April 27, 2013 - Looking to retain at least a share of first place in the Northern Athletics Conference, the Concordia Cougars began an important weekend of play on Saturday afternoon in Verona, Wisconsin. Edgewood College provided the opposition with much at stake as they were in quest of one of the tournament spots themselves. Concordia won the first game handily by an 11-5 score, but it took an eighth-inning rally in game two to take game two by a 3-2 score and complete the sweep.

Bobby Beelen (Wheeling, IL/H.S.) earned the win in game one, improving to 5-1 on the season. The southpaw allowed just one run on three hits in his seven innings of work.

Tied 1-1 in the third inning, Concordia took the lead as Steve Zubrzycki (McHenry, IL/Marian Central Catholic) walked and Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) doubled. Both would score moments later on RBI ground outs by Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) and Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community).

The Cougars opened up a 7-1 lead with a big fifth inning. Miller and Gier had back-to-back run-scoring doubles, and Derek Binninger's (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) infield single produced a run.

Miller opened up the seventh with his second homer of the season. Another run scored later in the inning on an error, making the score Cougars 9, Eagles 1. Zubrzycki's single in the eighth then pushed the lead to nine runs

Edgewood greeted Concordia's bullpen with four runs in the eighth as Jake Zadra's two-run double and Ryan O'Dell two-run homer got the Eagles within five. But Kevin Pawell (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) came in to get the final two outs of the inning. Will Randerson's (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth pushed across the final tally of the game, and Paul Kukulka (Lake Villa, IL/Lakes Community) retired the side in the bottom of the inning to put game one in the books for Concordia.

Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West) took the mound for the Cougars in game two. The junior shut down the hosts through the first three frames but battled some control issues in the fourth. Edgewood used a single and three walks to push across the game's first run. The Eagles made it a 2-0 game the following inning on back-to-back doubles by Zadra and O'Dell.

The Cougars were unable to touch Eagles' starter Taylor Hillmann through the first seven innings, managing only five hits. However, the offense came to life in the eighth. With one out, Weis and Miller singled. Brock McGinn replaced Hillmann on the mound and retired Gier on a fly ball for the second out. But Kyle Huber (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) ripped McGinn's first pitch into centerfield for a hit, scoring Weis. Miller moved into third while Huber took second place on the throw. Binninger then worked a full count before drilling a single to left. The hit scored Miller and pinch-runner Nick Contorno (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) to give Concordia the lead.

The Eagles put two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth, but Steve Cox (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) entered the game and escaped the jam, getting the batter to swing at the first pitch and pop it up in the infield. The Eagles threatened again in the ninth as a leadoff hit eventually reached third base with just one out. But Cox rose to the occasion, striking out O'Dell and Alex Jaskulski to wrap up the Cougars' 25th victory of the season.