Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 April 12, 2014 - The weather was warm and the action wild and wooly as the Concordia Cougars hosted the Edgewood Eagles in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play this afternoon. The offenses had the upper hand over the pitching and defense for the entire day but, in the end, the Cougars improved to 20-2 on the season and 8-0 in conference play with a 13-7, 16-12 sweep.

Game one saw both teams reach the board in the first inning. Sean Thompson's sacrifice fly gave Edgewood a 1-0 lead, but Will Polley's (River Forest, lL/Oak Park-River Forest) double and Kyle Huber's (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) single drove in two-out runs for a 2-1 Cougar lead.

The score stayed at 2-1 until the fifth when the Eagles scored three runs. The Cougars' task became harder when the Eagles added a pair of runs with the aid of a couple of errors.

Edgewood's 6-2 lead did not last long however. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Steve Zubrzycki's (McHenry, IL/Marian Central Catholic) two-run double started CUC on the comeback trail. Moments later, Carlos Olavarria (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) drilled a two-run double to right-center, and Polley hit the gap in left-center to score Olavarria for a 7-6 lead.

The Cougars added a run in the seventh before putting the game out of reach in the eighth. Huber singled in a run, and Dan Lo Dolce (Northlake, Il/Walther Lutheran) capped the five-run inning with a two-run single. The Eagles added a harmless run in the ninth to end the scoring for game one.

Kevin Pawell (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) earned his first decision of the season with three innings in relief of starter Kurt Kempema (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.). Pawell allowed two unearned runs while striking out two.

Polley started the scoring in game two with a two-run double in the first. The hit was one of six for the Cougars' designated hitter in the doubleheader.

Edgewood charged back with four runs in the third, only to see CUC tie the game with two runs in their half of the inning. But the Eagles were back at it in the fourth as they scored four times. Alex Jaskulski's two-run double to leftfield was the big hit in the uprising as the visitors took an 8-4 lead.

The Cougars got back into the chase on perhaps the strangest play of the day. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the inning, Huber hit a chopper up the third-base line. The pitcher fielded the ball and threw home, too late to catch Zubrzycki. The throw sailed past the catcher as Olavarria came around to score. The Eagles then had Huber caught in a rundown between first and second, but the second baseman's throw sailed into the CUC dugout as Polley scored a third run on the play.

Concordia-Chicago then hit Edgewood with back-to-back four-run innings to take a 15-8 lead. Dan Eichholzer's (Elwood, IL/Joliet West) two-run double in the fifth gave CUC the lead for good at 10-8. In the sixth, the Cougars doubled their pleasure as two-base hits by Lo Dolce, Eichholzer and Olavarria all accounted for runs.

Edgewood scored twice in the seventh, but Eichholzer replied with his third homer of the year, a blast to deep left in the eighth. The Eagles added two final tallies in the ninth to account for the final score.

Robert Lock (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius), the second of five relievers behind starter C.J. Selner (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran), earned the win and improved to 2-0 on the year. Lock pitched two scoreless innings and had one strikeout.

The Cougars are scheduled to play two games at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sunday afternoon. This would be a rematch of last year's NACC tournament championship game in which CUC clinched a trip to the regionals.