RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team knew it needed to be at the top of its game if the Regents were going to knock off the seventh-ranked Concordia University Chicago Cougars. The regular season series between the two schools always takes on extra meaning as the Regents and Cougars have traditionally been the top two teams in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Rockford and Concordia University Chicago have combined to win six of the seven regular season conference championships since the NACC began in 2007, so the winner of today's games would seem to be in the driver's seat going forward. Saturday continued the tradition of exciting games as the two teams played a pair tight games; however, the Cougars came out on top in both by finals of 2-0, and 8-5.
The opening game was the definition of a pitcher's duel as the Regents and Cougars combined to score just two runs. Rockford senior pitcher Kyle Pisano (Chicago, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) gave his team six strong innings of work on the mound. Pisano surrendered just one earned run while scattering nine hits and striking out four Cougar batters. The duo of Zach Liberatore (Plainfield, Ill./Central) and Jake McKnight (Monroe Center, Ill./Stillman Valley) combined to throw the final two innings surrendering no hits or runs while striking out a pair.
Despite the stellar pitching, the Rockford offense was unable to find its rhythm. The Regents recorded just four hits in the game but still had a couple of scoring opportunities with their best chance coming in the seventh inning. Following two quick outs, senior catcher Terry Wiltshire (Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge) laced a single into right field to keep the inning alive. Rockford then found itself with runners on first and second with two outs after a Cougar error. However, the rally would end there as the next batter stuck out to end the inning. Concordia Chicago then broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to grab a 2-0 lead. Rockford was unable to answer in the final two innings and dropped game one by a 2-0 final.
Game two was nearly the complete opposite of game one as the Regents and Cougars combined to score 13 runs while pounding out 26 hits. Rockford pounced all over the Cougars in the top of the first inning scoring five runs to jump out to a quick 5-0 lead. The Regents took advantage of a few Concordia Chicago errors along with singles by Chris Holke (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Bryan Grabowski (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) to take their first lead of the day at 2-0. Following a walk, which loaded the bases, Jacob Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill./Jefferson) drove a 2-2 pitch into right center scoring two runs and extending Rockford's lead to 4-0. One batter later, Jake McKnight laced an RBI single through the right side of the infield to cap off the five-run first inning.
Concordia Chicago slowly chipped away at the Rockford lead over the next few innings. The Cougars scored one run in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and tied the game off a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rockford did have a chance to score in the top half of the sixth inning after Chris Senn (Victorville, Calif./Silverado) singled through the right side of the infield; however, the Regents were cut down at the plate to end the inning. Two innings later, the Cougars took their first lead of the game scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the 8-5 win.
The Rockford University baseball team returns to the diamond on Sunday, April 6th for its home opener against Wisconsin Lutheran College. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m.
