CHICAGO – Junior infielder Kaitlyn Wright (Chicago, Ill./Marist) smacked a two-run home run in game one and she added two more RBIs on a base hit in the second game to help lead No. 22 ranked Saint Xavier University softball (19-6/2-0 CCAC) in a doubleheader sweep of University of St. Francis in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) opener for the Cougars. Wright's home run aided sophomore pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./Saint Louis/Evergreen Park) who threw a complete game in a 4-1 victory. Senior infielder Abbie Carr (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) collected three RBI, Wright and junior infielder Mallory O'Connor (Bourbonnais, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Bishop McNamara) each drove in two runs and freshman pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) recorded her first collegiate shutout, a two-hitter in an 11-0 triumph in five innings in the night cap.

Game One:

• Wroble finished 1-for-3, while Wright was 1-for-2.
• O'Connor went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.
• Junior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) had a hit in three at-bats with a stolen base and a run scored.
• Freshman infielder Danielle Goodman (Poplar Grove, Ill./North Boone) was 1-for-2 with a double and a run.
• Strand (7-4) scattered five hits over 7.0 innings with one earned run, two walks and a strikeout.
• Goodman led off the bottom of the 3^rd with a double and she scored when Wroble sliced an RBI single down the third base line on a drawn in infield to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
• The Fighting Saints tied the game in the top of the 4^th on a line drive RBI double to left field.
• In the bottom of the 5^th Wright hammered a ball that bounced off the top of the wall and over the fence for her first home run of the season to put SXU up 3-1. Wroble picked up an RBI on a groundout, scoring Crane, to push the lead to 4-1.
• Strand ended the game by fielding a ground ball to secure the win.

Game Two:

• Carr was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
• Wright had two hits in three trips to the plate with a run and a stolen base.
• O'Conner went 1-for-3 with a two-run double and a run scored.
• Crane singled, scored and swiped a base while going 1-for-3.
• Wroble was 2-for-3 with two runs and a steal.
• Junior outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) scored twice with a walk and a stolen base after collecting a hit in two at-bats.
• Goodman went 0-for-2, but the scored two runs with a walk and an RBI.
• Antkiewicz (7-1) finished with a final line of two hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
• Saint Xavier tallied four runs in the bottom of the 1^st. O'Connor smashed a two-run double to the gap in right center and she scored on Carr's sacrifice fly, and Wright lined an RBI single off the glove of the leaping short stop.
• Sophomore catcher Natalie Johnson (Bourbonnais, Ill./Grand Valley State/Bradley-Bourbonnais) earned an RBI the hard way after being hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 2^nd. Carr followed with a two-run base hit to extend the lead to 7-0.
• Crane drove in a run on a groundout in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• In the bottom of the 4^th, Wright laced a two-run single back up the middle, Goodman posted an RBI on a fielder's choice and an error allowed Wright to score.
• After allowing a walk to start the top of the 5^th. Antkiewicz recorded outs on a fielder's choice and a ground out to short before ending the game on a called third strike.

No. 22 Saint Xavier (19-6/2-0 CCAC) travels to South Bend, Ind. to face Indiana South Bend in a make-up series on Thursday, April 3, after the first doubleheader was postponed last Saturday. Game one is scheduled for a 2:00 pm central first pitch.