March 30, 2015 - The Concordia-Chicago Cougars and Webster Gorloks renewed their annual rivalry this afternoon with a doubleheader at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Both contests featured some fine pitching performances, but some clutch late-inning efforts at the plate netted each team a win. The Cougars won game one 5-4 with a run in the 10th inning, but the Gorloks scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to take game two by a 1-0 score.

The Cougars put a run on the board right away in game one. Brendan Klein (St. Charles, IL/Lutheran St. Charles) singled, Joe Silva (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) walked, and Carlos Olavarria (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) singled to load the bases. Brent Spohr (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) then came to the plate with one out and hit a grounder deep in the hole on the left side. The shortstop's only play was a force play at third as Klein crossed the plate with the first score.

The 1-0 lead held up through the first five innings as Eric Palmer (Melrose Park, IL/West Leyden) made a strong return to the mound. Palmer allowed just two hits and stranded four runners before the Gorloks reached him for a pair of runs in the sixth. A walk, double and hit batsman loaded the bases quickly. Palmer struck out the next batter, but consecutive walks forced home the tying and go-ahead runs as Palmer gave way to Matt McTague (Skokie, IL/Niles North). McTague got CUC out of the inning tailing only by a run.

Concordia evened the score in the seventh as Doug Matthews (Lockport, IL/Lockport Township) led off with a double and later scored on a rundown play, but Webster answered back in their half of the inning. An RBI double by Kyle Uhrich and a wild pitch gave the hosts a 4-2 lead with time running out for the Cougars.

The Cougars came back again as Mitch Wilson (Oswego, IL/H.S.) walked to lead off the eighth. One out later, Olavarria launched his second homer of the season to left and brought the Cougars back even at 4-4. Two singles followed as the Cougars threatened to take the lead, but Webster's reliever got the next two outs to keep the game deadlocked.

Rob Lock (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius) took the mound for CUC in the bottom of the eighth and held Webster in check until the Cougars went back to work in the tenth. Olavarria led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Jeff Von Moser (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame). Matthews then ripped his second two-base hit of the game to score Olavarria. That run would hold up as Lock retired the side in the bottom of the inning. The Gorloks put a man on base with one out, but the next batter lined out to Lock who threw to first base and doubled the runner off for the final out.

Game two featured a pitching matchup between Webster's Matt Goro and CUC's Alex Meyers (Edwardsville, IL/H.S.). Meyers was followed by Brian Musielak (Chicago, IL/Brother Rice) and Adam Schmitt (Bartonville, IL/Limestone), all of whom pitched well. However, the Gorloks needed just a single run to win this game, and it came in the seventh. Two singles, a sacrifice and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Blake Thomas then grounded to shortstop, but the Cougars could get just one out on a force at second as the lone run crossed the plate.

The Cougars missed out on a golden opportunity on the ninth. With one out, Spohr doubled and was replaced at second by pinch-runner Kevin Garvey(Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield). Matthews then ripped a single to center, but Garvey could only advance to third. The game then ended as the Cougars hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

Concordia (9-11) will return to action on Saturday with a doubleheader at Rockford University.