RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team played its toughest opponent of the season on Saturday when the Regents traveled to take on 19th-ranked Concordia University Chicago. Rockford entered the day looking to take at least one of two from the Cougars as the Regents continue to fight for a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. Unfortunately it was a difficult day for Rockford as it dropped both games by final scores of 8-2 and 5-4.
The day got off to a rocky start as the Regents fell behind early and were never able to recover. The Cougars scored 7 runs in the first five innings to jump out to a quick 7-0 lead. Rockford was able to get runners on base in each of the first six innings but simply could not find a way to score until the top of the seventh. Senior Andrew Hunt (Apple Valley, Calif.) began the inning with a leadoff single for his second hit of the game. After a fly out to center field, Kraemer Brandt (Elk Grove, Ill.), Britton Seivert (Rockford, Ill.) and Devin Standard (Monroe Center, Ill.) all drew one-out walks as the Regents scored their first run of the day. Robert Smith (Bartlett, Ill.) followed with an RBI single to pull Rockford to within five runs at 7-2. However, it was not enough as the Cougars added a run in the eighth en route to a 8-2 win.
The Rockford bullpen did an excellent job keeping the Regents in the game after the difficult start. The trio of Thomas Bolen (Tucson, Ariz.), Bobby Treadwell (Genoa, Ill.) and Jake Morsch (Somonauk, Ill.) combined to throw the final 3.1 innings allowing just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 1.
Rockford again fell behind early in game two but was able to fight back and put themselves in position to win the game. Concordia Chicago struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the sixth when Rockford scored a trio of runs to take its first lead of the day. Seniors Seth Dascher (Lena, Ill.) and Robert Smith began the inning by reaching base safely via a walk and a hit by pitch. After a successful sacrifice bunt, Evan Frantini (Coal City, Ill.) delivered a clutch 2-run single through the left side of the infield to tie the game at 2-2. Seniors Ryan Scarpetta (Rockton, Ill.) and Andrew Hunt kept the rally going with a single and a walk to once again load the bases. Shortstop Patrick O'Malley (Elk Grove, Ill.) then followed with an RBI single of his own as the Regents took a 3-2 lead after 6 innings of play.
Rockford's lead would not last long as Concordia Chicago took advantage of two Rockford errors in bottom of the seventh to score one run and tie the game. Fortunately Rockford was able to respond with a run of its own in the top of the eighth to retake the lead. The Regents took advantage of a Cougar error to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. This time it was Chris Carlson (Schaumburg, Ill.) who delivered the big hit with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to put his team back in front 4-3.
The Cougars would however answer right back in the bottom half of the inning again taking advantage of a Rockford error to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the ninth. Unfortunately, Rockford's defense again let them down as the Regents committed two more errors allowing the Cougars to score the winning run and secure a 5-4 victory.
Sophomore Adam O'Malley (Elk Grove, Ill.) pitched extremely well in game two. O'Malley held the NACC's top offense in check the entire day despite 9 Rockford errors behind him. He tossed his first complete game of the year pitching all 8.1 innings while allowing just 2 earned runs and striking out 4.
The Rockford University baseball team will be back in action on Sunday, April 24 at home against the University of Chicago. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 2:00 PM at Rivets Stadium.
