CHICAGO – Sophomore infielder/pitcher Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) slugged two home runs on the day and junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) drove in five runs on four hits as the Saint Xavier University baseball team (17-15/10-6 CCAC) opened its four-game Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) series with a pair of wins over Viterbo University Thursday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. Graduate student infielder Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) and Dreier hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 3^rd and graduate student pitcher Jimmy Fairley (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Rock Valley/Huntley) was victorious on the mound in a 10-4 triumph in game one. Dreier homered again and Orzech collected two RBIs, including an RBI double in the bottom of the 5^th to help senior pitcher Logan McCleery (Patterson, Calif./Patterson) earned the win, while junior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) nailed down his fourth save in a 5-2 victory in game two.

Game One:

• Orzech finished 2-for-3 at the plate, while Dreier was 1-for-3.
• Kirck was 2-for-3 with four RBI.
• Fairley recorded his team-leading fifth win of the season (5-1) after tossing 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, a walk and striking out three batters.
• Senior pitcher Logan Antrim (Effingham, Ill./Lincoln Land/St. Anthony) worked 2.1 out of the bullpen, giving up one hit, two earned runs, a walk and a strikeout.
• The V-Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on a two-run base hit.
• The Cougars responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Orzech lined an RBI single to center field and Kirck followed with a two-run single.
• In the bottom of the 3^rd, Kirck cracked his team-leading ninth home run over the wall in right field, a two-run blast. Dreier than launched a deep fly ball over the wall in left field, his fourth home run of the season, to extend the lead to 6-2.
• Orzech drove in a pair of runs on a base hit. A double steal and a throwing error brough a run in and graduate student infielder Taylor Steig (Corona, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Redwoods/Santiago) lifted a sacrifice fly to drive in another run to make the score 10-2 in favor of SXU.
• VU smashed a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 7^th before Antrim induced a ground out to seal the win.

Game Two:

• Orzech went 2-for-3 with a walk, while Dreier was 1-for-4.
• Senior outfielder Joeseph Jimenez (Palm Desert, Calif./Olivet Nazarene/Palm Desert) had three hits in four at-bats with a double and a stolen base.
• Senior infielder Justin Massingale (Carbondale, Ill./St. Charles/Carbondale Community) finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored, a walk and a steal.
• McCleery (4-4) threw 6.0 innings, scattering four hits with two earned runs, three walks and a strikeout.
• Markezich posted the 'Old-School' save after logging 3.0 innings of relief, not allowing a base runner and coming away with three strikeouts.
• Orzech gave Saint Xavier a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st, hitting an RBI single off the glove of the diving short stop. An error allowed another run to score to push the lead to 2-0 after an inning of play.
• Leading off the bottom of the 2^nd, Dreier snuck his fifth home run of the year over the wall in right field to make it 3-0.
• Viterbo rallied for two runs in the top of the 4^th on an RBI base hit and an RBI triple off the wall in center field.
• The Cougars tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 5^th as Massingale poked an RBI single to left field and Orzech pulled an RBI double down the third base line.
• McCleery and Markezich combined to allow just one base runner in the final four innings, a two-out bunt single in the top of the 6^th, as SXU claimed the first two games of the series.

Saint Xavier (17-15/10-6 CCAC) concludes its series with Vitbero on Friday, April 4 at Ferrell Field. Game one is slated for an 11:00 am start.