CHICAGO – Junior infielder John Simecek (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) drove in 10 runs in the four-game series with St. Ambrose University (Iowa), including eight with three home runs in a 22-10 in game three of the series for the Saint Xavier University baseball team (10-8/1-3 CCAC) Sunday afternoon in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. In the series, Simecek went 6-for-15, batting .400, with six runs scored a double and a triple. The first two games of the series were played at Black Hawk College (Ill.) on Saturday in Moline, Ill. Simecek had an RBI and freshman designated hitter Lucas Petersen (Olympia, Wash./Capital) slugged his first collegiate home run in a 5-4 loss in game one. SXU was limited to just five hits in a 1-0 setback in game two. Simecek finished 4-for-5 with four runs in the win in game three. Redshirt freshman infielder Jackson Michko (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) was 3-for-4 with a three RBI and two doubles as SAU took down Saint Xavier, 21-9.

Simecek became just the fourth player in program history to hit three home runs in one game. Dan Zeratsky, who played just one season for the Cougars in 1991, set the team record with four home runs vs. Wayne State College (Neb.). Ferrell (1974-77), whom the field is named for, crushed three home runs vs. Covenant College (Ga.) in 1976. Joe Golembiewski (1989-91) slugged three homers, also in 1991, vs. Trinity Christian College (Ill.). The eight RBI for Simecek tied for the fourth-most in a game for SXU. Ferrell had 12 in the game vs. Covenant. Matt Bunnetta (2017-20), hit for the cycle, the last Saint Xavier player to do so, with nine RBI, and Max Downs (2019-20) added eight RBI in a 19-6 win over Indiana South Bend University on April 9, 2019 at Ferrell Field.

Game One:

• Freshman outfielder Kaleb Navarro (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) was 2-for-3 with a triple, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.
• Junior infielder Noah Dreier (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield Central) had two hits in four at-bats with a walk.
• Senior infielder Shea Zbrozek (Bloomington, Ill./Danville Area/Normal Community) also finished 2-for-4 with a walk.
• Freshman infielder Peyton Panozzo (Homer Glen, Ill./St. Rita) drew three walks with a run while going 0-for-1.
• Senior pitcher Trent Markezich (Mount Olive, Ill./Mount Olive) took the loss (2-1) after pitching 6.0 innings with eight hits allowed, five runs (two earned), a walk and nine strikeouts.
• Sophomore pitcher Tyler Deluca (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) worked 2.0 innings of relief with one hit and striking out four batters.
• The Fighting Bees went up 3-0 in the bottom of the 2^nd on RBI single and a two-run double.
• SAU homered in the bottom of the 3^rd and they added another RBI base hit in the bottom of the 4^th to extend their lead to 5-0.
• Petersen sent a ball over the wall in left center and senior outfielder Ryan O'Farrell (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) lined an RBI single to get Saint Xavier on the board in the top of the 5^th.
• Navarro hit an RBI single in the top of the 8^th.
• Simecek drove in a run on an RBI groundout in the top of the 9^th, however the Cougars could not score the equalizer.

Game Two:

• Senior infielder Beau Polickey (Oak Lawn, Ill./Heartland/Brother Rice) singled twice in two at-bats.
• Zbrozek was 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
• Simecek doubled in three trips to the plate.
• Petersen went 1-for-1 with a walk.
• Senior pitcher Thomas Plizga (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Fremd) made the start, going 3.1 innings with two hits surrendered and seven strikeouts.
• Junior pitcher Richard Gomez (Chicago, Ill./Parkland/Concordia/St. Laurence) was saddled with the loss (0-1) after giving up three hits, one earned run and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings out of the bullpen.
• Senior pitcher Nick Krueger (Clifton, Ill./Danville Area/Clifton Central) pitched an inning, walking two and striking out two.
• St. Ambrose plated the lone run of the contest on an RBI single in the bottom of the 5^th.

