April 29, 2011 - The Concordia Cougar baseball team tuned up for important weekend meetings with Benedictine University and Rockford College with a single game this afternoon against the University of Chicago Maroons. On a picture-perfect day for baseball, the Cougars built a 7-3 lead and then held on for a 7-6 victory.
Freshman Ryan Ganther (Racine, WI/Racine Lutheran) got the start for Concordia and shut down the visitors on just one hit over the first three innings. Meanwhile, the Cougars gave him an early lead with which to work. Steve Brown (Naperville, IL/Naperville North) singled with one out in the second, and Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) followed with a walk. Robert Frampton (North Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) moved both runners up with a ground ball to first base. Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) then hit a high chopper in the infield, and the third baseman fielded the ball but did not have a throw as Brown crossed the plate with the first run. Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) made it 2-0 moments later with a line single to left to bring home Eichholzer.
The Maroons took advantage of some brief wildness by Ganther in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Two walks and a base hit loaded the bases with one out. A single and fielder's choice scored two runs, and a third came across on a throwing error by Frampton. Ganther escaped further trouble with the next batter, uncorking a wild pitch but rushing to cover home plate and take a throw from catcher Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) to tag the runner trying to score.
Skala got the Cougars back on track in the fifth as he followed a one-out single by Eric Ignatowski (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) with a rocket to center that got over the outfielder's head for a run-scoring double. Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) singled to move Skala to third. Derek Binninger (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) hit a ground ball to short that forced Stephens at second; however, the relay throw to first was high, allowing Binninger to advance to second while Skala scored. The extra base for Binninger was crucial as Brown followed with a shot past the third baseman for an RBI double and a 5-3 lead.
Concordia added to its lead in the sixth. Once again, it was Skala coming through with men on base. Miller (single) and Ignatowski (fielder's choice) were aboard with two out when Skala split the gap between the left and centerfielders for his second double as well as his second and third RBIs of the game.
Chicago cut into the lead in the seventh off of reliever Garett Balind (Bonfield, IL/Herscher) after Balind had pitched a scoreless sixth. The Maroons bunched four hits, a walk and an error (making one of the runs unearned) to score three times. Chicago still had the bases loaded, but Balind induced Claude Lockhart to fly to leftfield and end the threat.
Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit, and Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) came in for the ninth inning. Milroy worked around a two-out error by catching JR Lopez looking at a third strike to notch his first save and preserve the win for Ganther (3-0).
Concordia (23-7) will enter the weekend with a 12-2 conference record, one game behind Aurora University (14-2) while Rockford (11-5) and Benedictine (9-5) currently hold down the third and fourth spots respectively
