March 13, 2015 - "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles could have provided the soundtrack for Concordia-Chicago baseball's Friday evening at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars first had to wait out an 11-inning game between the University of St. Thomas and Linfield College. Following that game's conclusion, the 13th-ranked (NCAA Division III) Cougars took the field against second-ranked St. Thomas and fought an uphill battle for 12 innings. By the time the game had ended early Saturday morning (2:15 a.m. Chicago time), the Cougars had fallen to 5-4 on the season with a 6-5 loss to the Tommies.

Sophomore Cody Caballero (Lemont, IL/H.S.) took the mound for the Cougars and was in top form early on. The lefty retired the first six batters, striking out three (two looking). Meanwhile, the Cougars lost a couple of early chances on the bases as the Tommies caught a runner going to third on an infield single and then doubled a runner off third base on a popped-up squeeze bunt.

St. Thomas got their first hit to lead off the third, and the next two batters took advantage of some uncharacteristic wildness by Caballero to draw walks and load the bases. Caballero came back with his fourth strikeout to get the first out, but a ground ball to second pushed the first run of the game across.

The Tommies extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth as a leadoff walk, two singles and a stolen base accounted for the tallies. Caballero would shut down St. Thomas in the sixth before leaving the mound, finishing with five strikeouts. UST starter Dominic Reed also pitched six innings, escaping his final inning with the help of a double play after a Cougar runner was called out for leaving second base early trying to advance on a fly ball.

Freshman Mike Formella (Homer Glen, IL/Lockport Township) relieved Caballero in the seventh. An error helped put the righthander in a bases-loaded jam with one out, but Formella came back to coax a 6-4-3 double play out of the next batter and keep the Cougars within striking range.

The first two CUC batters went down to start the seventh, but Colin Bethran (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.) ripped a double down the line past the diving third baseman. Pinch-hitter Doug Matthews (Lockport, IL/Lockport Township) then reached base, beating out an infield single with Bethran advancing to third. The Cougars then executed a double steal with Bethran sliding in just under the infielder's throw to the plate. Steve Zubrzycki (McHenry, IL/Marian Central Catholic) then shot a single between first and second with Matthews racing around third to score and making it a 3-2 game.

After Formella retired the Tommies in the eighth, the Cougars went back to work. Joe Silva (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on an infield grounder. Silva took third on Brent Spohr's (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) fly down the line in rightfield and scored moments later as a pitch got away from the catcher just far enough for the tying run.

St. Thomas came back to take a 5-3 lead in the ninth. After one out, two singles and an errant throw from the outfield pushed across the go-ahead run. Two more hits followed in the inning, although the Cougars lessened the blow slightly when they appealed on a runner missing second base and were awarded the call.

Down to their final three outs, the Cougars rallied to extend the game. Matthews drew a four-pitch walk to start the inning, but the UST pitcher came back to retire the next two batters. However, Carlos Olavarria (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) singled up the middle to score Matthews and make it a one-run game. On a 2-2 count, a pitch to Silva got away from the catcher as Olavarria moved into scoring position. That proved fateful as Silva ripped the next pitch back up the middle. The Tommies' pitcher got a piece of the ball but not enough to keep it from bouncing into centerfield as the tying run came across the plate and pushed the game into extra innings.

The Cougars appeared to have the momentum as the top of the tenth ended with Olavarria throwing out a runner at home plate who tried to score on a fly ball. Catcher Kevin Coppin (Lisle, IL/H.S.), who made the tag for the out, then led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. Pinch-runner Kevin Garvey (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) then stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice by Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian). Dan LoDolce (Northlake, IL/Walther Lutheran) was hit by a pitch and promptly took second base, giving CUC a prime scoring opportunity. But UST's Colin Wendinger worked his way out of the jam with a strikeout and a grounder to the short as the game pressed on to the eleventh.

A fly ball to center denied the Cougars in the 11th after they had put two runners aboard with two out. The Tommies then struck in the 12th, beginning their winning rally with a single and a walk. Cory Quinlan then lofted a fly ball down the line in rightfield. The ball fell just inside fair territory as the lead run raced around third to score. Matt McTague (Skokie, IL/Niles North) prevented further damage as he ended the inning with a strikeout and two grounders to second.

One more comeback was not in the cards for the Cougars, unfortunately. The fifth Tommies' reliever of the night set down the Cougars in order on a fly to center and two strikeouts, putting an end to the four-hour, fifteen-minute marathon.

Concordia-Chicago will return to action following a short night's sleep to play Linfield College at 12:30 (Arizona time) and Augsburg College at 7:30. Kurt Kempema (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.) and Eric Palmer (Melrose Park, IL/West Leyden) are expected to draw the starting pitching assignments.