The Aurora University and Concordia University Chicago baseball teams, two of the top teams in Division III, will play for a fifth time in 2019 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. In the NACC Tournament Final game one on Saturday afternoon, the Spartans fell to the Cougars 5-4 to force the winner take all final game on Mother's Day.

GAME INFORMATION – Saturday, May 11
Game - Boxscore
Game Score: #1 Concordia University Chicago 5, #2 Aurora University 4
Records: Aurora University (33-9)
Location: Mequon, Wisconsin - Kapco Park

BEYOND THE BOX -
- AU senior shortstop Jeff Mayes picked up a base hit in the first inning, his 235th in his Spartan. The hit ties him as the All-Time leader in hits with Corey Breyne.

HOW IT HAPPENED -
- AU fell behind 1-0 in the first inning.
- In the Spartan half of the first, Davis Purviance and Mayes led off with singles with AJ Gill driving in Purviance to tie the game with a fly out.
- AU saw CUC score three times in the second and the Spartans trailed 4-1.
- Dylan White and Austin Wiskow singled with Purviance singling to score White.
- Caleb Poffenberger relieved starter Carter Turnquist in the third and kept the Cougar offense silent.
- In the fourth, Purviance struck again, this time with a two-run home run to tie the game at 4-4.
- Both offenses went silent until Spartan Seth Gutknecht got out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth, getting a strikeout with two on.
- A lead off single in the ninth brought Michael Fidler in relief of Gutknecht. A stolen base and wild pitch with one out moved the Cougar to third. A fly out scored what would be the final run scored in the game.
- AU fell 5-4.
- The Spartans and Cougars will meet for the fifth time in 2019 in a winner take all tournament final on Sunday, May 12.

SPARTAN HIGHLIGHTS -
- Davis Purviance was three for five with a home run, three runs batted in and two runs scored.
- Jeff Mayes went one for three with his 235th career hit.

SPARTAN LEADERS:
HITTING
HITS: Davis Purviance (3)
HOME RUN: Davis Purviance (1)
RUNS: Davis Purviance (2)
RUNS BATTED IN: Davis Purviance (3)

PITCHING:
APPEARANCES (innings): Caleb Poffenberger (3.2), Seth Gutknecht (2.1), Carter Turnquist (2.0) and Michael Fidler (1.0)
DECISIONS: Seth Gutknecht (loss, 2-1)
STRIKEOUTS: Caleb Poffenberger (3)
 
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