March 30, 2013 - "Out of sync" might provide the most accurate description for the Concordia Cougars baseball team today as they took on Benedictine University. In game one, the lack of timely hitting hurt the Cougars in a 3-2 loss to the host Eagles. Concordia found its hitting in game two and built a 5-0 lead, but Benedictine shocked the Cougars with an 11-run sixth inning and rolled to a 17-7 win.

The Cougars touched Eagles' game one starter Kevin Crowley for a two-out run in the first. Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) singled, and Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) drew a walk. Joe Moran (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Derek Binninger (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) walked on a 3-2 pitch to bring Miller home. However, Crowley was able to escape the inning with just the one run, leaving three on base.

The score remained 1-0 as Concordia stranded a total of nine runners through seven innings, five in scoring position. Benedictine then broke through against Bobby Beelen (Wheeling, IL/H.S.) with two out in the seventh as Tim Hendricks laced a double to left-center to score Tom Higgins and Mike Loni for a 2-1 lead.

An opportunity to tie the game escaped in the top of the eighth. Binninger reached base on an error and was on third base with just one out. However, Crowley retired the next two Cougars without the ball leaving the infield, and the Eagles held on to their slim lead. Benedictine then scored an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on Mike Luschen's sacrifice fly.

The extra run turned out to be the difference as Concordia rallied in the ninth. Crowley retired the firt two batters before Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) kept hopes alive with a base hit. Miller then walked on four pitches, and Gier doubled down the leftfield line. Weis scored, but the ball was tracked down quickly so that Miller had to hold at third base. Spencer Lehmann then fanned Moran to end a tense game one.

Game two started out well for the Cougars as Gier's double and a fielding error scored a pair of runs. In the third, Gier's triple and Binninger's single made it a 3-0 lead. Concordia added to the lead on Moran's RBI single in the fourth and a wild pitch that scored Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian) in the sixth.

The Cougars' 5-0 lead was wiped out in the bottom of the inning with five errors the main culprit. The first miscue came after Benedictine loaded the bases to start the inning and chase starter Ryan Thorsen (Lake Villa, IL/Grant Community). Higgins singled home a pair of runs, and pinch-hitter Brandon Clark delivered a two-run double to tie the game 5-5. Moments later, Nick Karakosta doubled home the go-ahead run, and the rally did not stop until the Eagles had sent 17 men to the plate, scored 11 times on seven hits and left the bases loaded.

Concordia got one run back in the seventh on Gier's third hit of the game, an RBI single, but Benedictine answered with John Cervantes' two-run homer for a 13-6 lead. Moran's base hit drove in Concordia's final run in the eighth, but a four-run eighth for Benedictine ended the game on the 10-run rule. Chris Wanderling provided the final of Benedictine's 16 hits, a two-run double that plated the final tallies.

The Cougars (10-3, 0-2 NAC) will look to get back on the winning track Monday afternoon when they host Rockford College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.