Bradenton, Fla. – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (1-0/0-0 CCAC) started the 2026 season in wild fashion, taking a 4-1 lead, falling behind 6-4, rallying to go back up 11-6, and hanging on for a thrilling 11-10 victory over New College of Florida Friday evening at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Freshman infielder Trevor Corbett (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) had quite the collegiate debut, going 4-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored, a double, a stolen base and a walk. Junior infielder/pitcher John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI double and a run. He also earned the save, getting the final four outs as he left the tying and go-ahead runs on base by getting a comebacker groundout to end the bottom of the 8^th. Simecek worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, posting a strikeout to end the game. With the win, interim head coach Pat Morrow earns his first collegiate win as a head coach after serving as assistant coach for the Cougars the last two seasons.

• Senior outfielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) scored three runs after going 3-for-5, along with a pair of stolen bases.
• Junior outfielder Ben Meier (Beechwood, Ky./Lincoln Trail/Beechwood) finished 2-for-6 with an RBI, a run scored and a steal in his SXU debut.
• Senior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) collected two RBI after he went 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Senior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) made the start, throwing 4.0 innings and allowing seven hits, four earned runs, a walk and three strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Nick Krueger (Clifton, Ill./Danville Area/Clifton Central) picked up the win in relief after going 3.0 innings with three hits, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
• Graduate student pitcher John Creviston (Westchester, Ill./Benedictine/Brother Rice) threw 0.2 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) and two walks in his first appearance for Saint Xavier.
• Redshirt sophomore pitcher Jake Fenton (Chicago, Ill./Loras/Brother Rice) pitched 0.1 innings, issuing a pair of walks.
• A wild pitch scored Zbrozek to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st.
• In the top of the 2^nd, Meier rapped an RBI single and junior outfielder Max Waszkiewicz (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale South) tallied an RBI on a groundout to make it 3-0.
• NCF responded with an RBI double in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Corbett cracked an RBI double to extend the advantage to 4-1 in the top of the 3^rd.
• The Mighty Banyans tied the game in the bottom of the 4^th on an RBI single, an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly. The took the lead in the bottom of the 5^th on a pair of RBI base hits, 6-4.
• Corbett got a run back for SXU when he scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 6^th.
• In the top of the 7^th, Simecek tied the game by slugging an RBI double. Corbett laced a two-run single to put Saint Xavier back on top 8-6.
• Orzech smacked a two-run single and senior designated hitter Ryan O'Farrell (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) brought in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for an 11-6 lead in the top of the 8^th.
• In the bottom half of the frame, NCF scored on another sac fly, an RBI walk, and they added two runs on a Cougar miscue to make it 11-10 before Simecek ended the rally.

Saint Xavier (1-0/0-0 CCAC) continues its series with New College of Florida, playing a doubleheader on Saturday, January 31. Game one is scheduled for 1:00 pm central start with game two slated to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.