Lawrenceville, Ga. – Junior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) collected five hits in six at-bats with three RBI, graduate student designated hitter Gabe Kirck (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Olivet/De La Salle) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a walk, and senior pitcher Logan McCleery logged 5.0 innings to earn the win (9-4) to help the No. 5 seeded Saint Xavier University baseball team (32-23/20-12 CCAC) defeat No. 3 University of Houston-Victoria (Texas) 13-4 to advance in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket Tuesday afternoon on the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Ga. With the win, the Cougars move on in the elimination bracket.

The win also was the first for the program in the NAIA Opening Round format since they went 2-2 in 2009 in the Kingsport (Tenn.) Bracket when they defeated former NAIA, and current NCAA Division II, Malone University (Ohio), 9-3, falling to current NCAA Division III Berry College (Ga.) by a 17-12 margin, taking down Taylor University (Ind.) 17-6 before being eliminated by Berry, 7-6.

• Senior outfielder Sean Moore (Chicago, Ill./Calumet St. Joseph/Thornwood) finished 4-for-6 with four runs scored, four stolen bases and two RBI.
• Junior infielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) scored three times and drew three walks with an RBI and a stolen base while going 1-for-3.
• Graduate student outfielder Travis Hammond (Stone Mountain, Ga./Southern Wesleyan/Emmanuel/Columbus State/Chamblee) was 1-for-4 with two runs, a steal and a walk.
• Senior outfielder Michael Flier (Greenup, Ill./Spoon River/Cumberland) walked three times and scored a run after finishing 0-for-3.
• McCleery had a stat line of four hits allowed, four runs (two earned), a walk and two strikeouts.
• Senior Noah Scott (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) earned the 'Old-School' save after tossing 4.0 innings of relief with just one hit, a walk and a strikeout.
• Orzech lined an RBI single back up the middle to give SXU an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st.
• A double steal and a throwing error allowed Hammond to score to make it 2-0 in the top of the 2^nd.
• The Jaguars took the lead in the bottom of the 3^rd on a two-run double, a run scoring on an error and an RBI fielder's choice.
• Saint Xavier responded with four runs in the top of the 4^th. An error brought in a run, Kirck smacked a two-run single and senior pinch-hitter Mason Johnson (Palmdale, Calif./Antelop Valley/Quartz Hill) lifted a sacrifice fly.
• Orzech legged out an RBI infield single and Kirck pulled an RBI single to right to push the lead to 8-4 in the top of the 5^th.
• Four more runs crossed the plate in the top of the 6^th. Moore belted a two-run single, Zbrozek hit an RBI groundout and Orzech pulled an RBI single through the left side of the infield to go up 12-4.
• An error allowed Moore to score to cap the scoring in the top of the 8^th.
• Scott rolled a pair of groundouts before inducing a pop out to secure the win and to earn his second save of the season.

No. 5 Saint Xavier (32-23/20-12 CCAC) takes on No. 4 Talladega College (Ala.) in the elimination bracket on Wednesday, May 14. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 pm central start.