April 22, 2013 - The Concordia Cougars' drive through the Northern Athletics Conference hit two big roadblocks today as they lost both ends of a doubleheader to Wisconsin Lutheran College, 5-3 and 4-3.

Early in game one, it appeared as if the Cougars momentum from Sunday's sweep over Marian would keep rolling. Thomas Gier's (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) first-inning single scored Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) who had singled and stole second base. Kyle Huber (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) then lined a double to the gap in right-center, scoring Gier. Derek Binninger's (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) singled and Robert Weis' (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) sacrifice fly scored Huber for a 3-0 lead.

The Cougars managed just four hits after the first inning as WLC's Josh Ruppel hurled the complete game victory. The Warriors got on the board with a pair of runs in the third inning off CUC starter Kurt Kempema (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.). An error then allowed the tying run to cross the plate in the fourth.

The game remained deadlocked until the seventh. Garrick Day led off the inning with a single off reliever Louis Foss (Warner Robins, GA/Houston County). A sacrifice and wild pitch moved Day to third from where he scored on a single by Sam Mattheis.

Wisconsin Lutheran added an insurance run in the eighth. Concordia tried to rally in the ninth as Dan Lo Dolce (Northlake, IL/Walther Lutheran) kept hopes alive with a two-out single. However, Ruppel retired Joe Moran (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame) on a ground ball to bring Concordia's 12-game winning streak to a halt.

In game two, the Cougars once again grabbed an early lead. Huber walked to lead off the second, and Binninger singled him to third. Weis' fly to left was deep enough to bring home Huber with the game's first run.

Weis drew a one-out walk in the fourth, and LoDolce singled to center. Tony Barreto (Cicero, IL/Nazareth Academy) singled to right, scoring Weis and moving LoDolce to second. However, Day stifled the threat by getting the next two outs and keeping the score at 2-0.

A lead-off walk in the fifth followed by a double and single let the Warriors tie the game off of Concordia starter C.J. Selner (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran). Wisconsin Lutheran then took the lead in the sixth on Tyler Schoen's single. The Warriors eventually loaded the bases looking to break the game wide open, but Kevin Pawell (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) relieved Selner and got a double play ball to end the threat.

Still trailing by a run in the ninth, the Cougars rallied. Barreto drew a one-out walk and was replaced on the basepaths by B.J. Weisflog (Grafton, WI/H.S.). Weisflog stole second and made third on a wild pitch. Pinch-hitter Will Randerson (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) then hammered a double to rightfield as Weisflog trotted home with the tying run. However, the next two batters were unable to bring home Randerson from second, and the game went to the bottom of the ninth tied at 3-3.

A leadoff infield hit brought Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) into the game for Pawell. A sacrifice moved the runner to second, and Cox intentionally walked the next batter to set up a potential double-play. However, Brett Youngbeck foiled the strategy by singling to center and driving home the winning run.

Concordia (22-5, 12-4 NAC) fell into a three-way tie for first place with Aurora University and Benedictine University. The Cougars will break from the conference schedule on Wednesday when they host Carthage College in a single game.