May 20, 2016 - The situation. Game one of the Midwest Regionals between Concordia University Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. The date: May 14, 2014. The venue: Miller Park in Whitewater, WI. 

It was the top of the ninth, and CUC senior pitcher Dan Kluss faced UWL's sophomore outfielder Taylor Kohlwey with the bases loaded, two out and the Cougars leading 3-1. Two of the best players in Division III baseball squaring off against each other with the game on the line. Legend has it that Kluss convinced his coach to let him pitch to Kohlwey and finish what he started. Kluss won the argument and then the game when he got Kohlwey on a hard-hit grounder to second baseman Rich Santarelli to end the game.

Fast-forward two years to LaCrosse, WI. The Cougars and Eagles are playing their third head-to-head game in three years this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Kluss and Santarelli have since graduated, but UWL's Kohlwey remains. Not only that, the Eagles' senior is leading all of Division III with a .494 batting average. He is currently on a 47-game hitting streak which is the third longest in NCAA history (all three divisions). Whether or not Kohlwey bats in the ninth inning of today's game remains to be seen, but if it happens, Concordia-Chicago will accept the challenge and look to come out on top.

"We know how good a team this is," said CUC head coach Mike Stawski. "But we knew that if we wanted to get to where we're hoping to go - and that's Appleton, WI next week - we have to deal with LaCrosse. We're playing good ball right now, and we believe that it's time to take this next step."   

If the first two days of this regional are any indication, both teams are ready to engage in a battle royal. Concordia-Chicago has outscored his opponents, Kalamazoo and Luther, by a combined score of 29-5. LaCrosse has outscored Beloit and St. John's (MN) by a combined 27-2.

The Cougars are batting a loud .405 in the first two games of the regional. Grant Davis (Morris, IL/Morris Community), Brent Spohr (Ingleside, IL/Grant Community) and Mitch Wilson (Oswego, IL/H.S.) are all batting .500. Spohr leads the team with five RBIs and has also demonstrated some sparkling defense at first base. Wilson has been on base seven times in 11 plate appearances and was just a double shy of the cycle in Friday night's win against Luther.

The mound matchup today figures to be UWL's Jameson Lavery against CUC's Mike Formella (Homer Glen, IL/Lockport Township). Lavery is 7-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 56 innings, 52 strikeouts against 14 walks. Formella (8-2, 4.58 in 55 innings) will actually be making his second appearance in the regional. Thursday night, he relieved starter Eric Palmer (Melrose Park, IL/West Leyden) in the third and threw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Formella was credited with the win as CUC crushed Kalamazoo 13-2.

Links for live coverage as well as all updated information can be found on the official Midwest Regional page. Cougar fans are especially encouraged to check out CUC's audio broadcast at www.mixlr.com/cucougars with C.J. Selner calling every pitch. The broadcast will begin at approximately 4:25 p.m.