May 18, 2013 - For the first three days of the NCAA III Central Regional, runs were at a premium for the Concordia Cougars. But today, when the Cougars needed it most, the offense picked up the team after they had let a 5-0 lead slip away. Concordia went on to a 9-6 victory over Augustana College, eliminating the host Vikings and reserving their own spot in the regional championship game.
The Cougars were ready for action immediately, and they pulled off a repeat act from Wednesday's win over the Vikings.
Joe Moran (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame) led off with a walk, and
Shawn Miller (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) followed by knocking Darwin Townsend's first pitch over the wall in left for a quick 2-0 lead.
There was more to come in the inning, however.
Derek Binninger (Pleasant Prairie, WI/Tremper) singled with one out and
Will Randerson (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) walked.
Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) lined a single to left, scoring Binninger for a 3-0 lead. Moments later, a wild pickoff throw to first rolled to the rightfield corner as Randerson scored and Weis raced to third. He would come home on
Dan LoDolce's (Northlake, IL/Walther Lutheran) single as the Cougars stunned the Vikings with a five-run first.
Bobby Beelen (Wheeling, IL/H.S.) made the start for the Cougars and sailed through the first two innings. However, an error in the third opened the door for Augustana and they took advantage. They loaded the bases with one out before Grant Stewart doubled to the base of the wall in right-center. After three innings, the Cougars' lead was trimmed to 5-3.
The Vikings kept coming, and they tied the game in the fourth on Jacob Van Duyne's two-run single. They went on to load the bases, forcing head coach Adam Smith to go to the bullpen for Pauk Kukulka (Lake Villa, IL/Lakes Community). Kukulka held the score at 5-5 by striking out Stewart looking and getting Brandon Jasper to pop up to Binninger.
To the Cougars' credit, they did not let the Vikings' comeback shake them. Rather, Concordia regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two out, Jared McIntosh plunked Moran and Miller with consecutive pitches. That brought
Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) to the plate, and he lined McIntosh's 1-0 pitch into leftfield. Moran raced around third and beat the throw home for a 6-5 lead.
Concordia struck again in the fifth as Randerson led off with a fly ball that fell between three fielders inside the leftfield line for a double. Weis' single put runners on first and third, and Randerson scored moments later as the Vikings' middle infield turned a double play.
Stewart made it a one-run game as he homered to left to lead off the seventh, but the Cougars had another answer when they came to bat. McIntosh retired the first two batters, but Randerson worked a walk and Weis singled
. Nick Contorno (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) then came to the plate, having come in as a defensive replacement an inning earlier. The first pitch from McIntosh sailed to the backstop as both runners moved into scoring position. At that point, the Vikings' coach opted for lefthander Rick Erickson, and Smith countered with pinch-hitter
Tony Barreto (Cicero, IL/Nazareth Academy). Barreto took a strike and then lined the next pitch in front of the rightfielder for a two-run single.
With Kukulka having thrown 3 2/3 innings of relief, Smith went to a surprise choice on the mound for the eighth inning
. Dan Kluss (Niles, IL/Niles West), fresh off his complete-game effort against Augustana just three days earlier, came in to hold the three-run lead. A leadoff single and misplayed double play ball put Kluss in trouble, but the junior forced Danny Fifer to hit a grounder to shortstop. This time, the Cougars did turn the double play ball. Kluss then worked out of the jam as he retired Schmidt on a lazy fly to left. He would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth and earn his first save of the year. Kukulka earned the win, improving to 6-0 on the season.
