SCHAUMBURG, ILL. -- Heading out for their first road Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) games of the season, the Cougars took on their Division Street Rivals in Dominican University, where the Cougars laid a hammer down and completed the sweep.
GAME ONE: 17-11 W
INSIDE THE BOX
- Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) led at the plate going three-for-three with four runs, one RBI, and one stolen base while being walked four times, including an intentional walk.
- Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) followed closely behind going three-for-four at the plate with two runs and two RBIs with one walk.
- Brendan Holloway (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led with RBIs while going two-for-five at the plate with two runs of his own and one stolen base while being walked twice.
- Xavier Zagerman (Chandler, Ariz.) was another multi-hit Cougar going two-for-four at the plate with two runs and two RBIs with one walk and one sacrifice fly.
- Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill.) rounded out the multi-hitters going two-for-six at the plate with two runs and a stolen base.
- Five Cougars dished on the mound for eight total strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buckley led the game off with a vigilant full count walk before stealing second and putting himself in a good spot. Holloway followed that up with a walk of his own before a single to right field from Mahler would score Buckley and move Holloway over to third. A passed ball would give Holloway a free chance to score and put the Cougars up 2-0 at the end of the first.
- The Cougar defense would lock down in the bottom of the first with Dylan Scott (Bartlett, Ill.) on the mound. After giving up a leadoff walk, Scott would secure a three-pitch strikeout before forcing back-to-back outs at third base to hold the Stars scoreless.
- The top of the second saw Ryan Renella (Bartlett, Ill.) finding his way on base off a Dominican error while Jeffery Beckert (Mount Vernon, Ill.) found his way on base off a walk. A perfectly placed bunt from Buckley would load the bases up before Holloway would send a ball back to the pitcher that would give Renella time to score and put the Cougars up 3-0.
- The Stars would counter in the bottom of the second by stealing the lead off three hits, leaving the Cougars trailing 5-3. The top of the third would keep CUC fighting after a leadoff walk for Mahler paired with a single from Zagerman would put two on and force a pitching change for the Stars. With a new arm on the mound, the Stars would allow Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) on base off an error that would give Mahler time to score. An infield single from Sperando right after would load the bases up for a sacrifice fly from Renella to tie the game up.
- Buckley's next at bat would see an intentional walk with two outs to load the bases back up and put Holloway at the plate where a single to centerfield would score two and give the Cougars the lead back, heading to the bottom of the third ahead 7-5.
- The Stars would battle back in the bottom of the third, tying the game back up, but the Cougar offense wasn't ready to slow down. The top of the fourth was a leadoff single from Zagerman paired with a wild pitch and a groundout to move him over to third. Another wild pitch would give Zagerman plenty of time to score and give the Cougars the lead back. Despite a single and stolen base from Renella, the Cougars wouldn't be able to capitalize on it and head to the bottom of the fourth with the one-run advantage.
- Continuing the back-and-forth battle, the Stars would tack on two runs on two hits and steal the lead from the Cougars, but the top of the fifth would see a leadoff single from Buckley paired with a walk from Holloway would put two runners on. A single from Mahler would give Buckley time to score and tie the game up. The bottom of the fifth and the top of the sixth would each see three outs in three batters before the Stars would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
- In the top of the seventh, Buckley would get on base off another full count walk before a single to center field from Holloway would move Buckley to third. Another passed ball would give Buckley plenty of time to score while an error would let Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) on base before B. Mahler would be hit by a pitch to load the bases up. A sacrifice fly from Zagerman would tie the ball game before leaving two runners on base to close the seventh inning.
- A shutdown inning from Michael Southard (Northbrook, Ill.) would force three outs in the field in only eight pitches thrown and let the Cougar hitters get right back to work. A leadoff single from Sperando paired with a walk from Renella would put two runners one while an error would load the bases up. A single from Buckley would score one, giving the Cougars the lead back, and keeping the bases loaded. A slow roller to first base would put one out on the board, but also allow another run to score, leaving runners on second and third for a single from J. Mahler to score two and extend the Cougars out to 15-11. With the Stars putting a new arm on the mound, B. Mahler wasted no time and dropped a single into left field to allow J. Mahler to move to third. A double to left field from Jerkatis would score both Mahlers and give CUC the 17-11 advantage heading to the bottom of the eighth.
- With Southard still on the mound, he would deliver two strikeouts and a groundout to hold the Stars scoreless. With the score sitting the same, Kyle Connelly (New Lenox, Ill.) would enter the game as a the closer where he would force a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts to secure the 17-11 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME TWO: 14-4 W
INSIDE THE BOX
- J. Mahler had a star-studded game two going four-for-five at the plate with six RBIs and four runs of his own, including two home runs and one double.
- B. Mahler would go two-for-three at the plate with one run, one RBI, and one walk, with one double in the game.
- Buckley went two-for-four at the plate with three runs and one RBI with one home run.
- Four pitchers dished on the mound for 11 total strikeouts, including career-high six strikeouts for Jack Carroll (North Aurora, Ill.).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Game two started off with a jolt after Buckley took a swing at the first pitch he saw and sent it out of the park for a solo home run to put the Cougars up 1-0 right away. J. Mahler would join the party himself just one batter later and send a rocket to right field for the second home run of the game, putting the Cougars up 2-0 at the end of the top of the first. The Stars would steal the lead in the bottom of the first with three runs of their own while holding the Cougars scoreless in the next.
- CUC would get hot once again in the top of the third after a leadoff single from Beckert paired with an infield single from Buckley would put two on base before a double from J. Mahler would score them both and give the Cougars a lead that they would never give back. A single from B. Mahler would score J. Mahler before a single from Dom Owens (Frankfort, Ill.) would put runners on the corner bags.
- Sperando would join the hit party of game two and drop a single into left field to score B. Mahler. With Jerkatis wearing a pitch, the Cougars would have bases loaded with Beckert back at the plate for the second time in the inning. He would drive a single into center field that would allow Sperando and Owens to score and extend the Cougar lead out to five. With bases loaded once again after Buckley getting hit by a pitch a single from Holloway would score two and bring the Cougars ahead by seven with two outs.
- Still rallying with two outs on the board, a three-run home run from J. Mahler would extend the Cougar lead out to ten, by picking up his second home run of the game and only his third of the season.
- A double from B. Mahler would round out the hits of the inning but give the Cougars the ten run lead.
- Picking up right where he left off on the mound, Carroll would deliver three outs in only 13 more pitches and hand things back to the Cougar offense.
- The Stars would tack on one run in the bottom of the fourth and the rest of the game would stay stagnant until the top of the sixth would see the Cougar offense spark back up.
- A leadoff single from J. Mahler paired with two wild pitches would camp him over on third where a sacrifice fly from Zagerman would score the final run of the day and put the Cougars back ahead by ten.
- David Deimling (Bloomingdale, Ill.) would come in the bottom of the sixth in relief of Jack Linko (New Lenox, Ill.) and deliver two strikeouts and an out in the air to hold the game still. A scoreless top of the seventh would hand things over to Josh Prosise (Joliet, Ill.) to deliver one strikeout and two outs on the ground and close the game in seven innings with CUC leading 14-4.
HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars continue NACC play with two more road games this weekend as they travel up to Plymouth, Wis. to take on Lakeland University. Game one of the doubleheader is slated for a 12:00 pm first pitch while all coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
