CHICAGO – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (15-15/8-6 CCAC) slugged 11 home runs, five in game one and six in game two, scoring 24 runs on the afternoon to sweep the doubleheader and four-game series from University of St. Francis (Ill.) Friday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. Junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) belted three home runs on the day, one in game one and two in the second game, collecting five RBI's, while senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) hammered two homers with six RBI on the afternoon in the sweep. The Cougars took the first game by a score of 11-0, their fourth combined shutout of the season, as Massingale drove in four runs. SXU claimed the victory in game two in eight innings, 13-3, when sophomore pinch hitter Troy Stukenberg (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.

Game One:

• Massingale finished 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring twice and adding a stolen base.
• Orzech went 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) was a triple shy of the cycle, collecting a base hit, a double and a home run in three at-bats. He also scored three times with two RBI and a walk.
• Junior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) earned the win (4-3) after throwing 4.0 innings, allowing just two hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
• Sophomore pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) worked 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, giving up two hits, a walk and recording a strikeout.
• Senior pitcher Michael Spano (Downers Grove, Ill./Rock Valley/Downers Grove South) made his season debut, logging an inning with a walk and a strikeout.
• Orzech gave Saint Xavier a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, pulling a three-run home run down the left field line.
• Leading off the bottom of the 2^nd, sophomore infielder/pitcher Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) with a home run over the wall in center field. Later in the frame, Massingale clubbed a three-run blast to left field to extend the advantage to 7-0.
• Massinagle lined an RBI single back up the middle in the bottom of the 4^th to make it 8-0.
• Graduate student infielder Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) smashed his team-leading eighth home run of the year down the right field line in the bottom of the 5^th.
• Moore completed the scoring in the bottom of the 6^th by homering two right center field, a two-run shot.

Game Two:

• Orzech was 3-for-4 with two solo home runs.
• Massingale went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a walk.
• Sophomore infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) belted his first home run of the season after going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
• Senior outfielder Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland) was 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and a walk.
• Junior outfielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) had three hits in four at-bats with a run.
• Junior pinch hitter Jackson McFarland (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) mashed a Grand Slam for his first hit of the year.
• Dreier took the mound for game two, working 5.0 innings to earn the win (2-3) with four hits, two earned runs, a walk and two strikeouts. He added four assists, defensively.
• Senior pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) threw 2.0 innings of relief, allowing three hits, one run and a strikeout.
• Senior pitcher/infielder Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee-Crown) tossed an inning, posting a strikeout.
• Orzech homered to lead off the bottom of the 2^nd. Simecek belted a home run one batter later, and Flier cracked his fifth home run of the year, a two-run shot to put the Cougars up 4-0.
• Kirck drove in a run on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 3^rd to make it 5-0
• The Fighting Saints scored a run on a wild pitch to get on the board on the top of the 4^th.
• USF smacked a home run to cut into the lead, 5-2, in the top of the 5^th.
• Massingale flared an RBI single down the right field line to get the run back in the bottom half of the inning.
• Another home run for St. Francis made the score 6-3 in the top of the 7^th.
• In the bottom of the 7^th, Massingale and Orzech connected for back-to-back home runs, before McFarland hit a Grand Slam over the wall in left center to push the advantage to 12-3.
• Junior pinch hitter Vaughn Smith (Milwaukee, Wis./Christian Brothers) led off the bottom of the 8^th with a walk and junior pinch hitter Drew Pinkston (Paris, Ill./Danville Area/Paris) followed his first hit as a Cougar. Freshman pinch hitter Parker Violett (Maple Park, Ill./Kaneland) registered his first collegiate hit to load the bases with Stukenberg ending the contest on his RBI hit-by-pitch.

Saint Xavier (15-15/8-6 CCAC) is scheduled to take on NCAA Division III University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Wednesday, April 2. The nine-inning game is slated for a 3:00 pm first pitch.