ABILENE, TEXAS – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) baseball team rounded out their trip to the Lone Star State with a hard-fought battle against the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys. Despite early momentum and late rallies, the Cougars would fall 14-9.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led the offense going three-for-four at the plate with one RBI, falling just a home run short of the cycle.
- Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) was the only other Cougar to pick up multiple hits, going two-for-six at the plate.
- Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) had a strong day at the plate going one-for-three with two runs, two RBIs, and three walks, while picking up a double of his own.
- Six arms pitched for the Cougars with Jack Linko (New Lenox, Ill.) picking up a career-tying three strikeouts while Jack Carroll (North Aurora, Ill.), Josh Prosise (Joliet, Ill.), Blake Hickey (Chicago, Ill.), and Kadin Borck (McHenry, Ill.) each adding in one.
- Anthony Pullano (Park Ridge, Ill.) made his first appearance on the mound since May 3, 2024. The graduate student pitched one inning, holding the Cowboys scoreless while forcing three outs in the air.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars once again got to work early after a walk for Austin Koberstein (Milwaukee, Wis.) paired with a single from J. Mahler would put two runners on. A wild pitch would move both of them one base and put them in scoring position for a groundout from B. Mahler to allow one run to score. With Jerkatis taking a walk, two Cougars would be on base for an infield single for Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) to move the runners and put the Cougars up by two. A single up the middle from Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill.) would score another and close the top half of the inning 3-0.
- The Cowboys would strike back quickly and pick up one run on two hits in the bottom of the first.
- Both teams would go scoreless in the second inning, but the Cougars would find their bats yet again in the top of the third. A leadoff double from B. Mahler would put a runner in scoring position early. Jerkatis would take advantage of an error and put runners on the corner bags. With a walk for Zagerman, the bases would be loaded up. With a double play dropping two outs on the board, it would allow a run to score and put the Cougars up 4-1.
- The Cowboys would come to life in the bottom half of the inning and take six runs on six hits between two Cougar pitchers. Carroll would pick up a strikeout to end the inning, but the Cougars would trail for the first time of the day 7-4.
- Jeffery Beckert (Mount Prospect, Ill.) would answer back right away with a leadoff single where he would make his way all the way around with three walks behind him. Despite the Cougars cutting into the Cowboys's lead, they would trail 7-5 heading into bottom of the fourth.
- HSU would put up three more runs on one hit in the bottom half of the inning to steal any momentum from the Cougars. Despite having bases loaded, CUC would be unable to cross a run and hand things back to the HSU offense where they would extend out to an 11-5 lead.
- The top of the sixth got exciting quickly after a leadoff triple for B. Mahler put a runner 90 feet from the plate on only one pitch, notching the team's first triple of the season. A sacrifice fly from Zagerman would score B. Mahler and leave the Cougars trailing by five.
- The game would remain stagnant until the top of the eighth where a leadoff walk for B. Mahler and a double from Jerkatis would cross another run. Back-to-back infield groundouts would move Jerkatis around the bases to score their second run of the inning. Despite having bases loaded yet again, the Cougars would be unable to convert and head to the bottom of the eighth trailing 11-8.
- Not backing down, the Cowboys added three runs on three hits in the bottom of the eighth to put pressure on CUC heading to the final inning.
- Back-to-back singles for J. Mahler and B. Mahler would put two runners on, but a forced double play would put two outs on the board and allow one run to score. Unable to overcome their deficit with two outs, the Cougars would fall 14-9.
HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars will return to Illinois to play their first games of the season in their home state, taking their play on the road to Wheaton College on Wednesday, March 18th before hosting their home opener on Saturday, March 21st against Concordia University Wisconsin, also marking the start of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. Coverage for all things Cougar Baseball can be found at cucougars.com.
