May 14, 2014 - The Concordia Cougars found truth in the old baseball adage that good pitching can beat good hitting. The Cougars opened Midwest Regional play tonight in Whitewater, Wisconsin against the Eagles from the University of Wisconsin/LaCrosse who entered play tonight as the second-best hitting team in NCAA Division III with a .353 team average. However, the Eagles' wings were clipped by Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Pitcher of the Year Dan Kluss who tossed a complete-game five-hitter to lead the Cougars to a 3-1 victory.
After a 4-6-3 double play helped set down the Eagles in the top of the first, the Cougars manufactured a run in their first at-bat. Steve Zubrzycki was hit by a 2-2 pitch, marking the 22nd time this season he has reached base in that manner. Zubrzycki then stole second base, and Will Randerson moved him to third with a productive 3-1 groundout. After Carlos Olavarria drew a four-pitch walk, Thomas Gier hit a chopper to the second baseman. The fielder's only play was at first as Zubrzycki crossed the plate with the game's first run.
The Eagles evened the score in the top of the third. Leadoff man Taylor Kohlwey, who entered tonight's game as the number nine hitter in the country with a .459 batting average, lined a single to center. He stole second and scored as Bryce Barsness singled to left. Kluss quickly recovered, striking out Cole Cefalu and retiring the next two hitters on a fly to left and a pop-up to second base.
Concordia-Chicago wasted no time in recapturing the lead. Zubrzycki hit Ben Cejka's first pitch into centerfield for a single and then swiped his second base of the game, giving him 37 steals in 38 tries this season and making him the current stolen base leader in all of NCAA Division III play. Zubrzycki would be at third base with two outs when Kyle Huber also went first-ball hunting and grounded a single past the first baseman into rightfield for the go-ahead run.
Following Huber's RBI single, Cejka hit his stride in retiring the next nine batters and twelve of the next thirteen. But Kluss was up to the challenge, retiring 12 of 14 batters from the fourth to the seventh innings. One batter reached base on an error and the other, cleanup hitter Alex Cordova, looped a single just inside the rightfield line to start the seventh. Cordova would reach second base with two out, but Kluss retired Joel Zyhowski on a pop to short to keep the score at 2-1.
The Eagles attempted to get even in the eighth with their baserunning, but the Cougars rebuffed both attempts. Cefalu drew a one-out walk but was picked off by Kluss' quick move to first. Cordova then worked a walk, but he was gunned down by Randerson trying to steal.
Concordia-Chicago added the crucial insurance run in the bottom of the eighth and, once again, Zubrzycki played the catalyst's role. Falling behind 0-2 in the count, Zubrzycki fouled off a pitch before lining a pitch over the first baseman's head. The speedy shortstop was thinking two bases all the way and hustled into second base ahead of the rightfielder's throw. Randerson sacrificed him to third base, and he remained there as Cejka retired Olavarria for the second out. With Gier at bat, Cejka's pitch hit the dirt and trickled away from the catcher. Zubrzycki did not hesitate, and he raced in to score before the Eagles could successfully retrieve the ball and make a play.
Kluss came out to the mound for the ninth inning, looking to wrap up his third complete game of the season. He retired the first batter on a fly to left but then hit the next batter and issued a walk. After a visit to the mound from Coach Smith, Kluss got Josh Rowles to ground to short. The Cougars got the force at second but Rowles beat the relay throw to put runners on the corners.
The plot thickened when pinch-hitter Shane Adler was hit by Kluss' 0-1 pitch, loading the bases and bringing Kohlwey up to bat. Kluss went to 2-1 on Kohlwey before getting a ground ball to second base for the final out of an exciting regional opener.
"When I went to the mound in the ninth, Dan had that look in his eye that he wasn't coming out," said Smith. "But Dan has been like this for a while. What a gutsy effort by him, he was awesome tonight."
The Cougars (38-5) will return to action on Thursday night at 6:00 when they play #5 Adrian College, an 8-1 winner over #2 Heidelberg College.