MONTGOMERY, ILL. – Coming off a four game win streak in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars would hit the road to face one of their longest standing rivals in Aurora University (AU), falling in both games.
GAME ONE: 14-3 L (7 INN.)
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) led the offense going three-for-four at the plate with one double and one stolen base.
- Jack Linko (New Lenox, Ill.) was the star hitter going two-for-two at the plate with one run of his own and one double in the game.
- Cam Buckley (New Lenox, Ill.) followed behind going two-for-four at the plate with one run and one RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars struggled to get going early in the game with Mahler picking up the only hit in the top of the first while the Spartans got to work right away and tacked on three runs in the bottom of the first and five more in the bottom of the second.
- Trailing by eight in the top of the third, Linko go to work in his first at bat, making his way to second on a long ball sent to left field. A single to center from Buckley gave Linko plenty of time to get home and give the Cougars their first run of the day.
- Despite stealing some momentum in the inning, the Spartans would be able to tack on three more runs in the bottom of the third and go ahead by double-digits.
- Needing to find an offensive burst, Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) would send a double to right field and put the lead runner on base. A single to left field from Dom Owens (Frankfurt, Ill.) would give B. Mahler enough of a jump to score and put another run on the boar for the Cougars. Despite CUC tacking on another run, AU would add another two runs in the bottom of the fourth, creating an 11-run deficit for the Cougars.
- A leadoff bunt for Buckley in the top of the fifth paired with a hit-by-pitch for Brendan Holloway (Vernon Hills, Ill.) to put two runners on with no outs. A single to shallow center from J. Mahler would load the bases up while a slow roller to third would give Buckley time to score, picking up the last Cougar run of the game.
- The last CUC hit of the game would come in the top of the seventh with one out after J. Mahler dropped a ball out in center field. Despite stealing second, J. Mahler would get left on base as the game would come to a close in seven innings with the Cougars falling 14-3.
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME TWO: 15-4 L (7 INN.)
INSIDE THE BOX
- Richie Sperando (Darien, Ill.) led at the plate going two-for-three.
- J. Mahler picked up right where he left off in game own going two-for-four at the plate with two runs and two RBIs off his two solo home runs, his third multi-homer game this season.
- B. Mahler would be the last multi-hitter in the game, going two-for-four at the plate.
- Buckley and Connor Jerkatis (New Lenox, Ill.) each collected an RBI on the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buckley would get things going right away for the Cougars with a leadoff single before stealing second. With the Cougars needing to get aggressive in game two, he would attempt to steal third before getting thrown out and the next two outs coming in order. The Spartans would keep their bats hot in game two and pick up five runs in seven hits in the bottom of the first, leaving the Cougars trailing early.
- B. Mahler, Linko, and Sperando would all pick up hits in the top of the second, but the bases would be left loaded after two strikeouts and a pop up to first base.
- Trailing by eight by the next time they would be behind their bats, the Cougars would see their first run of the game off a J. Mahler solo home run to left field before three strikeouts would end the inning.
- Kyle Ston (Winfield, Ill.) would force the first scoreless inning for the Spartans in the game and give the Cougar offense a chance to catch back up. Linko wore the second pitch he saw while Owens would drop a single into right field and put two runners on base with no outs. A single to center from Sperando would load the bases up while a walk for Jerkatis would score one before a sacrifice fly from Buckley would score another, leaving the Cougars trailing 8-3 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
- With some defensive changes for the Cougars seeing Sperando moving over to shortstop, Jerkatis coming in to play third base, and J. Mahler moving over to play second base, the Cougars would see another quick three up, three down at the hands of Anthony Pullano (Park Ridge, Ill.) would hold the score stagnant.
- The Cougars would be unable to capitalize on scoreless Spartan inning and head to the bottom of the fifth still trailing 8-3. With more defensive changes for the Cougars seeing Holloway and Quintin Guardia (Joliet, Ill.) coming into the outfield, the Spartans would tack on five more runs and take a ten run lead.
- The top of the sixth would see the first career hit for Guardia, but quickly retired ball hit to third base. The Spartans would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth to extend out to an 11-run lead, but another solo home run from J. Mahler in the top of the seventh would bring that back within ten. With the Cougars only needing one more run to continue the game, two strikeouts and a groundout would leave them trailing by ten and ending the game in seven innings.
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
The Cougars will hit the road again on Friday as they head north to take on Marian University for a doubleheader scheduled for 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm. Coverage and updates can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
