Millington, Tenn. – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (4-2/0-0 CCAC) returned to Millington, Tenn. to take part in the 2024 Midwest Clash on Saturday and Sunday at USA Stadium. The Cougars started the weekend with a 7-1 victory over University of Northwestern Ohio as junior infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles CC/Liberty) doubled twice in four at-bats and drove in four runs in the win. SXU lost the second game in a pitcher's duel to Indiana University Kokomo, falling by a 2-1 decision. On Sunday, Saint Xavier lost to No. 25 Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.), 13-5, that saw freshman infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) belt his first collegiate home run. The Cougars bounced back in the nightcap, defeating Rochester University (Mich.), 7-2, as junior outfielder Kevin Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Murray State/Mount Carmel) laced a two-run triple to highlight a six-run second inning.

Game One:

• Freshman outfielder Nick Altobelli (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) recorded his first collegiate hit and finished 3-for-3 with two runs, a stolen base and a walk.
• went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot with an RBI, a run and a stolen base in his Saint Xavier debut.
• Junior pitcher Nico Saldias (Ajax, Ontario/Connors State/Pickering) earned his first win of the season (1-0) after he tossed 4.2 innings with four hits, one run (unearned), three walks and five strikeouts.
• Sophomore pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) pitched 1.1 innings of relief with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts in his first appearance of the year.
• Junior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) made his SXU debut and pitched the seventh inning with a clean sheet.
• Hutchings opened the scoring with a two-run double in the top of the 2^nd and he would drive in two more runs his next time up in the top of the 4^th with another double.
• Simecek drew a bases-loaded walk for an RBI in the top of the 5^th to push the lead to 5-0.
• The Racers got on the board with an RBI double in the bottom half of the 5^th.
• Dowling scored on a passed ball in the top of the 7^th and Simecek drove in a run on an RBI groundout.

Game Two:

• Junior outfielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles CC/Carbondale Community) went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot.
• Altobelli was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
• Junior infielder Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill) had a hit in three trips to the plate with an RBI.
• Freshman infielder Troy Stukenberg (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) knotched his first collegiate hit and he finished 1-for-3.
• Senior pitcher Julian Vargas (Tinley Park, Ill./Tinley Park) made the start and finished with a no decision after he logged 4.1 innings with just three hits, one earned run and a strikeout.
• Sophomore pitcher Heath Mann (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) took the loss (0-1) after he pitched 2.2 innings out of the bullpen, giving up one hit, one run (unearned), two walks and a strikeout.
• Johnson lined an RBI single to right field in the bottom of the 2^nd to give Saint Xavier a 1-0 lead.
• IUK tied the game in the top of the 5^th on a sacrifice fly and they scored the eventual winning run on an RBI error in the top of the 6^th.

Game Three:

• Massingale finished 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, a run and a walk.
• Simecek was 1-for-2 with a run scored and a walk.
• Dowling went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a run.
• Junior pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) made his season debut (0-1) and threw 3.0 innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs (four earned), a walk and striking out one batter.
• Sophomore pitcher Osvaldo Ballesteros Jr. (Berwyn, Ill./St. Laurence) made his season debut as well, pitching an inning of relief with six hits, five earned runs, a walk and a strikeout.
• Freshman pitcher Andrew Young (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) made his collegiate debut and he posted a pair of strikeouts in 1.0 inning out of the bullpen.
• Senior pitcher Max Smyth (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois Central/Andrew) also made his first appearance of the year, going an inning and allowing one hit, one run (unearned) and a strikeout.
• The Lions took an early lead on a three-run home run in the bottom of 1^st and they would go up 4-0 after a solo home run in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Stukenberg drove in his first collegiate RBI on a base hit to left in the top of the 3^rd. Simecek followed that at-bat with a two-run blast to right field to make it a one-run game, 4-3.
• FHU responded in the bottom of 3^rd, plating three runs on a two-out rally. The Cougars turned a double play with the bases loaded, but a run scored and Freed-Hardeman hit an RBI single and an RBI double, all three runs were unearned.
• Dowling got a run back in the top of the 4^th lifting a sac fly to left that scored Massingale.
• The Lions added five runs in the bottom of the 4^th on a pair of two-run singles and an RBI base hit.
• Sophomore infielder Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) plated a run for SXU in the top of the 6^th, racing home on a wild pitch after he led the inning off with a base hit.
• An error allowed a run to score for FHU in the bottom of the 6^th to cap the scoring.

Game Four:

• Dowling finished 2-for-4 with two RBI's, two runs and a stolen base.
• Fifth-year senior catcher Evan Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
• Stukenberg had a double in two at-bats, an RBI, a run and a steal.
• Junior pitcher Tommy Dougherty (Alsip, Ill./South Suburban/Shepard) made his first start of the year (1-0) and threw 4.0 innings with four hits, two earned runs, three walks and six strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) needed just eight pitches in his inning of relief, walking a batter and inducing a double play.
• Senior Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) pitched an inning with one strikeout.
• Junior infielder/pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee Crown) was 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and he finished the game on the mound, allowing a hit and striking out two batters.
• Parchomenko gave Saint Xavier a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single.
• Rochester went up 2-1 in the top of the 2^nd with a two-run double.
• The Cougars responded with a six-run rally in the bottom of the 2^nd. Hutchings tied the game on an RBI base hit. Junior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) clubbed an RBI double and he would score on Dowling's two-run triple. Orzech hammered an RBI double to right field and Simecek laced an RBI single to left.

Saint Xavier (4-2/0-0 CCAC) travels to Lawrenceville, Ga. to play No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett University in a four-game series. Game one starts on Friday, February 23 with a 3:00 pm central first pitch.