Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 April 17, 2016 - The baseball axiom states that winning teams are built on pitching and defense, but it's hard to go wrong when a team is scoring runs as the Concordia-Chicago Cougars have done this weekend. Fresh off a 26-run outpouring in Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Concordia University Wisconsin, the Cougars kept off the attack today as they traveled to Neumann Family Field on Milwaukee to take on Wisconsin Lutheran College. Concordia-Chicago peppered the home team with 28 hits, 14 in each game, and added two more wins to their ledger with a 16-6, 11-2 sweep. The wins capped a stretch in which the Cougars won nine of ten games within the last seven days and improved to 22-7 overall (10-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference).

Game one was a near carbon-copy of yesterday's first game in which the Cougars did most of their damage in the latter stages of the game. The Warriors jumped out quickly as they scored in each of the first three innings and led 4-1. CUC's only run in that span came as Bryan VanDuser's (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) two-out double in the third scored Andrew Kroncke (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles North), who had walked. The Cougars drew a run closer in the fifth on consecutive one-out singles by VanDuser, Joe Silva (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) and Andrew Massey (Chicago, IL/St. Rita).

The top of the sixth inning took nearly a half-hour to complete as the Cougars exploded for eight runs to take a 10-4 lead. Colin Bethran's (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.) single up the middle scored a pair of runs to tie the game 4-4. The hit also clipped the WLC starting pitcher as it went by, and the Warriors' manager was forced to go to the bullpen early. The two CUC bsaerunners greeted the new pitcher with a double steal, and an error on the third baseman scored both of them for a 6-4 lead. Before the inning was over, Mitch Wilson (Oswego, IL/H.S.) doubled home a pair of runs, and Grant Davis (Morris, IL/Morris Community) added another run-scoring double.

Wisconsin Lutheran bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to stay within range, but that did not last long. Bethran was hit by a pitch to start the seventh and promptly stole second before VanDuser knocked him in. Later in the inning, Wilson added a second two-run double in as many innings. The Cougars added five in the seventh and one in the eighth to close the scoring on a wild game one.Adam Schmitt (Peoria, IL/Limestone) pitched through six innings and earned the win, improving to 3-2 on the season.

In game two, the Cougars gave starter Alex Meyers (Edwardsville, IL/H.S.) a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Wilson led off with his third double of the day and advanced to third when the relay throw was bobbled. Kevin Coppin's (Lisle, IL/H.S.) sacrifice fly a few batters later scored Wilson with the initial run. Bethran's base hit moments later scored a second run, and Bethran scored when he stole third base and came home as the catcher's thow to third sailed down the line. 

Doug Matthews' (Crest Hill, IL/Lockport Township) single scored a run in the fifth, but the Warriors came back with two runs to halve the lead. Once again, however, CUC went back to work and scored three in the sixth. Doubles by Bethran and Silva scored one run, and Brent Spohr (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) ripped a single to left to score Silva. Wilson followed with yet another double to cap the inning and make the score CUC 7, WLC 2.

The Cougars stayed on a roll as they added on with two in the seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth. Brendan Klein (St. Charles, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) singled home a run, and Silva's triple to left-center tallied the final run of the day. 

Meyers earned his fourth win in five decisions this season, hurling six innings and allowing just the two runs. he was followed out of the bullpen by Petar Arbov (Elk Grove Village, IL/Elk Grove), Armando Cornejo (Chicago, IL/Jones College Prep) and Matt McTague (Skokie, IL/Niles North) who pitched one inning each.

Concordia-Chicago will play ag North Central College in a single non-conference game this Tuesday.