The Concordia University Chicago baseball team (7-11) hit the road today, April 12, as they went into Chicago to face the Illinois Institute of Technology (8-2) for a doubleheader. The games were supposed to be played on Saturday, but due to weather, was postponed to today. Before these contests, CUC was coming off a 0-2 loss from IIT at home on Sunday, April 11.
 
In the first game of the day, the Cougars found a great deal of success, although it didn't start off that way. The Scarlet Hawks began off with the lead, opening the game with three runs in the first inning. Then, they followed that up with seven runs in the second to make it 10-5.
 
But that didn't hold the Cougars back. CUC ended up scoring 21 runs in the remaining seven innings to secure a big 24-11 win against the Scarlet Hawks.
 
The Cougars had three players grab home runs in this game, and they were sophomore Colton Wallace (Hampshire, Ill.), junior Matthew Uba (Darien, Ill.) and junior Michael Zavoli (Lake Barrington, Ill.). Along with those stats, Uba and Wallace brought in 12 combined runners as they each earned six RBIs. The team also had three players score runs, and they were Zavoli, Wallace and sophomore Garry Maynard (Oswego, Ill.).
 
On the mound, freshman Jack Rector (Peoria, Ariz.) ended up with the win. He struck out two of the eight batters he faced. Junior Mike Tobin (Hickory Hills, Ill.) also contributed to the team's success from the hill, striking out three of the eight batters he went up against.
 
The second game started strong for CUC, but it didn't end with the result in their favor. The Cougars came out swinging, scoring nine runs in the first two innings. However, the Scarlet Hawks responded back quickly, registering nine of their own. Then, Illinois Tech chiseled away at the lead. They recorded one run in both the fourth and fifth innings to give them an advantage in the game. From there, they never let up. The Cougars ultimately lost the second game of the doubleheader 18-12.
 
Sophomore Caleb Anderson (Plainfield, Ill.) and senior Cooper Hynes (Melrose Park, Ill.) led the offensive efforts for the Cougars. Anderson notched his first collegiate home run as the sole CUC player to earn this stat. Both Anderson and Hynes each secured three RBIs for the team and were the only two players to record a double. Uba also helped bring runners in as he registered two RBIs of his own.
 
The Cougars had three pitchers earn strikeouts today with starting pitcher Ryan Davila (Gurnee, Ill.), recording three, sophomore Sammy Valdez (Plainfield, Ill.) notching two, and Uba contributing one.  
 
Now, CUC will have one day off before they face a non-conference opponent in North Central College. The two teams will play one game on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in River Forest. A live stream for this game can be found at youtube.com/cucsports.