May 2, 2015 - In one of the most improbable finishes to a baseball game ever seen, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Benedictine University 7-6 and sweep their doubleheader. The sweep, which also included a 12-2 CUC win in game one, enabled the Cougars to gain a share of the regular-season Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title and earn the number one seed in next week's conference tournament.
Concordia-Chicago and Marian University will share the regular-season championship with 17-3 record in conference play. The Cougars and Sabres split their head-to-head competition back on April 6, and the tiebreaker to determing the top tournament seed came down to comparing the two teams' records against the other NACC teams, beginning at the top of the standings. CUC swept third-place Edgewood College while the Sabres managed only a split with the Eagles, thus settling the question.
For 8 1/2 innings, it appeared as if the Cougars would have to settle for second place as Benedictine pitchers Cody Netzel and Mike Irgang combined to hold CUC hitters to just two runs on seven hits. Irgang retired the first Cougar batter in the ninth before Will Randerson (Combined Locks, WI/Kimberly) and Joe Silva (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) singled. Jeff Von Moser (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame) was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Carlos Olavarria (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) took strike one before the next four pitches missed the plate, and the walk forced Randerson home to make it a 6-3 game. Brent Spohr (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) was next up, and he greeted the new Benedictine relief pitcher by ripping a shot down the third-base line Silva and Von Moser scored, and Olavarria moved into third on Spohr's double. Mitch Wilson (Oswego, IL/H.S.) was issued an intentional pass to set up a potential double-play situation, but the strategy backfired on the Eagles. Doug Matthews (Crest Hill, IL/Lockport Township) worked a 2-2 count before he was clipped on the jersey by a pitch to force home the tying run. On the first pitch to senior Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community), he was hit on the front foot as pinch-runner Kevin Garvey (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) came home with the winning run. "I'm really not sure how we pulled this one off," said CUC head coach Adam Smith. "But give credit to the guys that they never packed it in. They kept battling until they found a way to get it done - definitely not a way I would have expected."
Rob Lock (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius) improved to 2-0 by pitching the final two innings. Eric Palmer (Melrose Park, IL/West Leyden) pitched the first 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven batters, and Adam Schmitt (Bartonville, IL/Limestone) followed with 1 1/3 innings, allowing one unearned run. In game one, the Cougars broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run third inning. Matthews, who went 4-4 with four RBIs, ripped a screamer off the third baseman's glove for the go-ahead single. Gier following by shooting a single between first and second base to score Wilson. Rich Santarelli (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian) then hit a fly ball into short right-centerfield. The sun and wind combined to make it a tough play, and the ball fell between three fielders and rolled deeper into the outfield. With two outs, both runners were on the move and they scored easily while Santarelli raced into third with the two-run triple that made the score 5-1. The Cougars added two runs in the fourth on Spohr's double and Matthews' single. Later, with the lead at 7-2, CUC plated four runs in the sixth with doubles by Wilson and Santarelli serving as the big hits of the inning. The Cougars scored their final run in the seventh to win on the 10-run rule as Colin Bethran's (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.) single ended the game. Cody Caballero (Lemont, IL/H.S.) started game one and pitched three-plus innings before having to leave the game. C.J. Selner (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) and Alex Meyers (Edwardsville, IL/H.S.) followed out of the bullpen with Meyers earning the win to improve to 2-2. The freshman struck out three in his 2 2/3 innings of work. Conference tournament play will begin on Thursday, May 7 with all games to take place at Kapco Field on the campus of Concordia University Wisconsin. The Cougars (26-13) will open the tournament at 9 a.m. on Thursday with a game against sixth-seeded Aurora University. The full schedule for the tournament can be found at www.naccsports.org.
