CHICAGO – An 8-2 victory in game one of their doubleheader at Trinity Christian College for the Saint Xavier University baseball team (30-19/23-9 CCAC) secured the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Regular Season Championship Saturday afternoon at the Schaaf Athletic Complex in Palos Heights, Ill. Graduate student designated hitter/infielder Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) slugged his team-leading 15^th home run of the season and sophomore pitcher Garrett Benko (Chesterton, Ind./Andrean) earned the win (1-1) after striking out seven batters over 3.0 innings of relief. The Cougars took the second game by a 15-3 decision as graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) belted a three-run home run and freshman outfielder Parker Violett (Maple Park, Ill./Kaneland) slugged his first collegiate home run to give senior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) the win in relief. The CCAC title is the first for SXU since claiming the 2019 crown and their 18^th overall.

Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) made program history breaking the single-season team record for stolen bases. He swiped three bases in game one and four more in the second game to give him 45 steals on the year on 56 attempts. Moore bested the previous record of 43 set by Saint Xavier Hall of Famer Dave 'Smokey' Swiatek (1973-76) during the 1975 campaign.

Game One:

• Kirck finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk.
• Senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) went 2-for-3 with two RBI, two runs scored, a home run and a stolen base.
• Junior infielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) was 2-for-3 as well, stealing three bases, scoring twice and hitting an RBI double.
• Moore had two hits in three at-bats with two runs and a walk.
• Junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) doubled in three at-bats with two RBI.
• Senior outfielder Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland) went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple.
• Junior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) made the start, working 3.0 innings with five hits, two earned runs, a walk and three strikeouts for the no decision.
• Benko didn't allow a base runner to come away with his first collegiate victory.
• Senior pitcher Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) logged an inning with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Massingale lifted a sacrifice fly to score Zbrosek to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st.
• The Trolls took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd on a two-run base hit.
• Massingale clubbed a home run over the wall in center field, Kirck smashed a home run over the wall in right field and Flier lashed an RBI triple to put SXU back on top, 4-2, in the top of the 4^th.
• In the top of the 5^th, Zbrozek sliced an RBI single through the right side of the infield and Orzech hammered a two-run double to extend the lead to 7-2.
• Moore scored on a wild pitch to cap the scoring in the top of the 6^th.

Game Two:

• Senior outfielder Joeseph Jimenez (Palm Desert, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Palm Desert) doubled twice in three at-bats with an RBI and a steal.
• Moore finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.
• Sophomore infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run.
• Hammond was 1-for-2 with his first home run as a Cougar.
• Massingale homered in three at-bats.
• Junior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) scored twice with two RBI, two walks and steal while going 1-for-1.
• Violett went 1-for-1 with a walk after entering as a defensive sub to start the bottom of the 4^th.
• Junior catcher Victor Zaragoza (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) was 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.
• Sophomore pitcher/infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) started, lasting 1.1 innings with two hits, two earned runs, a walk and a strikeout.
• Antrim threw 1.2 innings of relief (1-2) with three hits, a walk and a strikeout.
• Redshirt freshman pitcher Jake Fenton (Chicago, Ill./Loras/Brother Rice) tossed an inning, allowing two hits and recording a strikeout.
• Junior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) worked an inning with a hit and a pair of strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Jarrett Kenyon (Henderson, Nev./Utah State Eastern/South Suburban/Coronado) also logged an inning with a hit and two strikeouts.
• Redshirt junior pitcher Aidan Harris (Lancaster, Ohio/Fisher Catholic) pitched 0.1 innings with a hit and an unearned run.
• Senior pitcher Michael Spano (Downers Grove, Ill./Rock Valley/Downers Grove South) finished the game, throwing 0.2 innings with a walk and a strikeout.
• SXU went up 5-0 in the top of the 1^st. Simecek belted a two-run home run, Jimenez lined an RBI double down the left field line and Zaragoza sliced a two-run double to right field.
• Massingale blasted his second home run of the day, over the wall in left field, to extend the lead to 6-0 in the top of the 6^th.
• Trinity Christian plated two runs in the bottom of the 2^nd on a passed ball and an RBI single.
• Saint Xavier doubled its advantage to 12-2 in the top of the 3^rd. Polickey laced a two-run single, Hammond cracked a three-run home run and Moore scored on a wild pitch.
• In the top of the 5^th, Violett slugged his first collegiate home run, redshirt junior designated hitter Brandon Gutierrez (Davenport, Fla./Alderson Broaddus) drew a bases loaded walk to tally an RBI and a run scored on a double play to make it 15-2.
• TCC scored a run on an error in the bottom of the 7^th before Spano posted a lineout to end the contest.

Saint Xavier (30-19/23-9 CCAC) earns the top seed in the upcoming CCAC Tournament that begins on Wednesday, April 30 at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, Ill. The league office will announce the pairings early next week.