BB: CCIW: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[mr_b]

Day Two, Game One: elimination game between North Central and Carroll, with first pitch set for noon.  Brett Buzzelli (3-3) is on the mound for the Pioneers, and Ryan Behling (4-3) gets the start for the Cardinals.  I'm surprised that Charlie Klemm (7-2) did not get the nod for the Cards.

[mr_b]

North Central defeats Carroll, 10-0, in 7 innings.  Behling worked a complete-game three-hit shutout.  The Pioneers are eliminated and the Cardinals next play the loser of this evening's Millikin-Augustana matchup.  North Park plays Wheaton in the second game of today's triple-header, with first pitch probably ~ 3.15 PM.

[Gregory Sager]

Seems like Ed Mathey made the right call. Behling was on fire on the mound today.

[mr_b]

The North Park-Wheaton game is headed to extra innings.  North Park had an early 3-0 lead but the Thunder chipped away with single runs in the 6th, 7th, and 9th.

[mr_b]

Game Five: North Park 6, Wheaton 3, in 11 innings.  The Vikings survived a bases-loaded (error, double, IBB), one-out situation in the bottom of the 10th, as Julian Ledezma (the fourth Viking hurler of the contest) got Jacob Snyder to fly out to end the threat.  In the top of the 11th, the Vikings strung together six consecutive singles to build a 3-run lead.  In the bottom of the frame, the Thunder managed a one-out single, but Ledezma induced a game-ending double play to seal the victory.  The Thunder see their season come to a close in heartbreaking fashion after dropping a narrow 3-2 game to Millikin.  It marks the second straight year in which the Vikings have eliminated the Thunder in the CCIW tournament.

North Park now awaits the winner of the evening contest that pits Augustana against Millikin.

[mr_b]

Day Two, Game Six: another contest with two really good arms on the hill: Wintroub of Augustana (6-3, 2.73 ERA, 86 K) vs Buehrle (8-4, 3.79 ERA, 73 K).  The winner takes on North Park tomorrow at 3 PM, while the loser faces North Central at high noon.

[Gregory Sager]

It marks the second straight year in which the Vikings have eliminated the Thunder in the CCIW tournament.

If the Vikings want to make that a yearly tradition, it'll be fine with me.

[mr_b]

Day Two, Game Six: Another extra-inning affair in which the visiting team scored three runs in the top of the 11th for the win.  Augustana tops Millikin, 7-4.  The Big Blue will meet the Cardinals at noon in an elimination game, while in the winner's bracket it will be the battle of the Vikings at 3 PM.

[mr_b]

Day Three, Game Seven: North Central 13, Millikin 3 (7 innings).  The Cardinals eliminate the Big Blue.  Jason Shanner threw seven solid innings for the win.  He allowed just four hits and no earned runs; the Cardinal defense committed another three errors, but the NCC offense stepped up its game, with 13 hits and 12 walks against six Millikin hurlers.  This evening the Cardinals will play the loser of the North Park-Augustana contest, which will be starting soon.

[lmitzel]

In late action yesterday, Augie advanced to the title game with a 2-1 win over North Park, then North Central survived some late North Park rallies to win 10-9 and advance to play Augie for the title.

[mr_b]

Augustana defeats North Central in 14 innings, 10-9, to win the CCIW tournament.  The Vikings' Cole Green hit a solo home run off Luke Lamm at the top of the frame, and Josh Wintroub picked up the win in relief.  Fourteen pitchers saw action, eight by the Cardinals and six by the Vikings.  Augie won three of their four contests by a single run to earn the automatic qualify for the NCAA Regional.  North Central again plays the waiting game to see if they will pick up an at-large bid.

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana runs the table to win the CCIW tourney by beating North Central, 10-9 in 14 innings. Augie won all four of its games and beat every tourney participant except Carroll. The winning run was scored on Cole Green's first homer of the season in the top of the 14th off of NCC ace Luke Lamm.

It was a pretty dramatic way to win the tournament, although the drama was lessened somewhat by the fact that if North Central had won the game the two teams would've then had to play another game immediately thereafter to determine the champion.

[CardinalAlum]

Cardinals grab an NCAA at Large bid and will open up vs Coe at Stevens Point.  Augustana draws Aurora at Whitewater.

[lmitzel]

So, the end of NCC's tournament opener against Coe was pretty awesome.

[Ralph Turner]

So, the end of NCC's tournament opener against Coe was pretty awesome.

... and if you are a Coe fan, it is death by a thousand cuts until the big cut!