CHICAGO – For the third consecutive game, the Saint Xavier University baseball team (8-5/0-0 CCAC) scored 10 or more runs, and they slugged a season-high four home runs, in a 19-9 victory over Aquinas College (Mich.) in the home opener for the Cougars Friday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. Junior outfielder Ben Meier (Beechwood, Ky./Lincoln Trail/Beechwood) led SXU with five RBI and his first home run of the year while senior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) belted his first two home runs of the season with three RBI to aid senior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive), who posted a season-best seven strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the mound.

• Meier finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, a stolen base and a walk.
• Orzech collected three hits in four at-bats with two runs and a walk.
• Junior infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) made his season-debut going 2-for-2 with four runs scored, two RBI, a home run, a double and a walk.
• Junior designated hitter John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) was a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with four runs, three RBI, three steals and a walk.
• Senior infielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) was 1-for-4 with two RBI, two stolen bases, two runs and two walks.
• Senior outfielder Ryan O'Farrell (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) swiped three bases with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk while going 1-for-4 at the plate.
• Markezich threw 5.0 innings with nine hits and five earned runs.
• Senior pitcher Nick Krueger (Clifton, Ill./Danville Area/Clifton Central) threw 2.0 innings of relief, allowing four hits, four runs (three earned), walk and striking out two batters.
• Redshirt sophomore pitcher Jake Fenton (Chicago, Ill./Loras/Brother Rice) pitched an inning, scattering two hits with a walk.
• Aquinas took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on a two-run single to center. A two-run home run gave them a 4-0 advantage int the top of the 2^nd.
• O'Farrell drew a bases loaded walk and junior outfielder Max Waszkiewicz (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale South) drove in a run on an RBI groundout to get SXU on the board in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• A solo home run pushed the lead to 5-2 for the Saints in the top of the 3^rd.
• Meier cracked a three-run home run over the wall in left center to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame.
• Saint Xavier went up 9-5 with a four-run rally in the bottom of the 4^th. Freshman infielder Trevor Corbett (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) hit a sacrifice fly, Orzech clubbed a two-run home run and Dreier lifted a sac fly.
• Orzech blasted a home run down the left field line and Meier lined a two-run double to give the Cougars a 12-5 advantage in the bottom of the 6^th.
• Aquinas responded with a solo home run, a two-run double and an RBI single in the top of the 7^th to make it a 12-9 game.
• Simecek sliced a bases-clearing triple down the right field line, and he scored on a balk, in the bottom of the 7^th.
• Dreier led off the bottom of the 8^th with a home run, the 19^th of his career that puts him in the Top 25 for home runs in team history. Zbrozek ended the game with a two-run single to the gap in right center.

Saint Xavier (8-5/0-0 CCAC) takes on Aquinas in a nine-inning contest at Ferrell Field on Saturday, February 28. The game is slated for an 11:00 am start.