The Saint Xavier Cougar baseball team won six of their last seven contests, all of which came against conference opponents.
Saint Xavier has improved its overall record to 12-16 with a 7-3 record in conference play as of Monday.
Last Tuesday the Cougars picked up a real and moral victory behind a walk-off double in the first game of a doubleheader against the University of Saint Francis (Ill.), then picked up a decisive 15-5 win in game two.
Since then, Saint Xavier has not looked back.
Home Baseball Heats Bats
The doubleheader that would appear to be the turning point of the still early season for the Cougars coincided with the first home baseball Saint Xavier played this season.
It was cold and very windy, but that did not keep the Cougars from getting the bats to heat up in an 8-7 win in seven innings and a 15-5 win in eight innings.
The first game of the doubleheader was tied up at 6-6 after six innings of play. Saint Francis pushed across a run in the top of the seventh to give themselves a one-run lead.
The Cougars got some help from the Saints of Saint Francis on the first at-bat of the final inning. Sophomore shortstop Alec Barnhart reached on an error by the first baseman, who had been the designated hitter for the Saints until that inning.
Two batters later, senior right fielder Chris Klein lined a single to put two Cougars aboard with one out.
Controversy followed.
For the second time in the ballgame, with the winds swirling, a popup was lifted over the head of the shortstop. For the second time, despite the fact that the shortstop was drifting, the umpire on the bases called an infield fly.
When the ball dropped in safely, senior first baseman Thomas Keating was called out, though the infield fly did still allow the runners to advance.
After first-year designated hitter Bryan Polak was hit by a pitch, it came down to the bases loaded and senior left fielder Brad Myjak at the plate.
Myjak, who had struggled offensively through that point in the season, worked the count to 3-1 before crushing a pitch deep to the gap in right field. Barnhart scored the tying run and Klein scored the winning run on the walk-off hit.
Myjak kept hitting in the second game of the doubleheader, which was scheduled for nine innings. He picked up two more RBI for the day on a home run to right field.
He was by no means the only Cougar who succeeded offensively. Barnhart led off the same inning, the fourth, with a homer to right field of his own.
The Cougars wound up with four runs in each of the second and fourth innings.
Trinity Trojans Trounced
The Cougars then met with the Trinity International University Trojans for a home-and-home weekend series that consisted of a game at Saint Xavier on Friday and a doubleheader of what were technically home games for Trinity International but were played at Saint Xavier on Saturday.
The Cougars took the sweep against the struggling Trojans, who came into the series with a 4-13 overall record with a 1-4 mark in conference play.
The first game ended in a slaughter rule after the seventh inning with the Cougars up 12-2.
Starting pitcher Scott Vachon looks to be getting on a roll. He picked up his second victory of the season, going all seven innings and giving up just two runs (one earned) on eight hits to go with nine strikeouts.
Myjak was again a spark for the Cougars. With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third, Myjak scored Barnhart and Klein on a two-out triple to right center.
Another homer from Barnhart in the bottom of the sixth helped the Cougars get into slaughter rule territory.
Saint Xavier would go on to win both games of Saturday’s doubleheader with scores of 9-4 and 6-2, respectively.
Looking Ahead
Saint Xavier’s only loss in the last seven games came in the first of a doubleheader makeup game at Trinity Christian University on Monday.
The Trolls beat the Cougars 5-2 before Saint Xavier eked out a 5-4 win in game two.
In the very early part of the season, the Cougars were finding creative ways to lose, whether it was via nearly-good-enough hitting or pitching.
Since the Saint Francis doubleheader, however, the Cougars are finding creative ways to win, and they hope that will continue as they have a doubleheader at Calumet College of Saint Joseph today.
The Cougars’ next home game is Friday at 3:30 p.m. against Purdue University Calumet at Ferrell Memorial Field.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor