May 15, 2011 - Following Saturday's competition in the Northern Athletics Conference baseball tournament in which the Cougars went 1-1, they were faced with the difficult challenge of having to win three games today in order to win a tournament title and an automatic NCAA Division III berth. No team has accomplished that feat in the history of the conference tournament, but the Cougars made a go at it, winning their first two games before coming up short in the final championship game against Aurora University.
The Cougars' first test came at 9:00 this morning against Benedictine University, the team that pinned a 13-3 loss on them yesterday. Conditions were cold and windy as the two teams commenced play and, to no one's surprise, the elements contributed to a pitchers' duel early on. The Cougars jumped in front in the first inning, taking advantage of BU starter Jake Thompson's wildness. Two walks and a base hit by Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) loaded the bases for Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant) who took four straight pitches out of the strike zone to force in the game's first run. Ryan Pacyga (Forest Park, IL/Nazareth Academy) then drive in the second run with a solid single to left.
The score remained at 2-0 until the sixth inning when Concordia tallied six runs, all with two out. With the bases loaded, Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) grounded a single back up the middle to score a pair. An intentional walk reloaded the bases, and Steve Brown (Naperville, IL/Naperville North) worked reliever Mike Cottier for a walk on a full-count pitch to make the score 5-0. Another run scored on a passed ball, and Skala then ripped a double to the leftfield corner to score two runs and give the Cougars an eight-run lead.
Concordia added two runs in the eighth to close out the 10-0 rout. Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) went the distance, allowing just four hits and two walks over eight innings. Schulz fanned seven in improving to 7-1 for his rookie season.
The Cougars advanced to the next round to face Aurora who had won games over Benedictine and Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday. Buoyed by their easy win over Benedictine, Concordia got to work immediately and tagged Aurora's Dan McCarthy for four first-inning runs. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) singled off the first baseman's glove for the first run. Two outs later, a wild pitch allowed a run to come home. Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) and Robert Frampton (North Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) came through with RBI singles to hand over a 4-0 lead to Concordia starter Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook).
Cox would pitch well for the Cougars but was let down by his defense. Concordia committed six errors in the game, five of them in the first five innings as Aurora charged back. The Spartans scored twice in the second, once in the fourth and once in the fifth - all of them unearned. But the Cougars took the lead back in the top of the sixth. Eichholzer walked and stole second ahead of Miller's single to left.
The Cougars blew the game wide open with one run in the seventh, four in the eighth and four in the ninth. Meanwhile, head coach Adam Smith received brilliant relief work from Pat Conlin (Arlington Heights, IL/Rolling Meadows) and Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy). Conlin pitched a scoreless sixth, and Milroy hurled the final three innings to notch his fourth save of the year and wrap up the 14-4 win. Cox earned the win, improving to 3-1 on the season.
For the deciding game, Smith sent senior Anthony Collaro (Melrose Park, IL/Walther Lutheran) back to the mound. Collaro had suffered his first loss of the season just 24 hours earlier against Benedictine, but the 6'2" righthander came out firing in the first inning and set down the Spartans in order.
Collaro was not so lucky in the second, as a dropped fly in the infield allowed Aurora to score a two-out run. The Cougars' defense had more problems in the third, and the Spartans capitalized to the tune of four more runs. Concordia committed two errors in the inning, and Aurora's Mike Foley tripled to the rightfield fence to drive in two runs .
The Cougars looked to get back into the game in the bottom of the third. Miller singled, and Schulz reached on an error by the first baseman as Miller scampered to third. Ignatowski's fielder's choice forced Schulz at second while Miller crossed the plate. Skala then lined a shot to the outfield, but centerfielder Ryan Adams ran down the ball in the gap and then fired to first to double off Ignatowski and keep the score at 5-1.
Aurora put the game out of reach with five runs in the fifth. A couple of more miscues helped to spell the end of Collaro's day as his final line read eight runs allowed but just three of them earned. Freshman Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West) took over and would go on to pitch the final five innings, allowing the Spartans' final three runs (one earned).
Concordia managed just two more runs on RBI doubles by Schulz in the fifth and Frampton in the sixth.
The Cougars threatened one more time in the eighth, loading the bases with two out. However, the Aurora pitcher retired Schulz on a grounder to second to put an end to the rally. One inning later, the Spartans retired the Cougars in order to win by an 11-3 score and celebrate their tournament victory.
The Cougars finished the season with a new school record 35 wins and a winning percentage of .778. Their 20-2 conference record was the all-time best in the history of the Northern Athletics Conference.
