April 21, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars remained within one game of Aurora University for the top spot in the Northern Athletics Conference with two wins today against Wisconsin Lutheran College. Two solid efforts from starting pitchers Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) and Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West) led the Cougars to 13-2 and 9-2 wins on a sunny but windy afternoon in River Forest.
A seven-run second inning in game one put Concordia in early command. The Cougars already owned a 1-0 lead after the first, courtesy of Shawn Miller's (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) groundout that scored Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.). Miller drove home two more runs in the second with a base hit to left, and Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) later added a bases-loaded single for the final two runs of the inning and an 8-0 lead.
Miller's leadoff double led to a single run in the fourth before the Cougars ran away with four runs in the fifth. Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) and Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) sandwiched RBI singles around Miller's two-run triple. Miller, who was moved into the cleanup spot in the batting order today, finished with a career-high five RBIs for the game.
Schulz pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits in earning his fifth win in seven decisions. The Warriors scored twice in the seventh off the Cougars' bullpen, but it was not enough to keep Concordia from winning via the slaughter rule.
The Cougars opened game two with an early score as Skala tripled with one out and scored on Anthony Even's (Franklin Park, IL/West Leyden) single to right. It became 2-0 in the second as Stephens led off with a double. A single by Rob Fioravanti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) moved Stephens to third base from where he scored on Eichholzer's sacrifice fly.
Tyler Schoen's double in the fourth brought the Warriors to within 2-1, but the Cougars answered back. Miller's double and Eichholzer's single scored a run. Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian) kept the line moving with a single. A balk moved both runners up a base, and Robert Frampton (North Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) beat out an infield single as Eichholzer scored. The Cougars then pulled off a double steal with Santarelli scoring for a 5-1 lead.
Three more runs added to the lead in the fifth. An error on top of Miller's base hit allowed Even to score. Stephens drove home a second run with a sacrifice fly, and Santarelli's RBI single extended the lead to seven.
Each team added a run in the eighth. Concordia's run came as pinch-hitter Tony Barreto (Cicero, IL/Nazareth Academy) led off with a single. Nick Contorno (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) ran for Barreto and promptly scored as Even lined a pitch down the leftfield line for a run-scoring double.
Kluss improved to 5-1 on the season, allowing one run on four hits through five innings. Kurt Kempema (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.), Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) and Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) finished up over the final four innings to complete the Cougars' sweep.
Concordia (23-8, 10-4 NAC) will travel to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on Sunday for two games at Marian University.
