Concordia University Chicago baseball (10-18) lost a high-scoring affair at home on Monday to the Eagles of Benedictine University (22-6) by a final score of 14-9.
After their bats were kept quiet at the Thunderdome on Saturday, Benedictine opened up Monday's game by scoring a pair of runs in each of the first two innings to jump out to an early 4-0 lead.
Junior Alex Kinert (Cave Creek, Ariz.) delivered the Cougars' first RBI in the second with a two-out triple off the wall in center to score junior Matthew Uba (Darien, Ill.). Kinert now has RBIs in back-to-back games.
Senior Brody Mariotti (Yorktown, Ind.) tied things up in the third with a mammoth three-run blast to center for his ninth home run of the year. Kinert came through again the following inning with a sac-fly to put the Cougars ahead 5-4.
The lead was short lived, however, as the Eagles tied the game on a sac-fly in the fifth before regaining the lead on a solo home run. A two-run homer in the seventh added some insurance for Benedictine who took an 8-5 lead.
Trailing by three in the seventh, junior Kevin Garcia (Chicago, Ill.) launched his second home run of the season to cut into the deficit. Benedictine answered right back in the eighth on an unearned run before sophomore Bryce Vincent (Algonquin, Ill.) brought the Cougars again within two with a sac-fly in the bottom half.
This was the closest CUC would get, as the Eagles manufactured five two-out runs in the top of the ninth to take a commanding 14-7 lead.
Kinert polished off his solid day at the plate with a two run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the rally halted there and the Cougars fell 14-9.
Garcia, Kinert and Uba each had two hits on the day, while Mariotti brought his team-leading RBI total to 38.
In seven innings of work, senior Cole Carman (Littleton, Colo.) allowed three earned on eight hits and struck out seven with no walks.
After three consecutive days of action, the Cougars will be off until Saturday when they welcome No. 5 Aurora to River Forest for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon, with Senior Day ceremonies taking place prior to the game. A stream to the action will be available on the CUC Athletics Youtube channel.
