henry-Senachwine [Illinois Central College]) worked a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the 16th win of the season for the Crusaders.

Andrew Bynum (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View [Orange Coast CC]) and Andy Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville [Heartland CC]) each recorded two runs batted in to go with their singles.

Valpo benefitted from six Cougar walks and three hit batsmen. 

The Brown and Gold (16-23, 6-9 Horizon) prepare for a Horizon League series versus Oakland (7-26, 2-13) beginning Friday at 3:00 pm. Links the live stats and audio are up at valpoathletics.com.