May 19, 2017 – With two thrilling wins under their belts, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars were ready to get back into action at the NCAA IIII Midwest Regional after Saturday's washout. They took the field this morning against the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, a team that has had a hand in eliminating the Cougars each of the last two years while advancing to the Division III World Series themselves. This time, CUC might well return the favor, as their 14-0 rout of the Eagles in Whitewater, WI put them in a position to advance to the World Series in Appleton, WI next weekend with one more win tomorrow.
The Cougars batted as the visiting team today, and they put a quick run on the board before some of the fans had found their seats at Prucha Field. Joe Silva worked a one-out walk and moved to second on a balk by the pitcher. Brent Spohr was next, and he went opposite field in hitting one to the rightfield corner, Silva scoring for the 1-0 lead.
Brian Musielak took the mound for the Cougars and had to work through a tasking first inning. A walk, single and hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out. However, the right-hander escaped by fanning Alex Brown and then getting Brady Stolzman to chop one up the middle. Mitch Wilson fielded the ball behind second base and dove to touch the bag before the runner got there. Wilson won the race, and the Cougars were out of the first, leading 1-0.
Concordia-Chicago turned up the pressure with a four-fun second. Doug Matthews led off with a base hit. One out later, it was hit-and-run time as Brendan Klein executed in textbook fashion. Bryan VanDuser then reached when the first baseman couldn't scoop up the throw across the infield, and the bases were loaded for Silva. He battled to a 2-2 count before going the opposite way to leftfield, just inside the line for two runs. Spohr then flew out to right, deep enough for VanDuser to score and Silva to go to third. The latter play would prove significant as Wilson beat out an infield hit to short, scoring Silva for a 5-0 lead after just 1 ½ innings.
The Eagles would make Musielak work hard over the early innings. A leadoff double started the bottom of the second, although Musielak got a fly to center and two strikeouts to escape trouble. In the third, the first two hitters reached base, but two pop-ups and a fly to center ended that threat. Six men were stranded over the first three innings, and that would haunt the Eagles as the Cougars began to pull away
The Cougars scored a run in the fourth on VanDuser's single and Silva's double to left-center, chasing UWL starter Jameson Lavery. They added another run in the fifth on a Kevin Garvey walk, a steal of second and a sharp single through the left side by VanDuser.
In the seventh came the explosion as CUC sent 13 men to the plate and doubled its 7-0 advantage. Matthews, pinch-hitter Brady Roberts and Klein all singled, bringing about the first run. VanDuser walked ahead of Silva, who drove in his fourth and fifth runs of the game with a single to left-center. Spohr drove in his third run of the day on an infield hit as VanDuser crossed the plate. The remaining runs of the inning came across on an error, a single by Justin Rodriguez and a bases-loaded walk to Klein.
With the long half-inning, not to mention the pitch count of 101, Musielak's day was done as Alex Meyers came on to pitch the seventh. He worked two innings, allowing two hits, and Petar Arbov tossed a scoreless ninth to wrap up the rout. Musielak improved to 9-1 on the year, setting a new single-season record for victories.
Head coach Mike Stawski praised both the Cougars' pitching and hitting today, noting that "both sides drove the train today." He noted Musielak's ability to battle in the early innings, saying that "Brian has done this all year; we know that he will always give a chance to win." Stawski lauded the entire Cougars' offense but saved some extra praise for Silva: "Joe had some great early at-bats when the game was still on the line. One of them, he had an 11-pitch at-bat and came through with the hit. Those are the kind of things that (make a difference) in the game."
The Cougars (32-11) will now wait to see their opponent for Monday's championship round. CUC could play the College of St. Scholastica, the University of St. Thomas (MN) or the UWL Eagles again. No matter whom the opponent, the Cougars will just need to win the 10:00 a.m. game to advance to the Division III World Series in Appleton, WI next weekend. If their opponent wins the 10:00 game, the two teams will play one more time in a winner-take-all game, approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.