Box Score March 11, 2018 - Fresh off an appearance in the Division III World Series in 2017, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars are serving notice early in 2018 of their intent to return to Appleton and finish the job. Although the Cougars have an abundance of returning talent this year, one of the catalysts to CUC's 7-2 start is a new man, junior transfer pitcher
Adam Gregory. Gregory's talent was on full display again this afternoon as he locked up The College of New Jersey with a strong eight-inning performance on his way to his third win to start the season, an 8-1 victory in Winter Haven, FL that concluded the Cougars' excursion to the Sunshine State.
The Lions made a few mild threats early in the game, but once CUC put up a five-spot in the third, the game was as good as over. Gregory shut out TCNJ until two out in the eighth when a two-out triple sent a run across the plate. It was the first run Gregory had allowed in 19 2/3 innings to start the season. and the southpaw transfer from Division II Illinois-Springfield retired the next man to end the day. Gregory is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA to begin his Cougar career.
Like Saturday night against Ramapo, the Cougar bats were quiet for the first couple innings against TCNJ starter Michael Fischer. However,
Kevin Garcia smashed the first pitch of the third inning to left field for CUC's first hit. One out later, Garcia swiped second base with
Jose Mercado at bat. Mercado then hit a soft bouncer to second, but the second baseman took his eye off the ball to look at the runner, and that proved costly as the ball rolled under his legs into right field. Garcia scored to start the Cougars on their way. A walk to
Bryan VanDuser and a hit by
Joe Silva loaded the bases for
Andrew Massey, who grounded a single to right, scoring Mercado and moving everyone up 90 feet.
Mitch Wilson then hit a ball to the alley in left-center. The center fielder got the tip of his glove on the ball but was unable to haul it in. The two-run double stretched the Cougar lead to 4-0, and a fifth run came home on a wild pitch.
The lead was more than Gregory needed, and he was able to economize on his pitches, retiring the Lions on five pitches in the third, four pitches in the fifth and seven pitches in the sixth. Gregory struck out only one batter today, but he recorded 11 outs on ground balls. The Cougars' infield assisted him by turning three double plays.
The Cougars added to their lead with a run in the fifth on a Silva single and Massey double, and a run in the sixth on a VanDuser sacrifice fly. The Lions scored their run in the eighth, but the Cougars closed out the scoring in the ninth. Massey led off with a single, and pinch-runner
Mateo Calle eventually scored on a hit by
Justin Rodriguez. The CUC catcher factored in the final run as he stole second base, and
Keegan Tyrell scored from third as the throw sailed into center field.
Noah Dressler pitched the bottom of the ninth, retiring the side on three straight pop-ups.
"Obviously, Adam was the story again today, but still this was very much a team win," said CUC head coach
Mike Stawski. "Our defense turned three double plays again, and we are playing very good behind our pitchers. This was a very good road trip, especially the last couple days playing some excellent teams, and I'm very happy about a 5-1 trip and a 7-2 record at this point of the season."
Concordia-Chicago wil lhit the road again next weekend. This time, Waverly, IA will be the destination as the Cougars are scheduled to play two games against the University of St. Thomas (MN) and two games against host Wartburg College.