Game Three:

• Dreier went 4-for-5 with four RBI, three runs scored, two home runs, two stolen bases and a double.
• Zbrozek finished 3-for-4 from the lead-off spot with four RBI, four runs, two doubles and his first home run for SXU.
• Michko was 2-for-3 with two RBI, two runs scored, two walks and a home run.
• Junior outfielder Ben Meier (Beechwood, Ky./Lincoln Trail/Beechwood) scored three runs while going 2-for-4 with two steals and a walk.
• Junior pitcher Cole Martz (Huntington, Ind./Kankakee/Huntington North) lasted 3.0 innings, surrendering five hits, seven runs (five earned), four walks and striking out five batters for the no decision.
• Senior pitcher Gannon Burns (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) threw. 2.0 innings of relief, giving up three hits, two runs (one earned), a walk and posting four strikeouts.
• Krueger (2-1) was credited with the win after throwing an inning with a strikeout.
• Senior pitcher Osvaldo Ballesteros Jr. (Berwyn, Ill./St. Laurence) worked an inning, allowing one hit, one earned run, a walk and two strikeouts.
• The Fighting Bees jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on a pair of two-run doubles.
• Saint Xavier responded with 10 runs in the bottom of the frame. Senior catcher Aaron Orzech (Shorewood, Ill./Crossroads Christian Academy) clubbed an RBI double, Simecek cracked a two-run home run, Michko homered, Polickey hit an RBI infield single, Simecek lined a two-run single back up the middle and Dreier hit a two-run double.
• An RBI double by Zbrozek pushed the lead to 11-4 in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• SAU tacked on three runs in the top of the 3^rd on an RBI double and a two-run error.
• Michko smacked an RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
• A wild pitch plated a run for St. Ambrose in the top of the 4^th.
• Zbrozek hammered a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left center to make it 13-8 in the bottom of the 4^th.
• An error brought in a run for the Fighting Bees in the top of the 5^th.
• The Cougars rallied for nine runs in the bottom of the 5^th. Simecek and Dreier hit back-to-back home runs, O'Farrell laced an RBI base hit, an error scored Meier, Zbrozek collected an RBI in a fielder's choice, and Simecek and Dreier smashed back-to-back homers to cap the inning.
• A run-scoring fielder's choice for SAU stopped the scoring in the top of the 7^th.

Game Four:

• Orzech had three hits in three at-bats with two RBI and two runs scored.
• Zbrozek went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, a run and a walk.
• Simecek tripled in three trips to the plate, scoring twice.
• Polickey was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
• Dreier made his first start on the mound this season and he took the defeat (0-1) pitching into the top of the 2^nd. His final line score was 1.0 inning, three hits, five earned runs, four walks and a strikeout.
• Redshirt freshman pitcher Ethan Godlewski (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) threw an inning, allowing two hits, four runs (three earned), two walks and two strikeouts.
• Redshirt sophomore pitcher Jake Fenton (Chicago, Ill./Loras/Brother Rice) worked 0.2 innings, giving up three hits, five runs (two earned) and two walks.
• Deluca logged 1.1 innings out of the bullpen with three hits surrendered, four runs (two earned), two walks and recording three strikeouts.
• Graduate student pitcher Carter Kopp (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Bishop James Mahoney) saw 2.1 innings of action with five hits, three earned runs and three strikeouts.
• Gomez registered the final two outs, including a strikeout.
• St. Ambrose scored five runs in the top of the 1^st on a wild pitch, a three-run home run and an RBI single. They added 10 runs in the top of the 3^rd to go up 15-0.
• Orzech blooped an RBI single to right field and Michko doubled off the wall in left center to drive in two runs to get SXU on the board in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• A bases-clearing double extended the lead to 18-3 for the Fighting Bees in the top of the 4^th.
• Polickey sliced an RBI single in the bottom of the 4^th.
• Saint Xavier scored three times in the bottom of the 5^th. Simecek lined an RBI triple, Michko lifted an RBI double to the gap in left center and Meier picked up an RBI on a groundout.
• In the bottom of the 6^th, Zbrozek hit an RBI double and Orzech pulled an RBI base hit down the third-base line.
• SAU capped the scoring with three runs in the top of the 7^th.

Saint Xavier (10-8/1-3 CCAC) hosts Clarke University (Iowa) for a nine-inning non-conference contest at Ferrell Field on Friday, March 13. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm.