Saint Xavier University

Crown Point, Ind. – The No. 21 ranked Saint Xavier University softball team (39-12/26-1 CCAC), having moved up two spots in the final regular season NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll in the morning, opened the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Softball Tournament with a pair of victories Wednesday afternoon at the Crow Points Sportsplex in Crown Point, Ind. The Cougars, also the top-seed in the tournament, began the day with a 10-2 victory in five innings over No. 8 Calumet College of St. Joseph. Senior outfielder Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Northern Illinois/Mother McAuley) nabbed three bases with two RBI and two runs scored to help sophomore pitcher Payton Antkiewicz (Dyer, Ind./Hanover Central), who allowed just two hits with nine strikeouts. In the second game, Crane laced a three-run triple to aid junior pitcher Lily Strand (Evergreen Park, Ill./St. Louis/Evergreen Park) as she scattered four hits with six strikeouts in a 9-1 triumph in six innings over No. 4 Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.).

Game One:

• Crane went 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. She became the first player in program history to score 70 or more runs in a season.
• Junior infielder Aubrey Wroble (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) also was 2-for-3 adding a pair of RBIs, two runs and a walk.
• Sophomore outfielder Natalie Gomez (Oak Forest, Ill./Lewis/Tinley Park) finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI double and a stolen base.
• Senior outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) had two hits in three at-bats with a run and a steal.
• Senior infielder Mallory O'Connor (Bourbonnais, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Bishop McNamara) collected a pair of hits in three trips to the plate.
• Antkiewicz (15-4) had a final line score of 5.0 innings, two hits, two earned runs and a walk. Her nine punchouts were the second-most she has had in a game this season.
• Crane scored on an error in the bottom of the 1^st to put SXU up 1-0.
• Another error by CCSJ brought in a run in the bottom of the 2^nd.
• The Crimson Wave tied the game in the top of the 3^rd with a two-out, two-run single.
• Sophomore designated player Isabelle Poortenga (Dyer, Ind./Lewis/Lake Central) hit her team-leading fifth sacrifice fly of the season as Saint Xavier re-took the lead in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• The Cougars rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 4^th. Wroble hit a two-run base hit, redshirt sophomore infielder Jazmyn Casas (Berwyn, Ill./Illinois-Chicago/Taft) lifted a sac fly, and Matlock scored on an error.
• In the bottom of the 5^th, Gomez lined an RBI double and Crane ended the game with a two-run single.

Game Two:

• O'Connor was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Casas hammered a pair of doubles with two RBI and a walk, going 2-for-3 overall.
• Matlock went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
• Crane finished 1-for-3 with a run, a steal and a walk. She now has 90 stolen bases on the season on 96 attempts.
• Senior catcher Morgan Natanek (Palos Heights, Ill./Stagg) drew two walks with an RBI double and a run, going 1-for-1 officially.
• Strand (19-7) benefited from the offensive outburst, going 6.0 innings with four hits, one earned run and a walk to go along with her six K's.
• Matlock drove in Crane on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 1^st.
• Natanek made it 2-0 in the bottom of the 2^nd, slicing an RBI double.
• Casas push the advantage to 3-0 with an RBI double in the bottom of the 3^rd.
• The Tigers got on the board in the top of the 5^th with an RBI base hit, however a runner was thrown out at the plate to end the frame.
• SXU responded with five runs in the home half of the inning. O'Connor thumped an RBI single; Gomez drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded, and Crane unloaded the bases with her team-leading fourth triple of the year.
• Casas ended the contest with an RBI double in the bottom of the 6^th.

No. 21 and top-seeded Saint Xavier (39-12/26-1 CCAC) plays No. 6 Indiana University South Bend in the winner's bracket semifinals of the CCAC Tournament on Thursday, April 30 in Crown Point, Ind. The game is slated for a 5:30 pm start.