The UChicago baseball team had an exciting weekend playing three games at the Midwest Conference Tournament. The Maroons dominated the game with Cornell College on Friday, beating them 2–0. However, they failed to build a winning streak as they played and lost against Ripon in their second game of the day by a score of 5–4. This left them playing Cornell College again in the elimination game on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Maroons were unable to push past the Rams and lost the game 6–5.
The Maroons opened the tournament with a win by scoring a run against Cornell in the first inning and adding another in the fifth inning. The team put up a great defensive effort, stopping Cornell from scoring any runs. The game ended with a score of 2–0. The Maroons’ all-team runs leader, fourth-year Connor Hickey, scored both runs. Fourth-year Joe Liberman also had a great performance, pitching eight of the nine innings and striking out six players.
Unfortunately, the Maroons were unable to defeat Ripon College in their second match of the day, preparing them for a rematch with Cornell College. A sacrifice fly from fourth-year Ian Bohn led to a run by Hickey, putting the Maroons in a good position. However, Ripon battled back and responded with two runs, putting them on top, 2–1. The game slowed down as no runs were scored in the next four innings. Second-year Brian Lyle singled in the sixth inning, putting third-year Payton Jancsy on third with an opportunity for another run. The Maroons took their chances and were back in the lead, 3–2. However, Ripon once again plated two more runs in the same inning, taking back the lead. They plated another run in the seventh inning against the Maroons, who tried to reclaim the lead but were only able to score once more in the eighth inning. The game ended with the score of 5–4.
Cornell College opened the Saturday game with a run, but the Maroons quickly struck back and plated two runs in the second inning. First-year Carson Weekley made his run while fourth-year Josh Parks advanced to second and was later able to score on a passing ball. Jancsy and Lyle extended the lead when they scored in the third and fourth inning respectively, bringing the score up to 4–1. However, Cornell gained momentum and fought back. They scored twice in the fifth inning and plated three runs in the sixth inning, outscoring the Maroons and putting them in the lead. The Maroons were unable to score another run, ending the game—and their season—with a 6–5 loss.
The Midwest Conference Tournament wrapped up a successful 2019 season for the baseball team. A total of 24 wins were achieved in the 36 games played and the 251 runs made. Nine fourth-years on the team have concluded their collegiate careers—Josh Parks, Ian Bohn, Connor Hickey, Max Brzostowski, Brady Sarkon, Joe Liberman, Brenton Villasenor, Jacob Petersen and Ravi Bakhai. This group broke the record of most wins by a senior class with a total of 90 wins.
