After a very successful performance at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, the Saint Xavier Men’s Baseball team went into spring break with a lot of momentum.
In fact, the Cougars entered with an 8-8 record, which put them near the top of the CCAC. SXU kicked off their spring break schedule on March 16th with the start of a three game series with Roosevelt University in Crestwood, Illinois. The SXU Cougars started the game by scoring two runs off of a throwing error from Roosevelt second baseman Matt Marrera. Roosevelt responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring once on an error from SXU catcher Matt Bunetta and once on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Zach Taylor.
Both teams remained tied at two until the top of the fourth inning when SXU third baseman Matt Monahan hit a RBI double that scored a run to put the Cougars up 3-2. The Lakers had to wait until the bottom of the sixth inning to respond when Roosevelt DH Jordan Coakley and Roosevelt right fielder Dom Lentini each scored a RBI single to put the Lakers up 4-3.
Saint Xavier fired back in the top of the eighth inning, scoring three runs to put the Cougars up 6-4. One more run came in the top of the ninth inning, extending the SXU lead to three. Roosevelt failed to fire back in the bottom of the ninth and lost 4-7. Saint Xavier improved to 9-8 with the victory, while Roosevelt fell to 0-13 with the loss. The Cougars completely dominated game two of the series, destroying Roosevelt 10-1, sending Roosevelt to a 0-14 record, while improving to 10-8 on the year.
In the final game of the series on March 17th, the Cougars started senior David Strom. Strom started off the game in a near perfect way, retiring the first 11 batters he faced. SXU helped his cause in the bottom of the second when the Lakers walked left fielder Griffin Bright, which scored a runner from third to put Saint Xavier up 1-0. Strom’s near-perfect performance was ruined in the top of the fifth inning when Roosevelt right fielder Dom Lentini hit a RBI single that scored a run to tie the game at 1.
Both pitchers continued to pitch great games until the bottom of the eighth, when Agustin Guerrero hit a ground ball to second base, but Roosevelt second baseman Matt Marrera mishandled the ball, allowing Guerrero to reach first base and a run to score to put SXU up 2-1. Saint Xavier pitcher Gage Olszak was given the ball in the ninth inning and got the final out to lock down the Cougars’ 2-1 victory. Saint Xavier improved to 11-8 with the victory, while Roosevelt fell to 0-15 on the year.
The Cougars play three times next week, all in a three game series against Trinity International University. That series will also be the first series of the year that will be played at Ferrell Field. So, if you can make it, please come down to Ferrell Field and support the Cougars in their first home games of the year!
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor