WESTFIELD, IND. -- Kicking off their season at the Crossroads Series the Concordia University Chicago took the turf at Grand Park for their first two games of the season, splitting the day.
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GAME ONE
With junior pitcher
Wyatt McLaughlin (Cave Creek, Ariz.) on the mound, the Cougars quickly took control of the momentum of the game. McLaughlin picked off a runner at first base before striking out the last two outs of the inning and repeating the cycle in inning two.Â
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With both teams struggling to get the bats going, senior
Carter Gledhill (Arlington Heights, Ill.) got things going with the first hit of the game in the second inning after sending a ball right up the middle. With McLaughlin working to keep the opposing at bats short and sweet, the second hit of the game would come in the bottom of the fourth inning as
Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) sent a long ball to right center.Â
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With the first few innings of the game coming and going quickly, Heidelberg jumped ahead in the top of the fourth inning and took an early 2-0 lead. Looking to retaliate, in the bottom of the fourth junior
Julio Cajigas (Romeoville, Ill.) put himself in scoring position after stealing second. A long ball sent to the left field fence from sophomore
Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.) would send Cajigas home and cut the deficit down to one.Â
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As freshman
Eliot Higgins (Park Ridge, Ill.) took the mound for the Cougars, he was unable to combat the hot bats. Higgins saw three innings in his opening appearance in the maroon and gold.Â
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With the CUC unable to convert on any of their hits throughout the game, they fell to Heidelberg 10-1.Â
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GAME TWO
Game two started off with a jolt of electricity as
Elijah Hickman (Rensselaer, Ind.) sailed the first pitch of the game to the right corner and grabbed himself the first triple of the game. A few pitches later, Cajigas would drive one up the middle and send Hickman home to give the Cougars the 1-0 advantage. With Cajigas jumping to second on a wild pitch, he found himself in scoring position after
Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.)Â sailed one to the exact same spot as Hickman to start the game and give the Cougars the 2-0 lead.
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On the defensive end, senior
Westin Stutzman (Goshen, Ind.) took to the mound and went to work. Stutzman took on four batters, striking two out swinging. In the second inning he continued to work, facing another three batters and not allowing a hit. He would close his time in the game after six full innings pitched and putting down eight strikeouts while allowing eight hits.Â
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Hitting a stale point off the bats, the Cougars wouldn't be able to find another run until the top of the ninth when the bats came to life once again. Finding themselves in a deficit to dig out of, the Cougars got themselves back on the board after Hickman marched his way around the bases. Back-to-back hits from Kasik and Dorsch would bring the Cougars back within one while the game tying run would come off a hit up the line from Krater that would put the pressure on the Cougar defense to keep the fight alive.
Doing just that, the Cougars found relief in the duo of pitching from freshman
David Deimling (Bloomingdale, Ill.) and junior
Aidan Teahan (Park Ridge, Ill.) who would get them out of the inning without the Vikings scoring a run.
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Heading to the top of the tenth inning, the Cougars once again found their bats hot as they were able to put up two runs and jump ahead 10-8 once again putting the pressure on the fielding abilities of the team. With Teahan still on the mound, the Cougars secured the win after three consecutive strikeouts would end the ballgame.
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"It was the type of game that primes you for a season," Head Coach
Kolin Conner said. "To learn how to win games against regional teams is a huge learning experience. It was an awesome opportunity for our guys."
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The Cougars face a quick turnaround as they take on College of St. Scholastica tomorrow, February 26th, 2023 at 11:00 am EST. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com and on Twitter
@cucbaseball.
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