River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia University Chicago baseball team broke out the brooms on Wednesday afternoon, picking up two wins over the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech for their first doubleheader sweep of the season. The Cougars rode excellent starts from junior Westin Stutzman (Goshen, Ind.) in game one and senior Zach Litke (Oak Lawn, Ill.) in game two to 10-0 and 4-2 victories.
Game One
Stutzman was outstanding in the opener, striking out four over six shutout innings. He allowed just two hits, and no runner reached second base until the sixth. This miniature threat was taken care of with an inning-ending double play that closed the books on the right-hander's big day.
He was backed by some early offense from the CUC bats. A one-out double by sophomore Elijah Hickman (Rensselaer, Ind.) got things going in the first, as he'd come around to score on a two-out single by junior Garry Maynard (Oswego, Ill.).
It took two pitches for the Cougars to add to their lead in the second. Senior Matthew Uba (Darian, Ill.) laced a base hit to left on the first pitch of the inning before junior Christian Jacob (Scottsdale, Ariz.) launched his second home run of the season on the following pitch.
They picked right back up again in the third. Hickman reached base via a dropped third strike and raced to third on a double off the bat of senior Michael Zavoli (Santa Clara, Utah). A wild pitch on ball four to Maynard brought Hickman home, and Zavoli and Maynard followed on a single up the middle by fifth-year Brody Mariotti (Yorktown, Ind.). The Cougars held a commanding 6-0 lead after three.
Leading 7-0 in the seventh, the Cougars were within striking distance of ending the game by run rule. They got even closer after Maynard and Mariotti led off the inning with back-to-back solo shots, their second and fourth of the season, respectively. The blasts from the CUC sluggers made it a 9-0 ballgame.
Jacob drew a one-out walk two batters later and put himself in scoring position by swiping second. With the chance to end the game early, freshman Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) delivered a rocket up the middle to center. Jacob scored easily and the Cougars picked up their first victory by run rule this season.
Inside the Box Score
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Over his last two starts at the Thunderdome, Stutzman has tossed 12 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and only three total hits.
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His six innings today match that previous outing as his season-high.
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It's the team's first shutout of 2022.
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Junior Chandler Kerr (Lockport, Ill.) struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.
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Eight Cougars had hits in the win, led by Mariotti with three. Zavoli, Maynard, and Jacob each had multi-hit efforts.
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Mariotti also led the way with three RBIs. Maynard and Jacob had two apiece.
Game Two
Litke was up to the challenge on the bump in a much tighter game two. He went a season-high six innings, struck out six, allowed two earned, and issued just one free pass. He was tremendous in setting the tone as the Cougars sought their first sweep of the season.
Once again, the Cougars were able to strike early. On the first pitch he saw all afternoon, senior Kevin Garcia (Chicago, Ill.) ripped his second home run of the season to left center.
Two Scarlet Hawk runs in the third gave IIT their first lead of the afternoon, but it was short-lived.
The middle of the CUC lineup sparked their rally in the fourth. Maynard led off the inning with a single and reached third on a double by Mariotti. Jacob then provided a great piece of hitting, putting the ball in play to second base and plating the tying run in the process.
Krater followed with his second RBI single of the day to put CUC back ahead 3-2.
The Cougars scored their lone insurance run in the sixth on back-to-back singles from Garcia and Jacob, giving them some breathing room on the mound.
It was sophomore Wyatt McLaughlin (Cave Creek, Ariz.) who came on in relief of Litke. Like every other CUC pitcher on the day, he was fantastic. He shut the door on the Scarlet Hawks with a three-inning save, starting with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
He issued a lead-off walk in the eighth, but worked around it with a fielder's choice and a massive inning-ending double play spearheaded by shortstop Jaime Sandoval (Oak Lawn, Ill.).
McLaughlin once again worked around trouble in the ninth to secure the doubleheader sweep for the Cougars.
Inside the Box Score
It's a big upcoming weekend for the team, and they'll start it off right back at the Thunderdome on Saturday with a doubleheader against No. 18 Aurora University. First pitch for game one is set for noon, and coverage for all of the action will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.
