CHICAGO – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (28-19/21-9 CCAC) celebrated 'Senior Day' by defeating Trinity Christian College (Ill.) in the first two games of their four-game Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) series Thursday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. Graduate student pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) threw a two-hit shutout with four strikeouts in a 2-0 victory in game one. Sophomore infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) collected three RBI and four pitchers combined to limit the Trolls to seven hits in a 9-0 triumph in game two.

Fairley is the first SXU pitcher to spin a shutout since his former teammate Julian Vargas (2021-24) tossed a five-hit shutout on April 27, 2022. It was also the first time since February 13, 2022 and February 18, 2022, that Saint Xavier pitched consecutive shutouts when the defeated Iowa Wesleyan College 3-0 and took game one of a doubleheader from Grace College (Ind.), 10-0. It was the first time since March 6, 2019 that the Cougars shutout an opponent in a doubleheader when the topped Rochester Christian University (Mich.) 4-0, which was also the last time SXU had a player throw a no-hitter, the feat achieved by former standout Jared Jones (2017-20), and a 10-0 win the game two.

A new team record for stolen bases in a season was set in the first game when junior infielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) swiped second base in the bottom of the 2^nd to break the former program record of 149 set during the 1981 season. Saint Xavier stole 18 bases in game two to establish a new single-game school record giving them 168 for the season. Graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) also made history by setting the new single-game team record with five steals.

After the games, Saint Xavier recognized 19 seniors with a postgame ceremony: pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony), catcher Max Archbold (Fort Myers, Fla./Olive Harvey/Fort Myers), Fairley, outfielder Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland), utility player Brandon Gutierrez (Davenport, Fla./Alderson Broaddus), Hammond, pitcher Aidan Harris (Lancaster, Ohio/Fisher Catholic), infielder Konner Hutchings (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Charles/Liberty), utility player Joeseph Jimenez (Palm Desert, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Palm Desert), infielder Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley/Quartz Hill), pitcher Carter Kopp (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney), utility player Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community), pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson), outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood), pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko (Algonquin, Ill./Southwest Mississippi/Dundee-Crown), pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton), pitcher Michael Spano (Downers Grove, Ill./Rock Valley/Downers Grove South), infielder Taylor Steig (Corona, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Redwoods/Santiago) and outfielder Noah Zielinski (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew).

Game One:

• Graduate student designated hitter/infielder Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
• Johnson picked up an RBI in his lone at-bat.
• Junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) went 1-for-2 with a double.
• Massingale finished 1-for-3 with a double.
• Fairley earned his team-leading eighth win of the campaign, carrying an 8-1 overall record in 11 starts.
• Kirck gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd on an RBI groundout.
• Johnson provided some insurance in the bottom of the 6^th with an RBI infield single.
• Sophomore infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) aided his pitcher by making a pair of defensive gems, making a diving stop and throwing out the leadoff hitter in the top of the 2^nd. He started the top of the 3^rd by making another diving play, snaring a line drive for the first out of the frame.
• Fairley worked a 1-2-3 top of the 7^th to earn the shutout.

Game Two:

• Simecek was 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, a double, a run scored and a walk.
• Massingale went 2-for-3 with two steals, a run and an RBI.
• Hammond did not record an official at-bat as he drew four walks and scored three runs.
• Jimenez stole three bases as a courtesy runner for Orzech, scoring a run.
• McCleery came away with the win (7-4) after logging 6.0 shutout-innings with five hits and five strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) threw an inning with one hit and a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Jarrett Kenyon (Henderson, Nev./Utah State Eastern/South Suburban/Coronado) worked an inning of relief with one hit and two walks. He pitched out of a bases loaded jam by inducing a comebacker to start a 1-2-3 double play.
• Parchomenko pitched the top of the 9^th, posting a strikeout.
• Simecek sliced an RBI double to the gap in right center to put SXU up 1-0 in the bottom of the 1^st.
• Saint Xavier rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 2^nd to push the lead to 5-0. Simicek poked an RBI single back up the middle, Massingale lined an RBI base hit through the right side of the infield, Orzech hit an RBI infield single and Dreier came away with an RBI on a groundout.
• Flier smashed his sixth home run of the season over the wall in left field and Simicek drove in his third run of the game for an 7-0 advantage on the bottom of the 4^th.
• A wild pitch brought in a run and Moore tallied an RBI on a groundout to cap the scoring in the bottom of the 8^th.

Saint Xavier (28-19/21-9 CCAC) concludes their series and the regular season with a doubleheader at Trinity Christian on Saturday, April 26 in Palos Heights, Ill. Game one is slated for a 1:00 pm first pitch.