JOLIET, Ill. --- Brayan Hidalgo drove in six of the University of St. Francis baseball team's 12 runs on the day and the Fighting Saints snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 10-5 second-game victory over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Saint Xavier University on Wednesday afternoon at Duly Health and Care Field.  SXU won the opener 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Five of Hidalgo's six runs batted in came in the nightcap, where he keyed a five-run uprising in the third inning with a three-run home run.  For the two games combined, Hidalgo went 4-for-7.

Luke Ketchum also tallied four hits over the two games.  Eric Maffie and Jake Vera joined both him and Hidalgo in posting at least one hit in each end of the twinbill.

The Saints (6-16, 1-1 CCAC) also received strong pitching performances from Sam Pileggi and Sean Michalak.  Pileggi struck out a career-high eight batters in the first-game start, while Michalak tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2.

Game 1: Saint Xavier 3, USF 2
A two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Saint Xavier the win in the conference opener for both squads.  The Cougars (9-14, 1-1) put together three straight hits after the first two batters were retired to plate the winning run.

It was a pitcher's duel before that with neither team managing more than four hits through the first six innings.  Both Pileggi and Saint Xavier's Nico Saldias struck out eight batters.  Pileggi allowed just three hits and two runs in five innings.  Saldias yielded just four hits and only one earned run over six innings.

Doubles from Maffie and Hidalgo in the fourth inning knotted the score at one-all.  The Saints forced a second tie one inning later aided by two Saint Xavier errors.

Ketchum, Vera and John McGuire had USF's other three hits of its five total.

Game 2: USF 10, Saint Xavier 5
A two-out, two-run single in the first inning by Hidalgo got the Saints off to a great start.  Two innings later, he capped off a string of five straight hits to start the frame with his second home run of the season. 

Maffie and Ketchum preceded Hidalgo's blast with an RBI double and single, respectively.  For Ketchum, he was one of three Saints in the contest to record three hits.  Maffie provided another two, including one on his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning.

Hidalgo was not done driving in runs after the fourth inning.  He added his fifth RBI of the contest in the fifth inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

USF also picked up an RBI single from Gio Pappas in the eighth inning.

Besides Ketchum and Hidalgo, Nate Maliska also registered three hits to go along with a pair of runs scored in the leadoff spot.

USF starter Mack Malczewski was cruising along through the first four innings of the contest before a string of four walks in a five-batter sequence in the fifth inning enabled Saint Xavier to get back into the game at 9-5.  Michalak (1-1) quelled the storm in that frame before going the next three innings without allowing a run.  Quinn McGuire then finished things off with a scoreless ninth inning.

Notes: USF's 16 hits in the second game tied its season-high mark for the season … The Saints' ten runs in the nightcap marked the fifth time this spring that they have scored in double figures … With his four hits in nine at bats on the day, Ketchum jumped his batting average up from .395 at the start of the day to .404 by the completion of the doubleheader … Pileggi's eight strikeouts were the most by a Saint this season … Hidalgo's five RBIs in Game 2 tied Maffie for the most in a single game this year … Speaking of Maffie, he extended his hitting streak to a club-high eight games with hits in both contests … Maliska saw his career-best seven-game hitting streak come to an end in Game 1, but by coaxing a walk in that contest and collecting three hits in the nightcap, he now boasts a nine-game on-base streak … St. Francis continues CCAC play on Friday when it hosts St. Ambrose University (Iowa) at 3 pm.

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