CHICAGO – Redshirt freshman designated hitter Jackson Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) slugged a pinch-hit Grand Slam in game one, and he belted a two-run home run in game two to help Saint Xavier University baseball (18-10/9-5 CCAC) earned a series victory, winning three of four games, over University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. The Cougars collected 15 hits with nine stolen bases in a 14-5 victory to start the day. Sophomore pitcher Tyler Deluca (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) threw a complete game four-hitter with five strikeouts to earn his first collegiate victory in a 4-0 triumph for SXU to cap the afternoon.

Game One:

• Sophomore designated hitter Parker Violett (Maple Park, Ill./Kaneland) had four hits in four at-bats with four stolen bases, three RBI, two doubles, two runs scored and a walk.
• Senior outfielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) finished 3-for-6 with two RBI, a double and a run.
• Junior infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) also went 3-for-6, scoring two twice with an RBI double and a steal.
• Junior outfielder Ben Meier (Beechwood, Ky./Lincoln Trail/Beechwood) scored three runs, adding two walks, an RBI and a stolen base after going 1-for-3.
• Senior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) had a hit in three official at-bats with two runs, an RBI and a walk.
• Freshman infielder Trevor Corbett (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) went 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk.
• Senior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) came away with the win (3-1), logging 6.0 innings and allowing seven hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and striking out two batters.
• Senior pitcher Nick Krueger (Clifton, Ill./Danville Area/Clifton Central) worked 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, giving up two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
• Graduate student pitcher John Creviston (Westchester, Ill./Benedictine/Brother Rice) pitched the top of the 9^th with a walk and a strikeout.
• Saint Xavier jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st. Simecek lined an RBI double, Violett pulled a two-run double down the left field line, Meier and Polickey added RBI singles.
• Violett hammered an RBI double in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Zbrozek smacked an RBI double in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• In the bottom of the 4^th, Violett scored on a passed ball and Michko sent a ball over the wall in left center with a pinch-hit Grand Slam.
• The Fighting Saints rallied for four runs in the top of the 5^th, hitting a three-run home run and an RBI single.
• An error brought in a run for USF in the top of the 6^th.
• Zbrozek laced an RBI base hit and Corbett lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8^th.

Game Two:

• Michko went 2-for-3 overall.
• Simecek slugged a home run, finishing 1-for-3.
• Zbrozek hit an RBI double, going 1-for-3.
• Violett collected a pair of doubles, and was 2-for-3 at the plate.
• Deluca (1-2) posted his first collegiate complete game as he tossed 7.0 innings, scattering four hits with five strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch.
• Simecek cracked his team-leading seventh home run of the season and Michko connected for his fourth home run of the 2026 campaign, a two-run blast, for a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the 1^st.
• Zbrozek split the gap in left center with an RBI double in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• Deluca didn't allow a runner past second base, and he rolled a 1-4-3 double play to end the game, securing the key conference victory.

Saint Xavier (18-10/9-5 CCAC) travels to Loves Park, Ill. to play Clarke University (Iowa) in non-conference play on Tuesday, March 31. The nine-inning contest is slated for a 4:00 pm start.