GLENDALE, WIS. — In what turned out to be their final game of the season, the Concordia University Chicago baseball team took the field for their second game of the 2025 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament where they faced off against Benedictine University. Despite some late rallies, the Cougars were never able to overcome the Eagles and fell 10-6.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Yashion Boswell (Lynwood, Ill.) went two-for-four at the plate with a solo home run that boosted some much needed momentum for the Cougars.
- Tyler Dorsch (Phoenix, Ariz.), Michael Kasik (Chandler, Ariz.), and Tyler Krater (Phoenix, Ariz.) each picked up two hits.
- Bryce Jones (Ottawa, Ill.) picked up four strikeouts in two innings of work.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles wasted no time getting things rolling with two hits to put runners on first and third. A sacrifice fly would allow the run to score while Michael Southard (Northbrook, Ill.) would secure a strikeout to end the inning with the Cougars only trailing by one.
- A single from Kasik would put one runner on in the bottom of the first, but he would be left stranded as the Cougars were forced back to defense.
- A pair of runs off a pair of hits from the Eagles would leave the Cougar trailing by three, but the offense would be ready to start rolling with Boswell at the plate. Off the first pitch, a solo homer to right field would break things open for CUC and officially put their first run on the board.
- A double from Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) paired with a stolen base would put him in scoring position for a sac fly from Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) to send him home and leave the Cougars now only trailing by one.
- The Eagles would strike right back in the top of the third while the Cougars would see yet another scoreless inning in the bottom half. A two run homer from BenU in the top of the fourth would once again leave CUC trailing by four, with trouble on the mound.
- With Benjamin Tietyen (Oak Creek, Wis.) on the bump for the Cougars, he would hold the Eagles to their first scoreless inning of the game in the top of the fifth.
- In the bottom of the fifth, Buckley would make his way on base off an error while making his way around the bases to score on a series of passed balls and wild pitches.
- With Connor FitzGerald (Chicago, Ill.) on the mound in the top of the sixth, another scoreless inning for the Eagles would give the Cougars a chance to find a rally. A leadoff single for Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) would put a base runner on while a series of passed balls would once again allow a run to score and bring the Cougars within two.
- With Jones on the mound, in what might be the most impressive inning of work in his career, three consecutive strikeouts would retire the Eagles in order to put up the third straight scoreless inning and give the Cougars a chance to inch closer.
- The Cougars would be unable to translate the momentum from the top half of the inning to the bottom half and would mark the first completely scoreless inning of the day.
- Hungry after three scoreless innings, the Eagles would pick up four runs on four hits and break the game open with a 10-4 lead.
- Struggling until the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff single from Boswell would start the rally. A single from Jack Linko (New Lenox, Ill.) would love the runner to third while a double from Dorsch would score one and put runners on second and third.
- A single from Kasik would score another and put runners on the corner bags, but a ground ball hit to the infield would pick up the third out and end the game in a heartbreaking 10-6 loss for the Cougars.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Cougars ended the season with a final record of 26-16 and a NACC record of 16-8. The team will lose a group of key seniors, but with their best season since 2019, they'll look to build on the momentum of the year in the offseason. Updates, schedules, highlights, and more for Cougar Baseball can be found at cucougars.com.
