March 24, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars, ranked 22nd in this week's Division III poll by the American Baseball Coaches Association, met the 19th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan Titans this afternoon in the first two games of a three-game weekend series in Bloomington. The Titans, who had beaten the Cougars 11-2 in Indiana last weekend, took game one by an 8-6 score, but the Cougars roared back to claim the nightcap by a 9-6 final.
Game one started out great for Concordia. Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) tripled to score Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) who had led off with a walk. Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) made it 2-0 as his fly ball to center brought home Skala.
Skala and Stephens were in the center of things again in the third. Skala singled with one out, and Stephens followed with a double to the gap in left-center to score Skala. Two batters later, Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) singled back up the middle to score Stephens for a 4-0 lead.
Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) sailed through the first two innings on the mound but ran into trouble in the third. The Titans loaded the bases, and a walk brought home the hosts' first run. Johnathon Erickson then catapulted the Titans into the lead with a blast over the fence in right for a 5-4 lead.
The Cougars charged back in the fourth as Eichholzer doubled and Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) walked. Both would score later in the inning, Eichholzer on Stephens' infield out and Weis on Anthony Even's (Franklin Park, IL/West Leyden) single between third and short.
Kevin Sullivan doubled to lead off IWU's half of the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6-6. That would end the scoring for a while as Schulz settled down and blanked the Titans through the end of the seventh. Illinois Wesleyan went to their bullpen with a couple of relievers keeping Concordia's bats quiet over the middle innings.
Finally, the deadlock was broken in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, two singles put runners on the corners. Pat Conlin (Arlington Heights, IL/Rolling Meadows) took over for Schulz on the mound. Sullivan got down a bunt, and Conlin misplayed the ball as the go-ahead run scored. The Titans added an insurance run later in the inning on Zach Scott's single.
Concordia looked to answer as Eichholzer led off the ninth with a walk. However, Chris Bobo would strike out pinch-hitter Will Randerson (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly), Skala and Stephens to give game one to Illinois Wesleyan.
The Cougars looked for the split with Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West) on the mound to start game two. Concordia struck again in its first at-bat on singles by Schulz and Skala and a grounder to short by Stephens. However, IWU plated single runs in the first two innings to grab a 2-1 lead.
Each team scored a run in the third, Concordia's coming with the help of two IWU errors. The Cougars then took the lead for good in the fourth. Even started the rally with a vase hit, and Rob Fioravanti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) walked. Both runners moved up on a sacrifice by Miller. Weis' sacrifice fly scored Even for the tying run, and freshman Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian) singled to bring home Fioravanti for a 4-3 lead.
Concordia added on in the fifth as Even took advantage of a miscue by the shortstop to score from first base. Miller then singled, but Fioravanti was cut down at the plate to keep the score at 5-3.
In the sixth, the Cougars got to the Titans' bullpen and put four up on the board. Weis and Santarelli reached on singles to start the uprising. Schulz tripled to score both runners, and Eichholzer followed with another triple for a third run. Fioravanti's sacrifice fly later in the inning accounted for a fourth run and made it Cougars 9, Titans 3.
The Titans looked to answer with a big inning of their own, scoring twice before Kevin Pawell (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) relieved Kluss with two out and two on and struck out slugger Kevin Callahan to maintain the Cougars' four-run lead.
Illinois Wesleyan threatened again in the eighth as an error led to a run. With two out, the Titans brought the tying run to the plate in Callahan, but Pawell fanned the first baseman once again to escape trouble. Pawell then retired the home team 1-2-3 in the ninth to give the Cougars their tenth win and end the brief two-game losing streak.
Kluss improved to 3-0 on the season with his 5 2/3 innings of work. Pawell notched his second save of the year in allowing just the one unearned run in his 3 1/3 innings. Schulz recorded a 4-6 game at the plate with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Concordia (10-3) will play one more game against IWU on Sunday afternoon before heading home to Chicago.
