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BSB vs Willamette
5
Concordia Chicago CUC 18-21
6
Winner Concordia Wisconsin CUW 17-19
Concordia Chicago CUC
18-21
5
Final
6
Concordia Wisconsin CUW
17-19
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Concordia Chicago CUC 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 5 8 0
Concordia Wisconsin CUW 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 6 16 1

W: N. Nawracaj (1-0) L: Jones, Bryce (3-3)

14
Winner Concordia Chicago CUC 19-21
2
Concordia Wisconsin CUW 17-20
Winner
Concordia Chicago CUC
19-21
14
Final
2
Concordia Wisconsin CUW
17-20
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Concordia Chicago CUC 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 8 0 14 15 1
Concordia Wisconsin CUW 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 7 3

W: McLaughlin, Wyatt (3-3) L: J. Hribernik (1-6)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Kayla McCloud, Director of Athletic Communications

2024 Season Concludes After Vazquez Jr.'s First Career Homerun In 14-2 Victory

MEQUON, WIS. –  In a do or die day for the Concordia University Chicago baseball team, they would fall in game one against Concordia University Wisconsin and reign victorious in game two. The battle of the day would determine the seeding and opportunity to secure a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament. The Cougars would fall short in placing in the tournament with the split on the day.

GAME ONE: 6-5 L
INSIDE THE BOX
  • Alejandro Muñoz (Evergreen Park, Ill.) (Evergreen Park, Ill.) led at the plate going 2-4 with one RBI.
  • Caleb Anderson (Plainfield, Ill.) followed closely behind also going 2-4 at the plate.
  • Elijah Hickman (Rensselaer, Ind.), Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.), Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.) and Yashion Boswell (Lynwood, Ill.) each added an RBI on the day.
  • David Deimling (Bloomingdale, Ill.) got the start on the mound with 4.1 innings pitched with one strikeout.
  • Anthony Pullano (Park Ridge, Ill.) was the lone pitcher for the Cougars to not allow a run. The junior pitched .2 innings with no hits and one strikeout in the three batters faced.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Cougars started out stale and allowed the Falcons to score first in the bottom of the first. Continuing to struggle at the plate, a three up three down top of the second would keep the Cougars blank. The Falcons would take advantage and extend their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second off three hits.
  • In the top of the third, a walk for Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) would put one runner on base. A single for Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.) would give enough time for Zagerman to get to third before a single to left for Krater would send him home and officially put the Cougars on the board.
  • A quiet few innings would hold the score the same until the bottom of the fifth where the Falcons would break things open and take the 5-1 lead.
  • With only two innings to try to climb out of the deficit, the Cougars started things off in the top of the sixth with a leadoff walk for Kasik and a hit by pitch for Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) putting two runners on base. A single up the middle for Anderson would load the bases up while a single through the left side would score one and start the Cougars climb back.
  • With the second pitching change in the inning, the Cougars would continue to hit well and a sacrifice fly for Boswell would score another and make it a two-run game.
  • A walk for Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) would reload the bases for another sacrifice fly to score another and make it a one-run game. With the Falcons entering their fourth pitcher of the inning, the Cougars would finally close their half of the inning with momentum on their side.
  • The Cougars would hold the Falcons scoreless in the bottom of the sixth at the hands of Bryce Jones (Ottawa, Ill.) and hand things back to the Cougar batters rather quickly.
  • A solo homerun for Kasik to start the top of the seventh would open the doors for a whole new ballgame. Back-to-back singles for Anderson and Muñoz would put two runners on base, but ultimately end the inning evened up.
  • With the Falcons hitting aggressively, they would walkoff the game with three consecutive hits to secure the win over the Cougars 6-5.
HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
GAME TWO: 14-2 W
INSIDE THE BOX
  • Hickman went 3-4 at the plate with two runs.
  • Zagerman went 2-3 at the plate with four runs.
  • Dorsch led in RBIs with four after going 2-6 at the plate
  • Sergio Vazquez Jr. (Concord, Calif.) followed behind in RBIs with three while going 1-5 at the plate.
  • Wyatt McLaughlin (Cave Creek, Ariz.) picked up his third win of the season after pitching two innings, allowing no runs with a team high three strikeouts in nine batters faced.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Cougars were unable to get on the board in the first inning despite a leadoff single for Hickman. Heading to the defensive side, the Cougars were able to ward off the Falcons in the bottom of the first with three batters.
  • The game would remain scoreless until the top of the third when a leadoff single for Zagerman paired with an error and a single for Krater would score the first run of the game. A single up the middle for Dom Owens (Frankfort, Ill.) would score the second run of the game while a single for Anderson would reload the bases. Unable to convert on a bases loaded situation, the Cougars would head to the bottom of the third with the 2-0 lead.
  • With McLaughlin dealing on the mound, the Cougars would close the bottom of the third in four batters and hand things back to the hitters.
  • A single for Zagerman paired with a hit by pitch for Hickman would put two runners on base while a single for Dorsch would score one. A follow-up single for Krater would score another while a sacrifice fly for Owens would score one more and put the Cougars up 5-0 to close the inning.
  • The Falcons would find their first and only runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning off three hits that would score two runs, but keep the Cougars ahead 6-2.
  • The game would sit stagnant until the top of the eighth where a leadoff walk for Zagerman paired with a single up the middle for Hickman would put two on base. Dorsch would send a three run homerun over the left field fence to put the Cougars up 9-2.
  • A pair of walks and a strikeout would put Muñoz at the plate for a single through the left side and load the bases up. A fielding error would put Jerkatis on base, but score two runs in the process and leave two runners on base with Vazquez Jr. at the plate.
  • In the biggest at bat of his career, Vazquez Jr. sent a rocket of a ball over the left field line and secured his first career homerun in the three run shot to put the Cougars up 14-2.
  • With the Falcons unable to cut into the Cougar lead, the game would close at the end of eight innings with the 12 run lead for the Cougars.
HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
 
 
Despite the monstrous win for the Cougars in game two, they would fall just short in making the conference tournament after finishing in ninth place with a 10-14 record in the NACC and 19-21 overall to conclude the 2024 season. To stay up to date on all things CUC Baseball during the offseason, follow along on Instagram and X @cucbaseball. Coverage for all sports and content from this season can be found at cucougars.com.
 
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