Bradenton, Fla. – The Saint Xavier University baseball team (1-2/0-0 CCAC) lost both games of a doubleheader with New College of Florida Saturday afternoon at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The Cougars lost game one by a score of 7-0 with junior infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) slugging a double. SXU lost the second game, 11-0. Simecek drew a pair of walks, while senior outfielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) and freshman outfielder Zayden Gukert (Calgary, Alberta/National Sport School) each doubled, the latter collecting his first collegiate hit.

Game One:

• Simecek finished 1-for-3 at the plate.
• Senior outfielder Ryan O'Farrell (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) went 1-for-2 with a stolen base., while junior outfielder Max Waszkiewicz (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale South) was 1-for-3.
• Junior pitcher Cole Martz (Huntington, Ind./Kankakee/Huntington North) made his debut for the Cougars, going 3.0 innings and allowing six hits, five earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts to take the loss.
• Sophomore pitcher Tyler Deluca (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) logged 2.0 innings of relief with one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.
• Graduate student pitcher Carter Kopp (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney) worked an inning out of the bullpen, surrendering two hits, two earned runs and posting a strikeout.
• NCF scored twice in the bottom of the 2^nd on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
• The Mighty Banyans added three runs in the bottom of the 4^th on a wild pitch and a two-run double.
• New College of Florida tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 6^th on an error and an RBI groundout.

Game Two:

• Zbrozek was 1-for-3, as was Gukert.
• Freshman infielder Trevor Corbett (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) had a hit in two at-bats and a walk.
• Junior catcher Victor Zaragoza (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had a base hit in his only official at-bat, and he was hit by a pitch.
• Senior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) went 2.2 innings in his first start of the season, giving up seven hits, seven runs (six earned), a walk and recording two strikeouts.
• Senior pitcher Osvaldo Ballesteros Jr. (Berwyn, Ill./St. Laurence) pitched 0.2 innings, allowing three hits, four earned runs and walking two batters.
• Redshirt freshman pitcher Ethan Godlewski (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) made his collegiate debut, striking out both batters he faced.
• NCF plated six runs in the bottom of the 1^st with an RBI single, an RBI double, a two-run single and an RBI double.
• The Mighty Banyans added a run in the bottom of the 3^rd off an RBI double.
• New College of Florida scored four times in the bottom of the 4^th on a passed ball, a sac fly, an RBI triple and a second passed ball.

Saint Xavier (1-2/0-0 CCAC) concludes its series with New College of Florida on Sunday, February 1 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The nine-inning contest is scheduled for a 10:00 am central start.