Maroons Earn 5-3 Victory over Concordia Chicago
The University of Chicago baseball team scored twice in the ninth inning to break a tie and secure a 5–3 win over Concordia Chicago on Saturday morning, improving to 3-2 on the season.
The Maroons wasted no time jumping on the board in the top of the first. After Erik Rindner was hit by a pitch and Nathan Bae reached an outfield error, Max Wiesner lined an RBI single to left field to plate the game's first run. Michael Gladden followed with an RBI single of his own to bring in Bae and put UChicago up 2-0.
Concordia Chicago answered in the second inning, using a double and a wild pitch to cut the deficit to one. From there, pitcher Landon Brice found his rhythm, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out six in his seven innings of work.
UChicago extended its lead in the seventh. Braden Jirovec sparked the rally with a double to right field before Harrison Belden followed with a single to put runners on first and third. Rindner grounded into a double play, but Jirovec crossed the plate to push the lead to 3–1 with just two innings left.
The Cougars responded in the eighth, tying the game at three with just one inning left. The Maroons knew they needed to put at least one on the board in the ninth to take the win.
UChicago answered immediately as Rindner, Bae, and Weisner reached on three consecutive errors to load the bases for Gladden. Having the right reads, Gladden earned an RBI on a walk to load the bases yet again and put the Maroons up by one. The Cougars got a Maroon, but a balk on the next play cost them another run as Bae scored to put UChicago up 5-3.
John Butka found his footing in the bottom of the ninth, retiring three of the final four batters to seal the victory and earn his first win of the season.
Wiesner led the offense with three hits and an RBI, while Jirovec finished 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored. The Maroons tallied 11 hits on the day and played error-free defense, capitalizing on five Concordia Chicago errors.