WAUWATOSA, WIS. – The Concordia University Chicago baseball team picked up two key victories over the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors to extend out to a 24-13 record and a 15-7 record in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). With the sweep, the Cougars pick up their most single-season wins under the direction of Head Coach Kolin Conner while they became one of three teams to officially clinch the 2025 NACC Tournament.


 

𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙.

Hello NACC Tourney... Did you miss us 😈#d3b pic.twitter.com/i0Vrcl6Y7x

— CUC Baseball (@CUCbaseball) April 26, 2025

GAME ONE: 5-2 W
INSIDE THE BOX

• Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led the offense going three-for-five at the plate with two RBIs while picking up one double in the game.
• Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) followed going two-for-four at the plate with two RBIs and a double himself.
• Dylan Scott (Bartlett, Ill.) picked up his fifth win of the season going six innings on the bump for the Cougars while picking up four strikeouts in 26 batters faced.
• Eliot Higgins (Park Ridge, Ill.) picked up his third save of the season coming in relief in the ninth inning and picking up two strikeouts.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.) led things off with a free base to start the game and slowly making his way to third with two stolen bases. A single from Mahler would score Dorsch and put the Cougars on the board first.
• With Mahler moving over to second on a wild pitch, a single to centerfield from Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) would score another run and put CUC up 2-0 after the top of the first.
• Scott would pick up his first strikeout of the day on his first batter and hold the Warriors scoreless with only four batters in the inning.
• Leading off the second inning, Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) would single to the left field, but no additional hits on the inning would leave CUC still ahead 2-0.
• Another scoreless inning for the Warriors would hand things right back over to the Cougars where a leadoff single from Kasik paired with a double from J. Mahler would put two runners in scoring position. A single to right field from Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) would score Kasik and leave runners now on first and third. Krater would steal second and put two runners back in scoring position, but consecutive strikeouts would strand two on base and send the Cougars back to the field now ahead 3-0.
• The Warriors would answer back in the bottom of the third and put up two runs to make it a one run game, where it would sit until the top of the seventh.
• After a stretch of three-out innings for the Cougars, a bunt from Zagerman would put him on base. Zagerman would steal second and be in scoring position for a single to centerfield from J. Mahler to score him and put the Cougars ahead 4-2.
• The Cougars would once again jump start things in the top of the ninth with a single from Zagerman and stolen base that would allow him to score on a single from Dorsch, putting the Cougars up 5-2.
• In the bottom of the ninth, a flyout to centerfield paired with two closing strikeouts would end the game with a CUC win.
   

 
 
GAME TWO: 9-0 W
INSIDE THE BOX

• The bats would be hot in game two with Dorsch leading the way going three-for-for with four RBIs and two runs of his own.
• Every Cougar that recorded a hit would have multiple with Buckley picking up three hits and one RBI, Kasik picking up two hits and one RBI, Brendan Holloway (Vernon Hills, Ill.) picking up two hits and one RBI, and J. Mahler picking up two hits.
• Michael Southard (Northbrook, Ill.) picked up his third win of the season pitching seven innings and picking up a career-high seven strikeouts.
• Three additional pitchers would come in for relief in Kadin Borck (McHenry, Ill.), Connor FitzGerald (Chicago, Ill.), and Benjamin Tietyen (Oak Creek, Wis.).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars would collect two hits in the top of the first while loading up the bases off a walk for Dom Owens (Frankfurt, Ill.), but leaving three on base they would head to the bottom of the first scoreless.
• The game would stay scoreless until the top of the third where a leadoff double from J. Mahler would put a runner in scoring position where an error from the Warriors would allow him to score and put CUC on the board first.
• With three outs in four batters in the bottom of the third, the Cougars would be right back behind the bats where a leadoff single for Buckley paired with a free base off a wild pitch would quickly turn to runners on the corners after a single from Holloway. With Holloway stealing second, a single from Dorsch would allow both base runners to score and put them ahead 3-0.
• With Southard still dishing on the bump, two strikeouts in the bottom of the fourth paired with a flyout to centerfield, the Cougars would be right back behind the bats.
• Despite operating with two outs, three consecutive hits from Buckley, Holloway, and Dorsch would score three runs and give CUC a six run advantage.
• The game would sit stagnant until the top of the seventh where a double from Buckley would score a run while hits from Dorsch and Kasik would each score another and put the Cougars up 9-0.
• The game would stay deadlocked for the next two innings and the Cougars would close with the shutout victory, picking up their fourth shutout of the year.

 
With the win, the Cougars clinched their spot in the 2025 NACC Tournament with one more conference doubleheader ahead of them to help solidify their ranking. Before their final NACC matchup, the Cougars have a single non-conference game on Wednesday, April 30^th at The Thunderdome for a 3:00pm first pitch. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.