March 20, 2011 - The Concordia Cougars overcame adversity from the first day of the weekend Webster University tournament to post a pair of victories today. After falling to Webster 3-1 and then seeing a game against Wartburg College in which they led be suspended due to lightning, the Cougars wrapped up their 5-2 win and then defeated Franklin College 9-3 in the regularly scheduled game.
Concordia departed GCS Ballpark on Saturday night leading Wartburg 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) held the Knights to two hits and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by getting Brian Doty to hit to second base for a 4-6-3 double play. Meanwhile, the Cougars scored in each of the first four innings. Ryan Pacyga's (Forest Park, IL/Nazareth Academy) fielder's choice scored the first run of the game. In the second, Shawn Miller's (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) single and Robert Weis' (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 game. Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant) walked and scored on a wild pitch in the third, and Gier drove in the fifth run with a two-out single in the fourth just before the lightning and rain brought Saturday's action to a halt.
Senior Anthony Collaro (Melrose Park, IL/Walther Lutheran) took the mound to start the fifth inning on Sunday morning. Collaro came out on fire, striking out the first two batters and getting the third batter on a tap back to the mound. The Knights broke through in the sixth for both of their runs, their rally started by an infield dribbler that went for a hit. Collaro got out of the jam and went on to finish the game by retiring 10 of the final 11 batters. He struck out seven while walking one and earned the win to improve to 2-0.
Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) made the start on the mound against Franklin and scattered four hits through five innings. The Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead in the third by benefit of an unearned run, but Cox got a 5-4-3 double play to escape further damage.
Franklin starter Shawn Mattingly held Concordia to two hits through four hits, but the Cougars erupted for five runs in the fifth. Base hits by Joe Romano (Norridge, IL/Notre Dame) and Weis started the rally, and Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Schulz followed with a hot shot to short that went between the fielder's leg s for an error. Ignatowski then put a charge into Mattingly's 2-0 pitch and sent it to deep rightfield. The ball hit the fence on the fly, missing a grand slam by a couple of feet, but the double scored Weis and Miller for a 3-1 lead. Two more runs scored on a grounder to shortstop and a balk to give Cox a four-run lead as he went back to the mound.
A pair of walks and a base hit allowed Franklin to pull back a run, but Cox retired the final two batters on a grounder to second and a strikeout to keep Concordia's lead at 5-2.
The Cougars put the game under wraps in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Romano smashed a single up the middle for one run, and Weis lined a shot to left-center that just eluded the dive of the centerfielder for a two-run double and an 8-2 lead. The Grizzlies scored an unearned tally in the bottom of the inning, but the Cougars closed the scoring on Weis' two-out double in the ninth.
Cox earned the win to even his record at 1-1. Freshman Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West) pitched the final four innings and struck out nine to notch his first save.
Concordia (9-3) returns to action on Saturday when they play against defending Division III champion Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.
