Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team fell 17-3 to Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Midwest Regional Championship game Monday afternoon at UW-Whitewater's Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.  The Eagles finish 31-19 on the season, advancing to the NCAA Division III Regional title game for the third straight season.  UWL captured the 2015 and 2016 regional title at Copeland Park in La Crosse, earning berths in the NCAA Division III Championships in Appleton, Wisconsin. 

UWL records its fourth season in school history with at least 30 wins, including third straight.  The Eagles won a school record 39 games in 2016.  UWL won 36 games in 2015 and 34 in 2012.  The nine members of the 2017 senior class (Caleb Boushley, Alex Brown, Carter Hoffman, Jameson Lavery, Nic Pierick, Brock Rude, Lucas Schultz, Travis Stahulak and Joel Zyhowski) went 132-63 (.677) over the last four years, earning four appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.  UWL advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2015 and 2016 while earning at least 30 wins three times (2015, 2016, 2017). 

"The seniors on this squad are part of building the culture that is UW-La Crosse baseball," said head coach Chris Schwarz. "Not just a part of it, but they helped create it along with the guys from the past couple years.  The efforts they have given in the weight room, classroom and practice and making sure their teammates are ready to go. It's going to be tough to replace this group."

With the win, second-seeded Concordia Chicago (Ill.) advances to the NCAA Division III Championships at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton scheduled for May 26-31. The Cougars are one of eight teams to earn a berth in the NCAA III Championships. Concordia Chicago (Ill.) went 4-0 to claim this year's NCAA III Midwest Regional title. The Cougars advanced to the championship game with a 14-0 victory over UWL May 21. 

UWL, seeded fifth in this year's regional, went 3-2 in the tournament.  The Eagles opened with a 11-2 victory over fourth-seeded and 23rd-ranked College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) May 18 and earned a 5-2 win over the regional's top-seed and third-ranked UW-Whitewater May 19 before their 14-0 loss to Concordia Chicago (Ill.) May 21. UWL earned an 8-3 victory over the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in an elimination game May 21. 

Concordia Chicago (Ill.) took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning Monday on solo home runs by Kevin Coppin and Doug Matthews.  UWL cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the third as Zyhowski scored on Hoffman's RBI groundout. The Eagles left the bases loaded in the first and third innings. 

The Cougars made it 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning with an unearned run as Mitch Wilson scored on Justin Rodriguez' groundout.  The Eagles cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth on Brennan Schmitt's single scoring Nate Roethle, but the Cougars responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2.  Bryan VanDuser had an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to give Concordia Chicago a 7-2 advantage. 

Brown's double knocked in Roethle to cut the lead to 7-3 in the top of the seventh. Concordia Chicago scored four times in the seventh and added six runs in the eighth. Matthews hit a three-run home run in the seventh for the Cougars while Kevin Garcia's two-run single highlighted the six run eighth.

Boushley (9-3) took the loss for UWL, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing nine hits, seven runs (four earned) and one walk while striking out five. He finishes the season with a school record 106 strikeouts. Boushley ends his career as UWL's career leader in wins (24), innings (264.2) and strikeouts (227). The Eagles finished with 10 hits Monday with Zyhowski, Brown, Brady Stolzman and Sam Prissel each recording two.  Roethle scored twice.  UWL left 15 runners on base in the game.

Zyhowski, Roethle and Nate Heili were all named to the 11-member NCAA Division III Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the championships. It marks Heili's second straight all-tournament honor.

"The leadership from the senior class and the learning from the underclassmen sets the table ahead for us," said Schwarz. "I told the team to hold their heads high and be proud of their accomplishments this season." 

Adam Schmitt (3-1) earned the win for Concordia Chicago (Ill.) Monday, going 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs and four walks while striking out four.  Mike Formella picked up his seventh save of the season, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing two hits, one run and three walks with five strikeouts. The Cougars totaled 17 hits with Coppin, Matthews and Brendan Klein each finishing with three. Coppin and Matthews each had four RBI while Wilson scored four times. VanDuser had two hits.