Memphis, Tenn. - The Concordia University Chicago baseball team remained in Memphis, Tenn. for their last game of the Rhodes Tournament, only to fall to Franklin College 13-12.
Inside the Box Score:
● Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) went three-for-five at the plate while collecting two runs and one RBI.
● Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) went two-for-three at the plate, accumulating three runs and two RBIs.
● Ryan Renella (Bartlett, Ill.) went two-for-five at the plate, getting one run and two RBIs.
How It Happened
- The Cougars started off strong with Mahler hitting a single to left field. With two consecutive walks to load the bases up, a wild pitch would allow Mahler to cross home and score the first run of the day. The Grizzlies quickly retaliated, picking up three runs in the bottom half of the inning off of six consecutive walks.
- Trailing by two, Zagerman would be the only Cougar to grab a hit in the top of the second, but once again the Grizzlies would steal momentum back and pic up their fourth run in the bottom of the inning.
- A leadoff walk for Mahler paired with a single from Jack Linko (New Lenox, Ill.) would move runners into scoring position for a single to right field from Renella to drive Mahler home, closing in on the Grizzlies.
- Franklin would once again come back in their half inning ready to work, picking up two runs on two hits. Not rattled by the Grizzlies' offensive bursts, the Cougar offense got to work in the top of the fourth where back-to-back walks for Zagerman and Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) would put runners on first and second. With a dropped ball deep in left field, both Zagerman and Buckley would be able to cross home and make it only a one-run deficit.
- With Matthew Licardi (Peoria, Ariz.) on the mound, the Cougars would force the Grizzlies into their first scoreless inning of the game, but the Cougars would fall to the same scenario in the top of the fifth. The Grizzlies would get going once again in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on one run off a solo home run to extend out to a 7-5 lead over the Cougars.
- At the top of the 6th inning, Zagerman would find his way on base after a competitive at-bat ended with a free base. Buckley followed that up with a single to third, moving Zagerman into scoring position. Mahler would pick up an infield single and fill up the bases. Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) would ground into double play, sacrificing himself but allowing everyone to advance and Zagerman to score.
- A scoreless inning would keep the Grizzlies ahead 7-6 until the bottom of the seventh where they would add three more runs on two hits, extending to a four-run lead over the Cougars. With limited innings to play, the Cougar offense would go three up, three down in the top of the eighth, only giving themselves one more inning of at bats to try to overcome their deficit.
- The Cougar defense locked things down in the bottom of the eighth, with two outs coming from Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill) and one strikeout from Blake Hickey (Chicago, Ill.).
- The 9th inning came around and the Cougars got their bats hot; B. Mahler started out the inning with a deep solo home run to jumpstart the offense. Walks for Linko and Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) would put two runners on base for a single from Renella to load the bases up. A walk for Jeffery Beckert (Mount Prospect, Ill.) would score one while an energy-shifting double from Zagerman would score two and tie the game up at ten. With only one out on the scoreboard, a sacrifice fly from Buckley would move the runners and send a run in, giving the Cougars the lead back for the first time since the first inning. Immediately after, a double to left field from J. Mahler would score the insurance run, and give the Cougars the 12-10 lead heading to the bottom half of the inning.
- The Grizzlies came out looking to regain their lead and would go on to score three runs off of three hits, snatching the win from the Cougars.
Highlights
What's Next
The team will take a short break before making their way to Auburndale, Fla. to start their annual spring break trip to play in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, beginning with Grove City College on Saturday, February 28th. First pitch is slated at 11:00 am EST at NorthEast Regional Park - Field 4. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
