AUBURNDALE, FLA. – Following a one-day break from play, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars made their return to the dirt fields of Auburndale to take on the Fontbonne University Griffins, ultimately falling 9-6.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jaime Sandoval (Oak Lawn, Ill.) led the charge for the Cougars after each going two-for-four on the day while securing one RBI apiece.
- Garry Maynard (Oswego, Ill.) followed behind for the Cougars after going two-for-five with two RBIs.
- Christian Jacob (Scottsdale, Ariz.) worked on the mound going five full innings with only giving up eight hits while securing three strikeouts and throwing
The Cougars jumped on the board early as they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first following back-to-back hits from Maynard and
Julio Cajigas (Romeoville, Ill.). Maynard's infield single plus a stolen base put him on second with Cajigas at the plate to Maynard home on a triple to centerfield. Turning the game over to the defense, Jacob went to work on the mound and took only thirteen pitches to retire three batters.
Back at the plate, the Cougars continued to work, grabbing three hits in the inning after Sandoval sent a ball up the left field line and secured his first double of the day. A single up the middle from Maynard a few batters later would send two runs in and bring the Cougars to a four run advantage.
After giving up a run in the bottom of the second, the Cougars kept their feet on the gas heading into the top of the third and picked up two more runs. Kicking the inning off, sophomore
Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.) double to left followed behind by a double to left center from Krater that would tally the first run of the inning. Shortly after, a ball hit toward shortstop would send Krater home and give the Cougars the 6-1 lead and their last run scored of the game.
Stopping the Griffins from gaining momentum, a quick three batter inning capped off by a double play from Sandoval to first baseman
Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.) would keep the Griffins stagnant for a little while longer.
Unable to turn any runs in the top of the fourth, the narrative of the game began to shift as the Griffins took to the plate again. Picking up a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth cut the Cougar lead down to a two run advantage before the Griffins would add in two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to even the score.
As the Cougars continued to find themselves in a scoring rut, they would spend the next four innings battling themselves as they picked up three hits while leaving four runners on base. With the shift in momentum clearly on the Griffins' side, the second half of the game proved to be a different story than the first. New faces made appearances for the Cougars as freshman left-handed pitcher
Tyler Pritchard (Manhattan, Ill.) took to the mound where he forced three quick outs in the air to give the Cougars their fighting chance at putting some runs on the board.
Freshman infielder
Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill.) made his debut in the maroon and gold after taking second base in the bottom of the eighth, but the Cougars were unable to convert and ultimately fell 9-6.
The Cougars now sit at 5-3 overall, 3-2 in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, and look to make the bounce back tomorrow, Friday March 10
th, with a 9:00am EST first pitch. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage or on Twitter
@cucbaseball.
