Crown Point, Ind. – A nine-run rally in the bottom of the third turned a 4-0 deficit into an eventual 9-6 victory for the No. 18 ranked and top-seeded Saint Xavier University softball team (35-6/16-0 CCAC) over No. 3 St. Ambrose University (Iowa) Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Softball Tournament at the Crown Point Sportsplex in Crown Point, Ind. Junior designated player Taylor Becker (Alsip, Ill./Shepard) slugged a bases-clearing, three-run double that gave the Cougars the lead. Freshman pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central) picked up the win in relief, pitching 5.1 innings with six hits, two runs (one earned) and two strikeouts to improve to 15-1 in the circle this year.

• Becker finished 1-for-4 with a run scored.
• Sophomore outfielder Aubrey Wroble (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) collected three hits in four at-bats with an RBI, a run and a stolen base.
• Senior infielder Abbie Carr (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) legged out a pair of triples, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Junior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) went 2-for-4 as well, coming away with two steals and a run.
• Sophomore pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./Saint Louis/Evergreen Park) made the start, throwing 1.2 innings, giving up three hits, four runs (three earned) and four walks for the no decision.
• The Fighting Bees struck first with an RBI single in the top of the 1^st.
• SAU added three more runs in the top of the 2^nd on a sacrifice fly, an RBI base hits and an RBI double to go up 4-0.
• In the bottom of the 3^rd, junior infielder Emily Bickett (Plainfield, Ill./South Suburban/Morton/Plainfield South) sparked the come back with a lead-off single. Junior outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) drove in a run on an error, which allowed another run to score to cut the deficit to 4-2. Becker lashed a three-run double to the gap in right center field to put SXU up 5-4. Carr followed with an RBI triple and she scored on a sac fly off the bat of Bickett. Wroble legged out an RBI infield single to push the lead to 9-4.
• St. Ambrose responded with two runs in the top of the 4^th off an RBI single and an RBI double, however Antkiewicz would only allow two base runners over the final three innings to send Saint Xavier to its seventh consecutive CCAC Tournament Championship appearance.

No. 18 Saint Xavier (35-6/16-0 CCAC) plays the winner of the No. 6 Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) vs. No. 3 St. Ambrose University (Iowa) contest for the CCAC Tournament Championship on Sunday, May 4. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm start in Crown Point, Ind.