Joliet, Ill. – Graduate student designated hitter Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) finished the day 5-for-8 with five RBI, four extra-base hits (three doubles and a home run) and three runs score to help guide Saint Xavier University baseball (13-15/6-6 CCAC) in a doubleheader sweep of University of St. Francis (Ill.) in the first two games of their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) series Thursday afternoon at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, Ill. Kirck clubbed three doubles, while senior infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles/Liberty) and junior outfielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) had collected two RBIs, respectively, in a 7-2 victory in game one. Under the lights in game two, Kirck smacked his team-leading seventh home run of the season with four RBI in a 10-3 triumph.

Game One:

• Kirck was 3-for-4 overall, scoring two runs and driving in a run.
• Hutchings doubled twice in three at-bats with a run scored.
• Zbrozek also had two doubles in three trips to the plate and he drew a walk.
• Junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
• Graduate student pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) came away with the win on the bump (4-1) after throwing 5.0 innings with just three hits allowed, two earned runs, three walks and a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) tossed 2.0 innings of relief with two hits given up and recording three strikeouts.
• Orzech lined an RBI double to put the Cougars up 1-0 in the top of the 1^st.
• In the top of the 2^nd, Hutchings and Zbrozek hammered back-to-back RBI doubles to extend the lead to 3-0.
• Kirck, sophomore infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) and Hutchings hit RBI doubles in three consecutive at-bats to double the advantage to 6-0 in the top of the 3^rd.
• The Fighting Saints responded by hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• Zbrozek capped the scoring with an RBI double in the top of the 7^th.

Game Two:

• Senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI, a home run and a double.
• Kirck went 2-for-4, while Hutchings had three hits in four trips to the plate with two runs and a steal.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) was 2-for-5 with an RBI double, a run scored and a steal.
• Senior pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) was the winning pitcher (3-4) after he logged 5.0 innings, surrendering six hits, three earned runs, four walks and posting four strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher/infielder Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee-Crown) worked 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, recording three strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) pitched 1.2 innings of relief, not allowing a base runner.
• Sophomore pitcher John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) finished the game, pitching in the bottom of the 9^th and coming away with a strikeout.
• Moore broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 3^rd with an RBI double.
• Massingale pulled a home run down the left field line, his fourth of the year, and Kirck homered to the gap in right center to put SXU up 3-0 in the top of the 4^th.
• In the top of the 5^th, Massingale laced an RBI single to center field.
• USF rallied to score three runs in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on an error, an RBI base hit and an RBI groundout, to cut the deficit to 4-3.
• Senior pinch hitter Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill) doubled the advantage to 6-3 in the top of the 6^th with a two-run double.
• Saint Xavier tacked on three runs in the top of the 7^th when Kirck poked a two-run single through the right side of the infield and a run scored on a double play.
• Kirck collected his fourth RBI of the game in the top of the 9^th off of a sacrifice fly.

Saint Xavier (13-15/6-6 CCAC) concludes its series with St. Francis on Friday, March 28 at Ferrell Field. Game one is scheduled for a 12:00 pm start.