SXU Athletics
Friday
The Saint Xavier baseball team played against Trinity International University in a conference matchup. The Cougars’ offense broke out of their recent slump en rout to a dominant win over their opposition.
The very first inning saw a lot of action as the top half of the first started with the Cougars scoring two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Not to be outdone though, the Trojans would strike back by scoring three runs on two home runs, to take their own lead at 3-2.
The Cougars, down 3-2, would respond in a big way in the top of the second inning by scoring three runs to re-take the lead at 5-3.
The big hit of the inning came from second baseman Jeremy Dryier as he hit a two RBI double with two outs in the inning to give them the lead in the inning.
After a scoreless third inning, the Cougars would have a massive inning in the top of the fourth inning, scoring a whopping nine runs and recording eight hits to push their lead to 14-3. In the bottom of the fifth, the Trojans would score another run off an error by Saint Xavier to cut their deficit to 14-4.
But the Cougars could not be outdone on this day as they would come back in the top of the sixth inning to score a run of their own to make the score 15-4. The run was scored off a solo home run by shortstop Alec Barnhart.
The final inning of the game played out much like the first, as there was a lot of action in both halves of the inning. The top half saw the Cougars score two runs thanks to an error by Trinity International to push their lead to 17-4.
Trying to avoid the game ending early due to slaughter rule, the Trojans would try to come back and score some runs of their own.
They would succeed, as they would score two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but they would not be able to extend the game as they would not be able to score anymore runs and giving the Cougars the 17-6 lead.
Offensively, the Cougars were led by catcher Ryan Pellack who finished the day going 3-5 from the plate and driving in a game-high four RBIs. Barnhart was also a force, going 3-4 from the plate and scoring a team-high four runs.
Dryier also had a notable performance, as he would finish the day with three RBIs and two runs scored. The offense, as a whole, was really clicking on this day as the team combined to go 17-38 from the plate, which is a team batting average of .447.
Their offense also drew five walks on the day and struck out only three times. With the win, the Cougars overall record moved up to 7-21 with a conference record of 5-14.
Saturday
The Saint Xavier baseball team finished their series against Trinity International University. The Cougars would have great pitching in game one, while game two was decided by slaughter rule thanks to a powerful offense by the Cougars.
Game one of the doubleheader was a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings of the game as neither team could muster up enough offense to put themselves on the board.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw the Cougars have a prime opportunity to score first, as they had a man on third and second with just one out, but they would not be able to capitalize and go into the fifth inning tied 0-0.
In the top of the fifth, Trinity International broke through, scoring one run to take the lead at 1-0. The Cougars responded quickly though as they scored their own run in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1. Catcher Ryan Pellack drove in the run with an RBI single.
Both teams knew going into the sixth inning that their opportunities to score were running thin. The Trojans tried to retake the lead in the top of the sixth inning, but could not despite the fact that they got two men on base.
The Cougars would not miss on their opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth inning as left fielder Bryan Polak hit a solo home run to give his team a 2-1 lead.
That proved to be a game winning home run, as Trinity International would not even be able to get on base in the top of the seventh, giving the Cougars their second straight win. The final score of the game was 2-1.
With all due respect to Polak, the star of the game was starting pitcher Tyler Hebel. Hebel pitched the entire game giving up only one run, six hits, and two walks while striking out six batters. Game two started out looking like it was going to be a repeat of game one, as neither team could score in the first inning.
But, after a scoreless top of the second inning, the Cougars broke the ice by scoring a run in the bottom of the second to give them a 1-0 lead. Third baseman Jacob Zimmer drove in the lone run with a sac fly.
The Cougars struck again in the bottom of the third inning, scoring three runs and recording four hits to extend their lead to 4-0. Trinity International answered with some runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning by scoring two runs to cut their deficit to 4-2.
The Cougars were determined not to allow their opponent to come back in this game and showed this by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to once again extend their lead. The score after four innings was 7-2.
The Cougars scored again in the very next inning of an RBI single by Wimmer to push their lead to 8-2.
After going through a dry spell in the sixth inning, the Cougars would put the game away in the bottom of the seventh by scoring four runs and forcing the slaughter rule to be enforced, allowing Saint Xavier to complete the sweep and win game two by a score of 12-2.
The Cougars were led by Pellack in game two as he went 4-5 from the plate and drive in a game-high three rbis. Right fielder Jim Augle had a good day at the plate too, going 3-4 and driving in one run while scoring two runs himself.
As a team, the Cougars went 16-33 to finish the game with a team batting average of .484. Starting pitcher Jeremy Dryier had a great day pitching, allowing only two runs, one earned, four hits, and two walks, while striking out six through six innings to pick up his second win of the season.
With the sweep, the Cougars have now won three in a row and their overall record has grown to 9-21.
Their conference record now stands at 7-14. The Cougars will look to continue their winning ways when they play against Holy Cross College on April 14. Unfotunately, we will not have the results at press time.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor
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