May 1, 2011 - The Concordia Cougars completed a 4-0 weekend against two Northern Athletics Conference tournament contenders with today's 12-6, 8-2 sweep of visiting Rockford College. Combined with a split between Aurora and Benedictine this afternoon, the Cougars moved back into sole possession of first place in the conference with a 16-2 record.
Concordia got to work right away in game one as
Eric Ignatowski (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North), Steve Brown (Naperville, IL/North) and
Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) singled off Rockfored starter Andrew Ketzner. One out later,
Ryan Pacyga (Forest Park, IL/Nazareth Academy) brought home a second run with a sacrifice fly.
Rockford tied the game in the third on a two-run homer by Ryne Billesbach, but Concordia resorted to the long ball in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Skala and
Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) went back-to-back over the centerfield fence for a 4-2 lead.
The Regents strung together four singles in the fifth inning to tie the game at 4-4. However, Cougar starter
Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) escaped further trouble by getting a pair of ground balls to second base to end the inning.
The game was not tied for long as Skala came up with one out in the bottom of the fifth. The Cougars' catcher cranked out his second homer of the day and 10th of the season to give Concordia the lead for good.
Concordia put the game away with five runs in the sixth.
Shawn Miller's (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the first run of the inning. Ignatowski then delivered the big hit of the inning, a chopper over the head of the first baseman that went down the line for a two-run single. An error accounted for the fourth run of the frame, and Pacyga's single completed the uprising.
The Regents threatened in the eighth when they put runners on third and second with two out. However
, Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) was summoned from the bullpen, and it took him just one pitch to shut down the visitors' rally as he got Jake Nicholson to fly to rightfield for the out.
The Cougars added two more runs in the eighth. Brown doubled, and
Derek Binninger (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) walked to bring
Nick Contorno (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) to the plate. Contorno put a charge into a pitch and drove it over the head of the rightfielder to the fence for a two-run triple and a 12-4 lead. Rockford completed the scoring with two runs (one unearned) in the ninth.
In game two, Rockford's Ryan Jacobson and Concordia's
Micah Buss (Columbus, IN/Columbus North) matched zeroes for the first few innings. The Cougars finally broke through in the third after the first two men were retired. Skala singled and Stephens walked before Pacyga laced a sharp single to left for the first run.
Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant) walked to load the bases, and
Joe Romano (Norridge, IL/Notre Dame) cracked a two-run single to center for a 3-0 Cougar lead.
A leadoff triple by Miller in the next inning turned into the fourth run when Ignatowski followed with a sacrifice fly. The score remained 4-0 until the eighth when the Cougars doubled their lead. Miller's single brought home a run, and Skala added to it when the Cougars loaded the bases moments later. Skala ripped a full count pitch into centerfield. Two runs scored on the hit, and a third run scored when the centerfielder overran the ball.
The Regents averted the shutout in the ninth with a pair of runs, but
Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) struck out pinch-hitter Chris Thomas with two runners aboard to end the game.
With today's victories, the Cougars clinched one of the top two seeds in the May 13-14 conference tournament. Concordia can clinch the top seed with wins in their final four NAC contests, beginning with this Friday's doubleheader at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
