CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago baseball team lost a pair of games to Rockford University 5-4 and 12-5 on Sunday.

The Maroons dropped to 6-12 on the year while the Regents improved to 13-12.

Game One – Rockford 5, UChicago 4

Rockford jumped out of the gate with a pair of RBI doubles in the first inning to go up 2-0. After several uneventful innings, UChicago halved that deficit in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore first baseman Thomas Prescott drove in senior third baseman Kyle Engel with a sacrifice fly.

The visitors widened their lead to 4-1 in the top of the sixth on a RBI single and RBI groundout. The Maroons got out of the inning by throwing out one of the advancing runners on a play at the plate.

Engel drew another walk in the bottom of the sixth and he was knocked in by freshman designated hitter Michael Davis, who smacked a double to left field. Down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh, UChicago put runners on second and third base for shortstop Ryan Krob. The sophomore lofted a fly ball to short left field that fell for a double in between three fielders, scoring both runners to tie the game at 4-4.

Rockford drew two walks in the top of the 10th inning and recorded an RBI groundout to take back the lead, 5-4. UChicago had two runners on in its half of the 10th as well, but two strikeouts ended the game.

The Maroons totaled nine hits and two errors. Freshman catcher Matt Slodzinski, senior second baseman William Katzka and senior outfielder Edward Akers tallied two hits each.

Junior Lucas Friss pitched the first six innings for UChicago. He allowed four runs on eight hits with one walk while striking out three. Senior Simon Swanson followed up with three innings of effective relief, limiting Rockford to one hit and one walk to go with two strikeouts. Sophomore William Potebnya-Meyer (0-1) absorbed the loss in his 1/3 inning with one run and two walks. Freshman Robert Fuentes hurled the final 2/3 inning with one strikeout.

Game Two – Rockford 12, UChicago 5

The Regents used a big second inning to seize control of game two. A bases-loaded walk brought in the first run and a double cleared the bags to make the score 4-0. An error in the third inning put Rockford up 5-0, but UChicago scored two in its half of the third on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.

The visitors kept up the offensive momentum and scored at least one run in each inning the rest of the game. The Maroons were down 10-2 in the bottom of the sixth when the home side loaded the bases with three-consecutive walks. Engel stepped to the plate and drove in all three runners with a double to left field.

Rockford posted two more runs in the seventh to account for the final score of 12-5. Starting pitcher Thomas Prescott (1-3) took the loss after throwing the opening 2-1/3 innings. The sophomore posted five runs (four earned), six hits, four walks and one strikeout.

The Maroons had four other pitchers make relief appearances, including senior Anthony DeRenzo (1-2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R); freshman Max Larsen (1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K); freshman Michael Davis (1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB); and freshman Ricardo Fernandez (1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 1 K).

Offensively, UChicago recorded six hits, with Engel going 2-for-3 with three RBI. The home team also made two errors defensively.

NEXT GAMES:

• Tuesday, Apr. 14 – St. Norbert College at UChicago (DH), 2 PM