Baseball escapes with wild win at Rockford

LOVES PARK, Ill. – The wait proved to be worth it for the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team. The Falcons, who resumed a halted game from April 2 against Rockford, held on for a wild 11-9, 13-inning win Monday at Rivets Stadium. The win moves the Falcons into a four-way tie for fourth place in the NACC standings with four league games remaining.

THE BASICS
- Final Score: CUW 11, Rockford 9 (F/13 Innings)
- Location: Rivets Stadium – Rockford, Illinois
- Records: CUW 19-13, 9-7 NACC; Rockford 15-18, 9-7 NACC

HOW IT HAPPENED
- To read about the game before it was halted in the 10th inning on April 2, click here for the April 2 story.

- The day started with the bases loaded and one out for CUW in the top of the 10th with Kyle Hilliard (Oak Forest, Ill.) at the plate. Hilliard delivered a bases-clearing double and later scored on a Rockford error, giving CUW an 8-4 lead.

- Rockford would respond with a four-run 10th inning, capped off by a three-run home run from Brett Downs to tie the game at 8-8. The Falcons responded in the top of the 11th when Michael Szeszol (Lake Bluff, Ill.) recorded an RBI single, but CUW failed to score any more runs despite loading the bases with zero outs.

- Rockford once again had an answer and again thanks to the long ball as Michael Tosado belted a game-tying home run in the 11th.

- The Falcons had the last laugh, plating two runs in the 13th, the eventual game-winning run scored by Matt Luft (Oshkosh, Wis.) after a Dan Ranieri (Loves Park, Ill.) RBI double.

- Scott Plachinski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) got the win for CUW, throwing 1.2 scoreless frames of relief. Michael Enriquez (Chicago, Ill.) picked up his first save with a scoreless 13th. Plachinski also received his first career at-bat in the game, as the Falcons ended the DH when they moved Hilliard from DH to catcher.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons moved into a four-way tie for fourth place in the NACC standings with Rockford, Aurora, and Marian. Each team has four league games remaining.

UP NEXT
- CUW will host No. 25 UW-Stevens Point for a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at 2 p.m.