CHICAGO – Sophomore infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) went 3-for-7 on the day with five RBI, three runs scored, two home runs and a double, however the Saint Xavier University baseball team (6-8/0-0 CCAC) lost a pair of games to Madonna University in the home opener for the Cougars on a windy Friday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. SXU lost game one by a score of 15-8 with four different players belting home runs. Saint Xavier lost the second game, 9-8, that was shortened due to darkness. The Cougars slugged three more home runs in the night cap, doubling their season total in home runs, starting the day with seven and capping the day with 14.

Game One:

• Dreier was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, two runs scored and a double.
• Senior outfielder Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland) also went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run.
• Senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a home run.
• Graduate student designated hitter Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) finished 1-for-4 with a home run.
• Graduate student infielder Taylor Steig (Corona, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Redwoods/Santiago) led SXU with three hits in four at-bats with two doubles and a run scored.
• Graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) had two hits in four trips to the plate and he scored a run.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
• Graduate student pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) stared for Saint Xavier, logging 4.0 innings with six hits allowed, four runs (three earned and two walks for a no decision.
• Junior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) threw 1.1 innings of relief with three hits given up, three earned runs, a walk and two strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) suffered the loss (0-1), allowing one hit, two earned runs and a walk without recording an out.
• Sophomore pitcher/infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) pitched an inning giving up six hits, five runs (four earned) and posting a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Jarrett Kenyon (Henderson, Nev./Utah State Eastern/South Suburban/Coronado) worked 0.2 innings out of the bullpen with one hit, one earned run, three walks and a strikeout.
• Madonna took a 1-0 lead on a lead-off home run to start the game.
• Massingale tied the game in the bottom of the 1^st with his first home run of the year.
• Kirck hammered his team-leading fifth home run of the season to put the Cougars up 2-1 in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• MU retook the lead in the top of the 3^rd on an RBI single and a two-run home run in the top of the 3^rd.
• SXU responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single off the bat of junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) and a two-run home run by Dreier to go back up 5-4.
• Flier homered down the left field line to extend the advantage to 6-4 in the bottom of the 4^th.
• The Crusaders tied the game in the top of the 5^th on a home run and an RBI groundout.
• In the bottom of the 5^th, Flier drove in a run on an RBI fielder's choice to give Saint Xavier a 7-6 lead.
• Madonna tallied five runs in the top of the 5^th on an RBI base hit, a three-run home run and an RBI groundout.
• Massingale poked an RBI single through the left side of the infield to get a run back in the bottom of the 6^th to make the score 11-8.
• MU tacked on four more runs in the top of the 7^th off an RBI single, a two-run home run and a solo home run.

Game Two:

• Dreier smacked a three-run home run, going 1-for-2 while also drawing a walk.
• Flier was also 1-for-2 with a two-run home run, two runs scored and a walk.
• Steig finished 1-for-3, slugging his first home run as a Cougar, along with two RBI.
• Sophomore infielder Troy Stukenberg (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) went 1-for-2 with an RBI, a run and a walk.
• Senior pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) took the loss (1-3) after throwing 3.2 innings, surrendering 10 hits, nine runs (eight earned), a walk and three strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) mad his season debut, allowing one hit, a walk and recording a strikeout.
• Senior pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee-Crown) worked the top of the 5^th and coming away with a pair of strikeouts.
• The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2^nd on an RBI base hit.
• Stukenberg tied the game, lacing an RBI single, and Dreier clubbed hit second home run of the day, a three-run shot, to give SXU a 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Madonna went back up, 5-4, in the top of the 3^rd, plating four runs off an RBI triple, an RBI double and a two-run single.
• Steig and Flier each smashed two-run home runs for Saint Xavier in the bottom of the 3^rd to go up 8-5.
• MU scored four runs in the top of the 4^th on an RBI single, an RBI groundout and two RBI base hits.
• The Cougars got the tying run on base in the bottom of the 5^th, but they were unable to tie the game, ending the contest on a flyout.

Saint Xavier (6-8/0-0 CCAC) returns to action with a doubleheader at home against Georgetown College (Ky.) on Sunday, March 2. Game one is scheduled for an 11:00 am start.