Rosemont, Ill. – The Saint Xavier University softball team (5-3/0-0 CCAC) won three of their four games in the Rosemont Dome Tournament hosted by Roosevelt University (Ill.) this weekend in Rosemont, Ill. Junior infielder Mallory O'Connor (Bourbonnais, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Bishop McNamara) paced the Cougar offense, finishing 10-for-13 with six RBI, four doubles, three runs scored and a triple. SXU lost their first game Saturday morning to No. 6 ranked Madonna University (Mich.) 8-4 before claiming a 4-0 victory over Bethel University (Ind.) in the afternoon. Saint Xavier defeated Aquinas College (Ind.) by a 10-2 score in five innings on Sunday morning and they extended their winning streak to three with a 3-2 triumph over Madonna.

Game One:

• Junior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) went 3-for-5 from the top of the order.
• Sophomore catcher Natalie Johnson (Bourbonnais, Ill./Grand Valley State/Bradley-Bourbonnais) was 1-for-4 with a three-run home run.
• O'Connor finished 2-for-2 with an RBI double and two runs scored.
• Junior infielder Kaitlyn Wright (Chicago, Ill./Marist) had two hits in four at-bats with a double and a run.
• Freshman infielder Danielle Goodman (Poplar Grove, Ill./North Boone) was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
• Sophomore infielder Aubrey Wroble (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) also went 2-for-3.
• Sophomore pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./Saint Louis/Evergreen Park) threw a complete game (0-3), allowing 12 hits, eight earned runs, six walks and five strikeouts.
• MU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 4^th on a two-run single.
• The Crusaders tacked on five runs in the top of the 6^th off a home run and a pair of two-run singles.
• Johnson belted her first home run of the season, driving in three, in the bottom of the 6^th.
• Madonna hit an RBI single in the top of the 7^th.
• O'Connor lined an RBI ground-rule double to center in the bottom of the 7^th.

Game Two:

• O'Connor had three hits in three trips to the plate with a double and an RBI walk.
• Wroble went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
• Junior outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) finished 1-for-2 with two runs, a walk and a stolen base.
• Junior infielder Emily Bickett (Plainfield, Ill./South Suburban/Morton/Plainfield South) made her SXU debut, going 1-for-2 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.
• Sophomore pitcher Hailey Wesner (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) tossed her first collegiate shutout (2-0), scatting four hits with a career-high eight strikeouts.
• Goodman lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to score Matlock and O'Connor drew a bases loaded walk to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Johnson laced an RBI single to center to drive in Matlock to push the advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• Wroble scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 6^th.

Game Three:

• O'Connor went 4-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, a triple and a double.
• Sophomore designated player Yalayzah Lovan (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) finished 2-for-3 with four RBI as well with a double and a sac fly.
• Johnson was 1-for-3 with two RBI.
• Crane went 2-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base, while Wroble also was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a stolen base and a walk.
• Wright had a triple while going 2-for-3.
• Strand earned her first win for the Cougars, working 5.0 inning with just three hits, two earned runs, two walks and a season-high six strikeouts.
• SXU struck first with five runs in the bottom of the 1^st. O'Connor hammered a two-run triple and scored on Lovan's RBI single, and Johnson lined a two-run single.
• Lovan clubbed a two-run double to center field to extended the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• O'Connor hit an RBI double to the gap in left center to make it 8-0 in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• Aquinas got on the board in the top of the 5^th on an RBI fielder's choice and an RBI double.
• Saint Xavier ended the game in the bottom of the inning when O'Connor drove in a run on an RBI single and Lovan hit a sacrifice fly.

Game Four:

• Crane was 2-fo-4 with an RBI.
• Goodman hit an RBI single while going 1-for-3 with a run.
• Johnson went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
• Wright also was 2-for-3 with a run.
• O'Connor finished 1-for-4 with a double.
• Freshman pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) improved to 2-0 in the circle, tossing a complete game with seven hits allowed, two earned runs, three walks and three strikeouts.
• SXU broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 4^th with three runs. Goodman hit an RBI single, Johnson scored on an error and Crane had an RBI base hit.
• Madonna scored twice in the bottom of the 5^th on a pair of sac flies.
• Antkiewicz worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7^th to help Saint Xavier pull of the upset.

Saint Xavier (5-3/0-0 CCAC) travels to Davenport, Iowa to take part in the St. Ambrose Dome Tournament, hosted by St. Ambrose University (Iowa) that begins on Saturday, February 22. The Cougars play Culver-Stockton College (Mo.) at 10:45 am and Mount Mercy University (Iowa) at 1:00 pm in a split doubleheader.