Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 April 23, 2016 - Entering the home stretch, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars are alone atop the NACC standings. They would meet a Rockford University Regent team playing for their tournament lives, sitting at sixth in the conference standings. CUC ran away with game one by a score of 8-2 on the beautiful spring day in River Forest. Game two saw the Regents fight for their lives, forcing the Cougars to come back multiple times. CUC eventually took advantage of numerous Regent miscues and walked off in game two by a final score of 5-4.
In game one, the Cougars sent
Eric Palmer (Melrose Park. IL/West Leyden) to the hill. He pitched well for CUC in picking up his fourth win of the year. He struck out seven over six innings and allowed just five Regents' hits. Both teams would be scoreless until the bottom of the third when
Joe Silva (Arlington Heights, IL/Hersey) led off the bottom of the inning, taking the first pitch he saw and launching it deep, cutting through the wind and over the rightfield fence to give CUC the lead. With two outs and two on,
Grant Davis (Morris, IL/Morris Community) lined the first pitch he saw deep to left and over the fence for his first homerun of the year to make it 4-0 CUC after three.
CUC added another run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Silva singled to right, and
Andrew Massey (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) doubled down the left field line. Silva then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0 CUC. The Cougars scored two more runs in the fifth. Davis and
Colin Bethran (Schaumburg, IL/H.S.) walked, and
Bryan VanDuser (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) singled to left, scoring Davis. Massey then singled on a 0-1 pitch to score Bethran.
Rockford picked up two runs off the Cougar relievers in the seventh, but CUC got one of those back in the bottom of the eighth.
Mitch Wilson (Oswego, IL/H.S.) singled to begin the inning. He later scored on a safety squeeze that was perfectly executed by
Brendan Klein (St. Peters, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) to make it 8-2.
CUC was led by Silva with three hits, Massey and
Brady Roberts (Aurora, IL/Marmion Academy) also had two hits apiece in the 12-hit offensive attack.
Robert Lock (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius) and
Petar Arbov (Elk Grove Village, IL/Elk Grove) both worked scoreless innings in relief .
In game two, CUC came back multiple times, aided by Rockford errors. CUC sent
Mike Formella (Homer Glen, IL/Lockport Township) to the hill. He gave up three and pitched into the sixth. CUC would get on the board first in the bottom of the second. Wilson singled through the left side. With one out,
Kevin Coppin (Lisle, IL/H.S.) singled to left-center, advancing Wilson to third. Coppin stole second; and
Andrew Kroncke (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles North) followed by driving in Wilson with a groundout to short. Coppin then scored on a single to leftfield by Bethran to make it 2-0 CUC. Rockford reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth with three runs on three hits to make it 3-2. CUC then tied it up with a run in the bottom of the seventh when Coppin reached on an error and scored from second when a throw by the Regent first baseman sailed into rightfield to make it 3-3. Rockford would get an unearned run in the eighth to make it 4-3.
CUC took the run back again in the bottom half.
Brent Spohr (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) singled through the left side to get the inning started.
Kevin Garvey (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) ran for Spohr. A sacrifice bunt moved Garvey up to second. Garvey stole third and scored on the play when the throw from the catcher nicked off the third baseman's mitt and into left. Rockford went quietly in the ninth, and CUC was thinking walk-off going to the bottom half. Kroncke led off with a single to right and advanced when the outfielders misplayed the ball. One out later, VanDuser singled to second base, and the throw to first went off of the first baseman's glove and rolled away far enough to allow Kroncke to score the game-winning run.
Matt McTague (Skokie, IL/Niles North) worked the ninth inning on the mound for CUC and picked up his second win of the season.
With the two wins, CUC (24-8 12-2 NACC) remains in firm control of the NACC. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Division Street rival Dominican University on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 from Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg
