JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis baseball team posted its fourth straight game of double-figure hits, but Lewis University rallied late with seven runs over the last two innings to ruin the Fighting Saints' home opener with the Flyers' 13-8 victory at Duly Health & Care Field.

The see-saw affair featured four lead changes with USF rallying twice from 3-0 and 5-4 deficits.  Run-scoring singles from Eric Maffie, Jake LaSota and John McGuire in the third inning wiped out the first deficit.  Josh Kirnbauer gave the Saints (5-4) their first lead of the afternoon one inning later with his RBI single.

After Lewis (1-0) picked up two unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning to go up 5-4, the Saints gained an RBI double from Brayan Hidalgo and back-to-back RBI singles from Hector Carrillo and Max Montgomery to take their biggest lead of the game at 7-5.

Lewis got one of those runs back in the sixth inning before scoring four runs in the eighth inning and three more in the ninth to pull away.

All nine batters in the St. Francis lineup boasted a hit with seven also collecting an RBI.  McGuire, Hidalgo, Carrillo, Kirnbauer and Montgomery all posted a pair of hits.

Lewis second baseman Thomas Fox both opened and closed the scoring for the Flyers.  He had a two-run home run in the first inning and a two-run double in the ninth, while also delivering a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.  For the game, he went 2-for-5 with five runs batted in.

The loss snapped USF's season-high three-game winning streak.

Notes: Luke Ketchum remained perfect on the season in getting on base having now reached in all nine of the Saints' games to open the year … Jake Vera, Ketchum, Maffie, LaSota, and Carrillo all extended their hitting streaks to four games on Tuesday … Prior to the start of the contest, McGuire performed a stirring electric guitar version of the national anthem (Watch here) … The Saints are back on the road this weekend for a four-game set with Mount Mercy University (Iowa) beginning with a 1 pm doubleheader on Saturday.    

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