May 5, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars will head to next week's Northern Athletics Conference Tournament as the number three seed with a 30-10 overall record and 17-5 record in conference play. The Cougars reached the 30-win mark for the fifth straight season with today's 14-1 and 17-1 wins over the Milwaukee School of Engineering at Henry Aaron Field in Wisconsin.
The Cougars' offense was relentless, scoring in 13 of the 14 innings with the third inning of game one the only one where Concordia failed to mark. Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) bought in the first run of the day when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Cougars added to their lead in the second on a sacrifice fly by Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) and RBI single by Anthony Even (Franklin Park, IL/West Leyden).
Following the scoreless third, Concordia struck again in the fourth as Even powered out his second homer of the year, a solo shot. The Cougars played long ball again in the third as Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) went deep with a runner aboard. Skala's blast accounted for two of the Cougars' five runs that inning as the visitors took a 9-0 lead. Skala drove in another run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly, one of two Concordia runs that inning.
The Raiders broke through in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff double, MSOE's only hit of the game, would come around to score on a sacrifice fly. But the Cougars had the final say with three runs in the seventh. Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) doubled home a run, and Nick Contorno's (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) single up the middle drove home the final two tallies.
Ryan Thorsen (Lake Villa, IL/Grant) was masterful in earning his sixth win of the season. Thorsen held MSOE hitless through his five innings of work, allowing just two walks while fanning three. The southpaw lowered his ERA to 1.46 for his nine starts this season. Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) and Louis Foss (Warner Robins, GA/Houston County) finished up with an inning each.
In the nightcap, Bobby Beelen (Wheeling, IL/H.S.) improved his record to a team-best 7-1. Beelen allowed just a third-inning run in his five innings while walking one and fanning one.
The support for Beelen began early as Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) doubled home Schulz in the first inning. Weis' sacrifice fly added a run in the second. Two more runs followed in the third, one coming on an RBI single by Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden).
After the Raiders got on the board to make the score 4-1, the Cougars answered quickly and extinguished any further comeback hopes. With two men aboard, Skala went deep for his second homer of the day and eighth of the season. Concordia then tacked on eight runs in the fifth. Eichholzer tripled twice in the nning, bringing home a total of three runs, and Stephens added a two-run single in the inning. Concordia's final two runs came in the sixth on Even's base hit and in the seventh on Will Randerson's (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) double.
The Cougars will play fourth-seeded Rockford College in Thursday's first round of the NAC tournament. The complete schedule will be posted on the conference website at www.northernac.org.
