Elgin, Ill. – With a pair of victories over Judson University (Ill.) Wednesday afternoon, the No. 17 ranked Saint Xavier University softball team (31-6/14-0 CCAC) won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) regular season championship in Elgin, Ill. Senior infielder Abbie Carr (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) collected three RBI and junior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) scored three runs with three stolen bases in a 14-1 win in game one. Junior infielder Kaitlyn Wright (Chicago, Ill./Marist) drove in three runs while freshman pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) threw a two-hit shutout in a 9-0 triumph to secure the 18^th conference title in program history, and their third in the last four seasons.

Game One:

• Carr was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
• Crane finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
• Wright went 2-for-2 with two runs, an RBI, a walk and a steal.
• Sophomore pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./Saint Louis/Evergreen Park) picked up the win (13-4) after pitching 3.0 innings with three hits allowed, one earned run, two walks and a strikeout.
• Sophomore pitcher Hailey Wesner (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) logged 2.0 innings of relief, setting down all six batters she faced.
• Junior outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on an RBI groundout.
• Judson tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
• SXU rallied for nine runs in the next half inning. Junior catcher Morgan Natanek (Palos Heights, Ill./Stagg) hit an RBI single, freshman infielder Danielle Goodman (Poplar Grove, Ill./North Boone) tallied a run on a sac fly, Crane laced an RBI base hit, Natanek scored on a passed ball, Crane stole home and Carr slugged a bases-clearing three-run double to put Saint Xavier up 10-1.
• Junior infielder Mallory O'Connor (Bourbonnais, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Bishop McNamara) extended the lead to 11-1 in the top of the 3^rd by executing a safety squeeze sacrifice bunt.
• In the top of the 5^th a throwing error allowed senior infielder Julia Czart (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) and Crane to score. Junior infielder Taylor Becker (Alsip, Ill./Shepard) capped the scoring with an RBI groundout.

Game Two:

• Wright had two hits in three at-bats with a triple and a double.
• Matlock was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base,
• Crane went 2-for-3 with three steals, a run and an RBI.
• O'Connor collected a hit in three trips to the plate with two RBI and two runs scored.
• Sophomore outfielder Aubrey Wroble (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) finished 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI.
• Antkiewicz logged her third straight shutout, moving her record to 13-1 in the circle. She surrendered just two hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
• The Cougars plated five runs in the top of the 1^st. Wroble reached base on an error, driving in Crane. A passed ball on a walk allowed Matlock to score from third. Wright hit her team-leading fifth triple of the season, bringing a pair of runs, and she scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Carr.
• O'Connor lined a two-run single to push the advantage to 7-0 in the top of the 2^nd.
• In the top of the 4^th, Crane picked up an RBI single and Wright clubbed an RBI double in the top of the 5^th.

No. 17 Saint Xavier (31-6/14-0 CCAC) concludes the regular season with a CCAC doubleheader at Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) on Saturday, April 26. Game one is scheduled for a 12:00 pm start in Bourbonnais, Ill.