RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team earned its third sweep in its last four NACC doubleheaders on Wednesday afternoon at Concordia University Chicago and moved into a tie for sixth place and for the final spot in the NACC Tournament. Rockford won a slugfest 12-11 in the opener, and then won the nightcap 9-2, thanks to a brilliant pitching performance from freshman
Alex Easton. The Regents currently sit in a three-way tie with Marian and Edgewood for the final spot in the conference tournament, but are only one-game out of third place with four games remaining. Entering the final weekend of conference play, there are essentially six teams (Rockford, Concordia Wisconsin, Edgewood, Illinois Tech, Marian and MSOE) vying for four spots (#3-seed through #6-seed) in next weekend's NACC Tournament. Rockford concludes its conference schedule with two games on Friday at sixth-ranked Aurora University, followed by a pair of home games on Saturday against Benedictine.
Rockford 12 Concordia Chicago 11
- Rockford scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings to leap out to a 4-0 advantage.
- Ryan Stejskal and Jared Herzog each drove in a run in the top of the first on an RBI single to give the Regents a 2-0 advantage.
- The score remained unchanged until the top of the second, when Ryan Stejskal crushed a two-out, two-run triple off the center field wall, making it a 4-0 Rockford advantage.
- Concordia Chicago got a single run back in the bottom of the third to cut the Regent lead down to three, at 4-1.
- However, the Regents continued their hot hitting with a four-run fourth inning. Following a Joseph Stagowski hit by pitch, Ryan Stejskal blasted a two-run home run over the left center field wall, giving Rockford a 6-1 lead. After a pair of singles by Alex Perez and Jonathan Leon, BJ Graves drove in Perez on a ground-rule double. Blaise Mace would cap off the inning with an RBI infield single, scoring Leon, and extending Rockford's lead to 8-1.
- The Cougars were able to stay within striking distance after a plating a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning off a two-run double.
- Fortunately, the RU offense was not done, as it scored three more runs in the top of the fifth. After a Joseph Stagowski double and a walk, Jared Herzog laced a double of his own, scoring Stagowski, and making it a 9-3 Rockford lead. Jonathan Leon drove in the second run of the inning on an RBI single back up the middle. One batter later, BJ Graves knocked in the final run of the frame on a sacrifice fly, to give his team an 11-3 advantage.
- Concordia Chicago responded with three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to creep back to within four, at 11-7.
- Rockford did respond with what turned out to be a critical insurance run in the top of the seventh. The Regents did not have a hit in the inning, but took advantage of a walk and a CUC error to put runners on second and third with one out. BJ Graves then proceeded to drive in his third run of the game on a sacrifice fly and make it a 12-7 game.
- The Regents would need all 12 of their runs, as Concordia Chicago scored four runs in bottom of the eighth. The Cougars could have added more, but Rockford was able to induce a double play with the bases loaded to end the inning and hold onto its 12-11 advantage.
- Rockford then turned to Jared Herzog to pitch the ninth. Herzog promptly mowed down the Cougars in order, striking out all three batters to earn his first save of the season, and secure a 12-11 win.
Rockford 9 Concordia Chicago 2
- Rockford University freshman starting pitcher Alex Easton was the story of game two. In his first collegiate start, Easton held the highest scoring team in the NACC without a run through all eight of his innings on the mound. He also retired at least six straight batters on two separate occasions and did not allow a Cougar to reach third base.
- The RU offense broke the scoreless tie with a single run in the top of the third. Rockford had no hits in the inning, but capitalized on a Blaise Mace walk and a Ryan Stejskal sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.
- The score remained unchanged until Rockford added another single run in the top of the fifth. Blaise Mace again got things started with a walk and then advanced to second on a Jake Bilotta single. One batter later, Joseph Stagowski drove in a run on an RBI triple, making it a 2-0 Regent lead.
- Rockford would then blow the game wide open with five runs in the sixth. The Regents opened the inning with three straight hits, including a Richie Garcia RBI single, to extend their lead to 3-0. After two quick outs, the Regents strung together four straight singles, including RBI singles from Jake Bilotta and Alex Perez and a two-run single from Joseph Stagowski, to take a commanding 7-0 advantage.
- The RU offense was not done yet, as the Regents tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh. Rockford again opened the frame with a trio of singles to load the bases with no one out. The Regents drove in the first run of the inning on a Jake Bilotta sacrifice fly and then made it a 9-0 game on a CUC balk.
- Concordia Chicago did score two meaningless runs in the bottom of the ninth on a Michael Kasik two-run home run, but it was not nearly enough, as Rockford won the game 9-2 and secured the season sweep.
Game 1
- Ryan Stejskal finished 3-for-6 and was a double away from the cycle. Stejskal had a home run, a triple, scored 2 runs and drove in 5 runs.
- Blaise Mace went 3-for-6 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.
- BJ Graves was 2-for-4 with a double and three runs driven in.
- Jonathan Leon finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.
- Jared Herzog went 2-for-4 with a double, 2 walks, a run scored and an RBI.
- Alex Perez was 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored.
- Jared Herzog threw a perfect ninth, striking out all three batters he faced, to earn his collegiate first save.
Game 2
- Alex Easton threw 8 shutout innings in his first collegiate start. He scattered 6 hits and struck out 4 to earn the win and move to 2-0 this season.
- Jonathan Leon finished 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored.
- Joseph Stagowski was 2-for-5 with a triple, a run scored and 3 RBIs.
- Jake Bilotta went 2-for-4 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.
- Richie Garcia finished 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.
