CHICAGO – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (12-11/5-1 CCAC) swept Indiana University South Bend in a four-game Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) series at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field Friday and Saturday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. The first two games of the series were moved to Ferrell Field due to rain on Thursday and counted as home games for the Cougars. SXU won game one 7-3 after a six-run 1^st inning, highlighted by a Grand Slam off the bat of freshman infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit). Saint Xavier took game two by a 9-5 score as freshman designated hitter Troy Stukenberg (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) drove in three runs. On Saturday, the Cougars tallied 39 runs on 32 hits with seven home runs to sweep the series. SXU won 16-4 in the first contest as freshman infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) cracked a three-run home run to spark a six-run rally in the bottom of the 2^nd. Saint Xavier capped the weekend with a 23-13 triumph in the second game that saw fifth-year senior catcher Evan Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) hit two home runs with seven RBI, and outfielder Nick Altobelli (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) and junior infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles CC/Liberty) each hitting Grand Slams.

Game One:

• Simecek went 2-for-2 with five RBI, two home runs and a walk.
• Junior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) doubled twice in four at-bats, scored a run and he stole a base.
• Orzech was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
• Junior pitcher Tommy Dougherty (Alsip, Ill./South Suburban/Shepard) recorded the win (2-1) after throwing 4.1 innings with six hits, three earned runs, five walks and two strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) worked 1.2 innings out of the bullpen with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Max Smyth (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois Central/Andrew) tossed an inning with one walk and one strikeout.
• Orzech hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 1^st, followed by an RBI base hit by junior outfielder Kevin Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Murray State/Mount Carmel) and Simecek's Grand Slam.
• Simeeck belted hit his second home run of the game to extend the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• The Titans posted three runs in the top of the 5^th on three RBI singles.

Game Two:

• Stukenberg finished 3-for-4 with a run, a stolen base and a walk.
• Dowling was 2-for-5 with an RBI double and a stolen base.
• Moore went 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a steal.
• Hutchings had two hits in two trips to the plate with two runs scored and two walks.
• Junior pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) made his first start of the season with 4.0 innings pitched, seven hits given up, three earned runs, three walks and a strikeout for a no decision.
• Senior pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) picked up the win in relief (2-0), firing 3.0 innings with one hit, one run (unearned), a walk and two strikeouts.
• Sophomore pitcher Heath Mann (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) logged 2.0 innings with one hit, one run (unearned), a walk and he struck out three batters.
• IUSB struck first with an RBI single in the top of the 1^st.
• The Cougars responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Stukenberg and an RBI double by Dowling.
• In the bottom of the 2^nd, junior outfielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles CC/Carbondale Community) drew a base loaded walk, Orzech drove in a run on an RBI groundout and an error allowed a run to score, and Stukenberg hit an RBI single to push the advantage to 6-1.
• Indiana South Bend hit a two-run single in the top of the 3^rd to cut the deficit in half.
• Moore made it 8-3 in the bottom of the 3^rd, driving in two runs on an infield single off a touch in-between hop.
• The Titans scored in the top of the 6^th off an RBI double and an RBI groundout in the top of the 8^th.
• Stukenberg collected his third RBI of the game in the bottom of the 8^th on a base hit to cap the scoring.  

Game Three:

• Massingale had four hits in four at-bats with four RBI, two runs and a triple.
• Stukenberg went 2-for-4 with four RBI as well, along with a double.
• Moore was a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with four runs scored, an RBI and a walk.
• Simicek went 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs, a home runs and a steal.
• Dreier finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk.
• Junior pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) tallied the win (2-3) after tossing 4.0 innings with four hits, two runs (one earned), a walk and striking out five batters in the seven-inning contest.
• Junior infielder/pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee Crown) worked 1.2 innings out of the bullpen with one allowed, two runs (both unearned) and a walk.
• Senior infielder/pitcher Doug Shermulis (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) made his collegiate pitching debut, giving up one hit and walking one batter.
• Junior pitcher Matt Boehm (Evergreen Park, Ill./Lewis/De La Salle) made his season debut, logging 1.1 innings of relief with one hit and a strikeout.
• IUSB took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on a pair of run-scoring errors.
• Massingale hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 1^st to get SXU on the board.
• Dreier smashed a three-run home run, followed by another RBI single by Massingale, a two-run double off the bat of Orzech and an RBI base hit by Stukenberg to put Saint Xavier up 7-2 in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• In the bottom of the 3^rd, Simicek launched a home run, Moore sliced a two-run double and he scored on Massingale's RBI triple to make it 10-2.
• The Cougars plated six runs in the bottom of the 4^th as Simicek hit an RBI single, junior infielder Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill) clubbed an RBI double, Massingale hit an RBI single and Stukenberg slugged a bases-clearing three-run double.
• Indiana South Bend scored two runs in the top of the 6^th on an RBI base hit and a bases loaded walk.

Game Four:

• Orzech had four hits in five at-bats with three runs scored, a double and a stolen base.
• Altobelli finished 1-for-3 with five RBI, three runs, two walks and a steal.
• Hutchings was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a walk.
• Moore went 2-for-4 with four runs, two RBI, two stolen bases, two walks and a double.
• Massingale was 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
• Stukenberg went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and a home run.
• Sophomore pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) made the start, lasting 4.1 innings with eight hits surrendered, eight earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts for the no decision.
• Dreier threw 1.2 innings of relief with four hits, three earned runs and four strikeouts.
• Freshman pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) tossed 0.2 innings with three hits allowed, two runs, a walk and a strikeout.
• Smyth earned his first win of the year (1-0) after posting 1.1 innings with one strikeout.
• Orzech hit a two-run home run and Stukenberg followed with a home run in the next at-bat for a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st.
• The Titans responded with a two-run home run in the top of the 2^nd.
• In the bottom half of the inning, Massingale hit an RBI single, Orzech picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice, Altobelli lifted an RBI sacrifice fly and Massingale scored on a wild pitch for a 7-2 advantage.
• IUSB added a run in the top of the 3^rd on an RBI sac fly.
• SXU rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the 3^rd with Massingale drawing a bases loaded walk, Orzech hitting a two-run ground-rule double and Altobelli smashing his first collegiate Grand Slam for a 14-3 lead.
• Indiana South Bend had a big inning in the top of the 5^th, plating six runs. They hit a pair of two-run home runs, an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch.
• The Titans pulled within three runs after a two-run home run made it a 14-11 ballgame in the top of the 6^th.
• Saint Xavier pushed the lead to 19-11 in the bottom of the 6^th as Moore belted a two-run ground-rule double, Orzech crushed a two-run home run and Simicek hit an RBI ground-rule double.
• IUSB hit a two-run home run in the top of the 7^th.
• Hutchings ended the game on an opposite field Grand Slam in the bottom of the 8^th with one out due to the NAIA's 10-run rule after seven innings.

Saint Xavier (12-11/5-1 CCAC) returns to action of Friday, March 22 when they take on St. Ambrose University (Iowa) in a CCAC doubleheader at Ferrell Field. Game one is slated for a 1:00 pm first pitch in Chicago, Ill.