SAUGET, ILL. — To kick off the 2024 season, the Concordia University Chicago baseball team (0-1, 0-0) traveled to Sauget, Illinois, for the weekend, first facing off against the Heidelberg University Student Princes (1-0, 0-0) on Friday. In what turned into an offensive shootout, Heidelberg downed the Cougars 14-9.
Inside the Box
- Julio Cajigas (Romeoville, Ill.) and Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led the offense, picking up three hits a piece on the day. Meanwhile, Mahler collected a total of four RBIs.
- Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.) also had productive days at the plate, picking up two RBIs each.
- Anthony Pullano (Park Ridge, Ill.) dazzled in relief, pitching two shutout innings with three strikeouts.
How it Happened
- Heidelberg struck first, getting to the Cougars starting pitcher Dylan Scott (Bartlett, Ill.) early. Scott gave up a lead-off double to left-center field and walked the next batter. Those two runners scored on an error and a fielder's choice, leaving the score at 2-0 in favor of Heidelberg after one inning.
- The Student Princes got another run because of a leadoff homerun in the top of the second.
- After giving up another five runs in the top of the third, the Cougars started to come alive in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs. Krater doubled for an RBI, before Mahler did the same just two batters later, bringing the score to 8-2.
- Mahler collected another RBI in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI single. However, CUC's pitching had trouble keeping the Student Princes bats quiet, as the scoreboard now read 13-3.
- After Heidelberg added another run in the sixth, Pullano came out to the bump in the seventh, holding the Student Princes to their first scorless inning with two strikeouts to send the Cougars back to the dugout to get their offense going.
- Using that momentum, Concordia started to battle back, scoring three in the bottom of the seventh. Elijah Hickman (Rensselaer, Ind.) crossed home on an error before Mahler brought Kasik and Cajigas home with a two RBI double. But the Cougars still trailed 14-6 at the end of the seventh.
- Concordia fought hard in the eighth and ninth innings despite the large deficit. Kasik blasted a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth and Jack Carroll (North Aurora, Ill.) added another run in the ninth with an RBI single to score Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.). This is as far as the CUC comeback would make it, with the final score reading 14-9 in favor of Heidelberg.
The Cougars will be back in action tomorrow, Feb. 24, when they take on North Park University. First pitch is set for 5 p.m., and coverage can be found at cucougars.com.
