Glendale, Ariz. – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (6-6/0-0 CCAC) concluded its four-game series with No. 10 ranked Arizona Christian University Saturday evening, losing a pair of games, 14-8 and 7-2, at Greenway High School in Glendale, Ariz. Graduate student infielder Taylor Steig (Corona, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Redwoods/Santiago) went 4-for-9 with two RBI and a double for the Cougars across both contests. Graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) finished 3-for-8 with two RBI a triple, a double and a run scored.

Game One:

• Hammond had two hits in five at-bats with a two-run triple.
• Steig was 2-for-5 as well with an RBI double.
• Graduate student designated hitter Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) went 2-for-2 with three walks, a two-run home run and a run scored.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) clubbed an RBI double, going 1-for-6 with two runs and a stolen base.
• Junior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) was 2-for-3, scoring twice and drawing a walk.
• Sophomore pitcher/infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) made the start, going 2.0 innings with three hits allowed, five runs (three earned), three walks and two strikeouts.
• Freshman pitcher Tyler Deluca (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) threw an inning, allowing five hits, four earned runs, a walk and a strikeout.
• Redshirt junior pitcher Carter Kopp (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney) made his season debut and he worked 3.0 innings out of the bullpen, surrendering eight hits, five earned runs, two walks and a strikeout.
• Sophomore pitcher/infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) made his collegiate debut on the mound, tossing 2.0 innings and recording a pair of strikeouts.
• ACU took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st on a two-run home run and a run-scoring error. They extended their advantage to 5-0 in the bottom of the 2^nd on a two-run single.
• Moore sliced an RBI double to the gap in left center and sophomore infielder Troy Stukenberg (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) drew a bases loaded walk to cut the deficit to 5-2 in the top of the 3^rd.
• The Firestorm went up 9-2 in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run base hit, a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI single.
• Moore grounded into a double play that brought in a run for SXU in the top of the 4^th.
• Arizona Christian plated two runs in the bottom of the 4^th on a pair of wild pitches.
• Kirck cracked his fourth home run of the season in the top of the 5^th, a two-run shot, to make it 11-5.
• ACU homered and hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 6^th to go up 14-5.
• In the top of the 8^th, Hammond laced a two-run triple and Steig smashed an RBI double.

Game Two:

• Steig collected two hits and an RBI in four trips to the plate.
• Hammond went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
• Moore drew three walks and he scored a run while going 0-for-1.
• junior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three hits, three earned runs, a walk and posting a season-high seven strikeouts to fall to 2-1 on the season.
• Sophomore pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) worked 2.0 innings of relief, giving up two hits, three earned runs, a walk and striking out three batters.
• Junior pitcher Jarrett Kenyon (Henderson, Nev./Utah State Eastern/South Suburban/Coronado) threw an inning, surrendering two hits, one earned run and recording a strikeout.
• The Firestorm broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 5^th on a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run.
• Saint Xavier responded with two runs in the top of the 6^th as Moore scored on a wild pitch and Steig hit an RBI single.
• Arizona Christian hit an RBI single and an RBI groundout to go up 5-2 in the bottom of the 6^th. They added a run in the bottom of the 7^th and an RBI double in the bottom of the 8^th.

Saint Xavier (6-6/0-0 CCAC) is scheduled to play its home opener on Friday, February 28 against Madonna University (Mich.) in a doubleheader. Game one is slated for a 12:00 start.