South Bend, Ind. – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (11-13/4-4 CCAC) started its four-game series with Indiana University South Bend with a pair of victories in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play Friday afternoon in South Bend, Ind. Graduate student pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) threw 5.0 innings with five strikeouts to push his record to 3-1 on the mound this season to help the Cougars earn a 6-2 victory in game one. Senior outfielder Joeseph Jimenez (Palm Desert, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Palm Desert) drove in three runs on three base hits, he was one of six players for SXU to collect two or more RBIs, and junior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) was the winning pitcher (3-3) in a 19-9 victory in seven innings in the second contest.

Game One:

• Sophomore infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) had two doubles in three at-bats with a run scored and a walk.
• Junior designated hitter Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) was 1-for-2 with an RBI, a run and a walk.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) had one official at-bat, finishing 0-for-1 however he drew three walks, scored twice and he stole a base.
• Jimenez went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a steal.
• Fairley had a final line score of eight hits allowed, two earned runs and two walks.
• Junior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) saved his team-leading third game of the season, entering while SXU held a two-run lead. He logged 2.0 innings and struck out two batters.
• The Titans struck first with an RBI single in the bottom of the 3^rd to go up 1-0.
• Saint Xavier responded with three runs in the top of the 4^th. Orzech tied the game when he scored on a wild pitch, while graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) and junior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) each hit RBI singles, respectively.
• Indiana South Bend cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the 4^th on an RBI base hit.
• Graduate student infielder Taylor Steig (Corona, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Redwoods/Santiago) hit a sacrifice fly that was snagged by the second baseman to score Moore in the top of the 5^th to extend the lead to 4-2.
• In the top of the 7^th, Orzech lined an RBI single and senior pinch hitter Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill) smacked an RBI base hit for a 6-2 advantage.
• Markezich worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7^th, recording a strikeout to seal the win.

Game Two:

• Jimenez was 3-for-4 overall with two runs scored.
• Orzech caught the second game and he was 3-for-3 with three RBI and a double.
• Senior infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles/Liberty) went 1-for-2 with three runs scored, two RBI and two walks.
• Plizga worked 4.0 innings on the mound, giving up just four hits, three earnred runs, five walks and two strikeouts.
• Freshman pitcher Tyler Deluca (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) threw 1.2 innings of relief surrendering three hits, three earned runs, four walks and a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) recorded the final out of the bottom of the 6^th by inducing a fly out.
• Redshirt junior pitcher Carter Kopp (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney) saw an inning of action, allowing no hits, three earned runs, three walks and a strikeout.
• The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1^st when Orzech clubbed an RBI double and Steig laced a two-run single.
• Jimenez made it 4-0 in the top of the 2^nd lining an RBI base hit.
• Johnson added to the lead with an RBI groundout in the top of the 3^rd.
• IUSB scored on an RBI single in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• SXU plated five runs in the top of the 4^th to go up 10-1. Jimenez hit an RBI single while Orzech and Dreir each smashed two-run base hits.
• Jimenez made it 11-1 in the top of the 5^th, lifting a sac fly to score Hutchings.
• The Titans hit a pair of RBI base hits in the bottom half of the inning.
• Graduate student infielder Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) belted an RBI double and Hutchings hit an RBI single to push the lead to 13-3 in the top of the 6^th.
• In the bottom of the 6^th, Indiana South Bend tallied three runs on an RBI walk, an RBI single and another RBI walk.
• Both teams combined for nine runs in the 7^th inning. Junior pinch hitter Ryan Louthan slugged his first home run as a Cougar, Hutchings drove in a run on an RBI fielder's choice, a run scored via a wild pitch, senior pinch hitter Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland) hammered a two-run single and sophomore pinch hitter John Simicek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) came away with an RBI single.
• IUSB scored on an RBI groundout, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly before Kopp struck out the final batter to earn the road victory.

Saint Xavier (11-13/4-4 CCAC) the series shifts back to Ferrell Field on Saturday, March 22. SXU will be the visiting team on the scoreboard and box score with game one of the doubleheader starting at 12:00 pm.