March 31, 2018 - The baseball history between Concordia University Chicago and Edgewood College has resulted in some memorable games, and it's no surprise that today's doubleheader in River Forest added two more to the list. Some early morning rain, combined with gusting winds and fluctuating temperatures, made it anybody's guess how today's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opening twinbill would play out. In the end, the Cougars resulted to their old tactic of answering an opponent's scoring rally with one of their own that made the difference in a CUC sweep by scores of 13-10 and 7-6.

Game one began with the winds blowing out, and a home run derby appeared in the making as EC's Garrett Bogucki came to bat in the first with the bases loaded, and he unloaded to center field on a no-doubt shot for a grand slam. However, the Cougars knew they would have their chance and, sure enough, they answered with five in the first. With the bases loaded and one out, Keegan Tyrell smashed a single between third and short to halve the lead to 4-2. After a passed ball, Brady Roberts lifted a fly ball to right. The sacrifice fly brought in one run, and Tyrell followed with the tying run when the throw to third got away. Justin Rodriguez kept the inning going with a base hit, and he scored when Connor Brandon got one into the wind that hit the right field wall and went for a triple. 

The Eagles tied the game in the third on Casey Willis' two-out RBI single, but the Cougars had the answer for that as Brady Roberts unloaded with a towering shot over the fence in left-center for his second of the season.

Edgewood regained the lead in the fourth as Nick Cheaney, who went 5-5 in game one, singled on a fly to right-center that fell between three CUC fielders. With two out and a 3-2 count, all three runners were off on the pitch, and the result was a rare three-run single. Prior to that play, Cougar starter Keaton Conner had to leave the game due to being hit with a throw, but Abelardo Paz Agudelo was able to shut the door after Cheaney's single.

Concordia-Chicago would not trail for long. They loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning, and Tyrell repeated his first-inning feat with another two-run single to the same spot for a tie game. Roberts was next, and he ripped one down the line to left field. Mitch Wilson scored the go-ahead run, but Tyrell was cut down at the plate trying to make it a two-run double. However, the Cougars now led 9-8. 

The Eagles were to take one more lead in the sixth as they touched Paz Agudelo and Alex Meyers for two runs. Bogucki singled both runners home for his fifth and sixth RBIs of game one. However, Meyers retired the next three batters, two on strikeouts, to limit the damage and keep CUC within 10-9.

In 2017, the Cougars scored 50 times immediately after their opponents, and they would make it four times in game one alone as they came to bat in the sixth. Concordia-Chicago took advantage of the new reliever's wildness. Joe Silva and Andrew Massey drew walks to open the inning, and Silva scored on a couple of wild pitches. Massey then stood at third as Wilson hit a ball to deep center that was caught, but Massey had no trouble trotting home with the go-ahead run. The Cougars then added two insurance runs in the eighth on Roberts' double and Rodriguez's single. In game one, the 5-6-7 part of the lineup - Tyrell, Robert and Rodriguez - batted a combined 9-13 with eight RBIs.

Meyers would earn the win to go 4-0 on the season. The senior pitched three innings of scoreless ball with five strikeouts to his credit. Mike Formella hurled a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save of the year.

The Cougars turned to Brian Musielak to complete the sweep, and the right hander turned in a quality start. He was touched for a run on Cheaney's RBI single in the first, but only gave up one run after that in his six innings of work. Of course, CUC answered the Eagles' run in the first with two of their own. Bryan VanDuser singled and Silva doubled to set the table for Massey, and the Cougars' RBI leader added two more to his collection with a double inside the line in left. Run-scoring hits by VanDuser and Massey in the second gave CUC a three-run lead, and the lead increased to 5-1 in the fourth as VanDuser walked and came around to score on Silva's double to the right field corner.

With a 5-2 lead entering the seventh, CUC head coach Mike Stawski went to the bullpen for freshman Cole Carman. Making his collegiate debut, Carman pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. The Eagles rallied in the eighth for two runs, although it was two CUC errors that aided the visitors' cause. With the tying run on second, Stawski called on Formella again, and the senior struck out pinch-hitter Paul Cappetta on three pitches to keep the home team in front 5-4.

A Silva double and Massey single gave the Cougars a big insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Eagles would not go away that easily. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with two out in the ninth before Ryan Fields lined a two-run double to right to tie the game. However, Formella struck out the next man to give CUC a chance to score a run and walk off with the sweep.

The Cougars wasted no time against EC's Steve Gavin, who finished with a gutsy complete-game performance. Coppin and Brandon waited out the tiring Gavin for walks to lead off. The first out came as a bunt failed to move the runners over, but it did not matter because VanDuser was up next. Hailed by Stawski afterwards as "one of the guys I would most want up in that situation," VanDuser hit the first pitch hard to right-center, and his single brought Brandon around for the game-winning run. The day ended with CUC scoring in seven innings after Edgewood had put up runs in the top of the inning.

Concordia-Chicago (14-4, 2-0 NACC) is scheduled to play two games at Marian University in Fond du Lac, WI on Monday afternoon, the first of four consecutive road doubleheaders.