RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago baseball team took their home field for the first time this season for their first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup of the season, hosting the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons, falling in both contests.
GAME ONE: 8-5 L
INSIDE THE BOX
- Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led at the plate going two-for-three with three RBIs while picking up two home runs.
- Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) also went yard for the Cougars, picking up his first home run of the season with two RBIs on the day.
- Ryan Renella (Bartlett, Ill.) got the start on the mound, pitching five innings while picking up five strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Renella got to work early on the mound, picking up a leadoff strikeout to start the game, but an error would put a runner on base. With a throw down from Dom Owens (Frankfurt, Ill.) to erase the runner, the Cougars would hold the Falcons scoreless in the inning.
- In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff single for Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) would put a runner on, but CUC would be unable to convert and give the Falcons the chance to strike first, which they would take advantage of in the top of the second and take the 1-0 lead.
- Retaliating in the bottom of the second, a leadoff walk for Jerkatis would put a runner on for Zagerman's home run to give the Cougars the first lead of the day. A double for Beckert would put another runner on, but the Cougars would leave him stranded and head to the top of the third with the lead.
- The Flacons would answer back and tie the game at two before a solo home run from Mahler would give CUC the advantage back, 3-2.
- The game would hand steady until the top of the fifth where the Falcons would put up two runs on two hits and take the 4-3 lead.
- The Cougars would continue to trail the majority of the game until the bottom of the eighth where Brendan Holloway (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) would each find their way on base for B. Mahler's second home run of the day to tie the ball game up at five apiece. Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) would take a four-ball walk and put a runner on, but a double play would retire the inning knotted up.
- In the top of the ninth, the Falcons would tack on three more runs on four hits and put the pressure on the Cougars heading to the bottom of the ninth, where a leadoff walk for Zagerman would put one on base, but a double play and a fly out would pick up three outs and leave the Cougars behind 8-5 at the conclusion of the game.
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME TWO: 23-8 L
INSIDE THE BOX
- B. Mahler continued to be successful at the plate, going one-for-two while picking up his third home run of the day for three total RBIs this game.
- Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill.) went two-for-five at the plate, picking up a double and a single with one RBI.
- J. Mahler picked up his first home run of the season, going one-for-three at the plate with two runs.
- Five Cougars saw time on the mound for seven combined strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons got things going right away in game two, picking up two runs off five hits to start the game. The Cougars would be forced to retaliate quickly, but a double for Sperando paired with a walk for J. Mahler would give B. Mahler the chance to take the lead on his third home run of the day after sending a rocket onto Division Street.
- The Falcons would tie the game up in the top of the second off three hits, but the Cougar defense would lock in and hold them scoreless in the next inning with two strikeouts from David Deimling (Bloomingdale, Ill.).
- The game would sit stagnant until the top of the fourth where five runs on three hits would break the game open with an 8-3 lead in favor of the Falcons.
- The Falcons would show no signs of slowing down, collecting 15 runs across the next two innings while the Cougars slowly chipped away, with the lone hit of the fourth inning from Owens and the lone hit from J. Mahler in the fifth inning. J. Mahler would start the bottom of the fifth off with a long ball over the centerfield fence to try to jump start the Cougar offense, but the Cougars would fall into a slump and only pick up one run in the inning.
- In the bottom of the sixth, a double from Buckley would put two runners on, while a groundout from Sperando would allow Buckley on third to score and bring the Cougars up to five runs. In the top of the seventh, the Cougars would finally be able to hold the Falcons scoreless for the first time since the third inning and put pressure on the Cougars to catch up to keep the game going.
- A leadoff walk for B. Mahler paired with a single to centerfield for Zagerman would put two runners on and a hit-by-pitch for Joshua Mathew (Northbrook, Ill) would load the bases up. Josiah King (Fairland, Ind.) would send a ball to left field that would be dropped and allow B. Mahler to score while a single to left field from Connor Peckham () would score two more and keep the Cougars fighting. A pair of flyouts and a strikeout would close the game with the Cougars trailing 23-8.
HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars hit the road next week to continue NACC play, taking on Dominican University with a 12:00 and 3:00 PM start times. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
