April 29, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars posted two wins on Sunday against archrival Concordia University Wisconsin by 9-0 and 9-3 scores. But while the victories helped the Cougars (27-8, 14-4 NAC) keep pace with the Northern Athletics Conference leaders, the results were secondary in the minds of Cougar players and fans for much of the afternoon.

Second-year Cougar head coach Adam Smith was taken ill in the first inning of game two. Immediately after waving a runner around third base to score, Smith went to the ground semi-conscious in the coaches' box. An ambulance was called to the field and took Smith to a local hospital where he was treated and released a few hours later.

Following the incident, the coaches and umpires discussed whether play should continue with additional input coming from school administrators and the NAC commissioner's office. But Smith himself helped to make the decision as he handed his lineup card to assistant coach Brandon Townsend before being taken away in the ambulance. "Our guys knew that Adam wanted us to carry on with the game, and that was pretty much all they needed to hear," said Townsend, who relayed text messages from the hospital informing the team that Smith would be okay. "They got themselves ready to play and did a great job in winning the game for him."

Singles by Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford), Anthony Even (Franklin Park, IL/West Leyden) and Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) staked Concordia to a quick 2-0 lead in the nightcap before Smith was taken ill. Following the 38-minute delay, Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) provided the big emotional boost as he ripped a triple to rightfield to score Stephens with the third run of the inning.

The lead became 5-0 in the third. The Cougars loaded the bases before a line-drive double play threatened to give the Falcons a chance to escape unscathed. But Eichholzer walked to fill the bases again, and Will Randerson (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) singled up the middle to plate the pair of runs.

The Falcons cut the lead to 5-3 with two in the third and one in the fourth off Cougar starter Bobby Beelen (Wheeling, IL/H.S.). But the lower part of CUC's batting order came to the rescue. A walk to Stephens and singles by Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian) and Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) put a run on the board in the fifth. Weis, who returned to the lineup today after being sidelined by an injury since last Saturday, later knocked in another run with a base hit and scored on Schulz's triple down the leftfield line. A double by Even and single by Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) in the eighth closed out the scoring for the team's emotional win.

Beelen pitched seven innings in earning his team-leading sixth win of the season. Kevin Pawell (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) and Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) pitched an inning each in relief.

In game one, the Cougars broke a scoreless tie in the fourth as Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) drew a leadoff walk. Skala stole second base, moved to third on Even's grounder to the right side and scored on Miller's sacrifice fly. But Stephens kept the line moving with a single to center. Eichholzer then bunted for a base hit and, when the CUW pitcher threw the ball away, Stephens motored all the way around to score the Cougars' second run.

Singles by Even, Miller and Stephens made it a 3-0 game in the sixth. The Cougars then put the game away with a strange and lengthy top of the eighth inning. Miller led off with a base hit. Two outs later with pinch-runner B.J. Weisflog (Grafton, WI/H.S.) at first, Cougar batters drew four consecutive walks with Weis and Schulz earning RBIs. A relief pitcher came in to face Skala, and the Cougars' catcher was hit by a pitch to force in a third run. Even then walked to force in another run for a 7-0 lead, making it six consecutive Cougar batters to reach base without swinging the bat.

The Cougars' final two runs came in the ninth on Santarelli's two-run single. His hit scored Weisflog (walk) and Eichholzer (single).

Ryan Thorsen (Lake Villa, IL/Grant) improved to 5-2 with eight shutout innings, allowing five hits. Freshman Louis Foss (Warner Robins, GA/Houston County) closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Cougars will host Edgewood College on Tuesday at noon in a make-up of Saturday's rainout. The team's Senior Day ceremony will precede the first pitch of game one.