Ozark, Mo. – For the second day in a row, the Saint Xavier University baseball team (5-3/0-0 CCAC) split its doubleheader in the Battle in the Hills tournament hosted by Mission University (Mo.) Saturday afternoon at Ozark Mounts Sports Complex in Ozark, Mo. The Cougars scored a season-high 12 runs on 12 hits to defeat Kansas Christian College as sophomore designated hitter Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) drove in three runs in game one. Junior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) improved to 2-0 on the young season after throwing 4.1 innings with seven hits allowed, three runs (two earned) a walk and six strikeouts. SXU fell to Southwestern Christian University (Okla.) in their second game by a score of 6-3. Graduate student designated hitter Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) belted his third home run of the year in the setback.
Game One:

• Dreier finished 2-for-4 with a double.
• Junior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) had two hits in three at-bats with two RBIs and two runs scored.
• Graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) also was 2-for-3 with an RBI triple, two runs, two stolen bases and a walk.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) went 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.
• Junior pitcher Jarrett Kenyon (Henderson, Nev./Utah State Eastern/South Suburban/Coronado) logged 1.2 innings of relief, giving up two hits, one earned run and recording a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Nick Krueger (Clifton, Ill./Danville Area/Central) made his SXU debut, working 1.0 inning and surrendering five hits, three earned runs and posting a strikeout.
• Dreier gave Saint Xavier a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st, scoring Moore after his leadoff triple, on a two-out, RBI single.
• The Cougars added four runs in the bottom of the 2^nd when Polickey hit an RBI single, a run scored on a wild pitch, Moore drove in a run on an RBI groundout and senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) picked up an RBI after an error.
• Sophomore catcher Victor Zaragosa (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) poked an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the 3^rd to make it 6-0.
• The Falcons scored in the top of the 4^th after an error allowed a run to cross the plate.
• Massingale lifted a sacrifice fly to get the run back in the bottom half of the inning, Kirck laced an RBI single and he scored on Hammond's RBI triple to push the lead to 9-1.
• Kansas Christian responded with a pair of RBI base hits and an RBI triple in the top of the 5^th.
• In the bottom of the 5^th, Polickey lined an RBI single to center field and Dreier hammered a two-run double to put SUX up 12-4.
• KCC rallied for three runs in the top of the 7^th on an RBI double, scoring on a passed ball, and an RBI single before Krueger rolled a groundout to end the game.

Game Two:

• Hammond was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.
• Moore went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple and a run.
• Sophomore pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) made the start (0-1), lasting 3.0 innings with three hits allowed, three runs (all unearned) and four strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee-Crown) saw 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, giving up three hits, three runs (all earned), two walks and a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) pitched 1.0 inning of relief with two strikeouts.
• Three unearned runs crossed the plate for the Eagles in the bottom of the 1^st on an RBI double and back-to-back RBI base hits.
• Moore slugged an RBI triple to center field and he scored on an error to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the 5^th.
• Southwestern Christian made it 6-2 in the bottom of the 5^th on a two-run double and a sac fly.
• Kirck capped the scoring with a home run to right field in the top of the 6^th.

Saint Xavier (5-3/0-0 CCAC) travels to Glendale, Ariz. to take on No. 10 Arizona Christian University in a four-game series beginning on Thursday, February 13. Game one is scheduled for a 9:30 pm central first pitch.