With conference tournament implications on the line, the Concordia University Chicago baseball team (11-23) split a doubleheader at the Thunderdome on Saturday with the Rockford University Regents (13-23) by final scores of 7-6 and 11-1, respectively.

Game One
Rockford got the scoring started in the top half of the third, hanging a five-spot thanks in large part to four consecutive singles to open the inning. 

The Cougars got one back in the bottom half after a fortunate hop in the outfield led to an RBI triple for junior Nathan Dewey (Geneva, Ill.) that scored freshman Aidan Donovan (Santee, Calif.). 

Senior Brody Mariotti (Yorktown, Ind.) sparked a rally in the sixth with a lead-off home run to make it a 6-2 ballgame. Junior Matthew Uba (Darien, Ill.) followed with a double down the line and later scored on a pinch-hit RBI single from senior Cooper Hynes (Melrose Park, Ill.). 

Sophomore Jaime Sandoval (Oak Lawn, Ill.) added a base hit and Donovan brought home another run with an RBI groundout. After sophomore Garry Maynard (Oswego, Ill.) was hit by a pitch, Dewey blooped a hit to center that was misplayed, bringing home the tying run. 

Rockford took the lead in the ninth on a two-out single to right that came immediately after an 0-2 pitch from sophomore Westin Stutzman (Goshen, Ind.) that appeared to be a strike. The Cougars were unable to answer in the ninth, falling 7-6.

Despite being the losing pitcher of record, Stutzman had a stellar outing out of the pen in game one. The sophomore went four innings, allowing one earned on three hits while striking out nine. 

Game Two
The Cougars were the first to strike in game two, as two consecutive hit batters brought home the game's first run, the latter of which gave junior Michael Zavoli (Lake Barrington, Ill.) an RBI.

Dewey continued his stellar day at the plate by driving home Sandoval in the bottom half of the second to make it a 2-0 ballgame. Rockford got one back on a two-out solo home run in the third, but junior Zach Litke (Oak Lawn) worked around any further damage. 

Insurance was added in the fifth, starting with Uba getting hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, delivering CUC their second run via a hit batter. Runs continued to come across in non-conventional ways, as Dewey scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to make it 4-1. 

The Cougars were again the benefits of a misplayed ball in the outfield later in the inning, when Hynes brought home two more on a blooper to shallow right. Hynes delivered an RBI single two innings later, with Maynard doing the same to make it 8-1. 

The final three runs came via a wild pitch and RBI groundout before sophomore Bryce Vincent (Algonquin, Ill.) sent everyone home with an RBI single that made it a 10-run Cougar lead. 

Litke went six innings in the start, allowing one earned on five hits and struck out five.

The two teams will finish off their regular season's tomorrow with a doubleheader at Rockford. First pitch is scheduled for noon and coverage will be available on the Rockford athletics website.