Joliet, Ill. – After having their game delayed Thursday evening because of incoming storms, the No. 4 seeded Saint Xavier University baseball team (27-25/19-13 CCAC) began play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament Friday morning against No. 3 Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet, Ill. The Cougars fell behind early, 8-0, however they rallied to tie the game at 9-9 in the top of the 8^th before the Tigers plated three runs in the bottom of the 8^th to pull away for a 12-10 victory. SXU then faced No. 1 University of St. Francis (Ill.) in an elimination game in the afternoon. That game was tied at 1-1 until the Fighting Saints scored five runs in the top of the 9^th to come away with a 6-1 win to bounce Saint Xavier from the six-team tournament.

Game One:

• Junior outfielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles CC/Carbondale Community) doubled twice in three at-bats with three RBI, two walks and a run scored.
• Freshman infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) was 3-for-5 with three runs, a double and an RBI.
• Junior infielder Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Junior infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles/Liberty) scored twice and had a stolen base while going 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Senior pitcher Julian Vargas (Tinley Park, Ill./Tinley Park) took the mound and pitched 4.0 innings, allowing eight hits, eight runs (all earned), two walks and he had a strikeout.
• Freshman pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) worked an inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts and a walk.
• Sophomore utility/pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) tossed a third of an inning, giving up a hit and a run.
• Senior pitcher Tzu-Chun Yen (Kaohsiung, Taiwan/Ohlone/Meiho) suffered the loss (1-1) after going 2.0 innings out of the bullpen with three hits allowed, two earned runs and two walks.
• Senior pitcher Max Smyth (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois Central/Andrew) threw two thirds of an inning with one hit, a run and a strikeout.
• ONU went up 2-0 in the bottom of the 1^st on an error and an RBI single. They took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 3^rd with an RBI double and an RBI base hit. Olivet Nazarene chased Vargas in the bottom of the 4^th when they hit a two-run single, a sacrifice fly and scored on a wild pitch to go up 8-0.
• Freshman outfielder Nick Altobelli (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) started a rally with an RBI single and Dreier sliced an RBI double down the right field line. Both Altobelli and Dreier would score on separate wild pitches to cut the deficit in half, 8-4, in the top of the 6^th.
• An RBI groundout score a run for the Tigers in the bottom half of the inning to push their lead to 9-4.
• Massingale got two runs back in the top of the 7^th when he pulled a two-run double down the left field line.
• In the top of the 8^th, junior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) poked an RBI single to right field, Massingale drew a bases loaded walk and fifth-year senior catcher Evan Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) tied the game on an RBI groundout.
• ONU went up 12-9 in the bottom of the frame on a pair of RBI singles and a safety squeeze.
• Johnson lifted a sacrifice fly to score Dreier in the top of the 9^th.

Game Two:

• Orzech went 2-for-4 and Johnson was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
• Freshman catcher Victor Zaragoza doubled and was 1-for-2.
• Senior pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) pitched 6.0 strong innings, scattering just two hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
• Sophomore pitcher Heath Mann (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) took the loss (1-4) after throwing 2.1 innings of relief, surrendering three hits, four earned runs with three walks and four strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) allowed a run and hit a batter, but did not record an out.
• Smyth finished the top of the 9^th, giving up three hits and a run in 0.2 innings.
• Massingale gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 3^rd when he drove in Johnson on a sac fly to center.
• USF tied the game in the top of the 7^th with an RBI double.
• St. Francis scored the winning run on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 9^th. They added a pair of RBI singles, a run scoring fielder's choice and another RBI base hit to go up 6-1.