BOURBONNAIS, Ill. --- The stunning turnaround is officially complete for the University of St. Francis baseball team after claiming the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title and more importantly a bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round on Saturday afternoon. USF did so by sweeping two-time defending champion Olivet Nazarene University 9-3 and 13-4 to close out the regular season.
Watch When The Saints Found Out They Earned Their Opening Round Bid: https://twitter.com/i/status/1652473176570449921
Just 32 days earlier, the Fighting Saints were mired in an 8-21 start to the campaign with only three wins in eight league affairs. A little over one month later, the program earned both its first crown and NAIA bid since 2015 by reeling off 16 wins in its last 19 games, all league affairs.
USF heads to the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the eight-team CCAC Tournament field after climbing back to .500 (24-24) for the first time since Feb. 25 and finishing the conference season at 19-8.
Six home runs were part of the celebratory fireworks on the day with
Eric Maffie adding to his historic season with three more round-trippers and another two doubles to drive in seven runs on the day.
Luke Ketchum,
Gio Pappas and
Jake Vera also homered with the latter's being of the inside-the-park variety. He finished the day collecting four hits, split evenly between the two affairs.
Nate Maliska, Friday's hero, continued where he left off with five more hits on Saturday and two runs batted in, while
John McGuire performed double-duty again. He went 4-for-8 on the day at the plate with both three runs batted in and a save in the opener.
The Saints also gained solid starts from
Ryan Daly (1-0) and
Mack Malczewski (4-3), while
Jacob Jurka earned his first collegiate save.
Game 1: USF 9, Olivet Nazarene 3
Maffie (2-for-3) got the Saints off to a great start with his two-run home run in the third inning before Olivet Nazarene (24-24, 14-13) quashed that momentum with three runs of its own off just one hit in the bottom half of the inning.
Two innings later, after
Brayan Hidalgo tied the game with his single, McGuire (2-for-4) became the hero with his two-out, bases-clearing double down the left field line to score three runs. One half-inning later, he was on the mound in relief, starting what would be a string of nine batters retired among the final ten in the game.
McGuire allowed just one hit in his three scoreless innings with three strikeouts en route to earning his team-high fourth save of the season. Daly gained his first start of the season and worked the first four innings for his first win of the campaign. He struck out five batters, while giving up just two hits.
Daly and McGuire combined to allow just three hits in the opener.
Vera (2-for-3) provided his trip around the bases in the sixth inning with a man on before Ketchum closed out the three home-run game with a solo shot in the seventh inning.
Maliska (2-for-3) was the fourth Saint to register multiple hits in the contest.
Game 2: USF 13, Olivet Nazarene 4
The Saints scored in each of their first four innings in building a 6-0 advantage before Olivet Nazarene responded, cutting the deficit in half in the fifth inning. USF's response: A combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the deal.
Maffie again started the scoring splurge with his solo shot in the first inning before capping the day's scoring for the Saints with his three-run home run in the seventh inning.
Gio Pappas also homered – a two-run shot – as part of a 3-RBI game for him to give USF back-to-back three home-run contests.
Maffie authored four hits in Game 2 with all going for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs) and driving in five runs. Maliska was also part of the 17-hit attack – 3-for-6 with two runs batted in – as were McGuire and Vera. They both matched their two hits from the first game with two more in Game 2. Ketchum also went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
Malczewski did not allow an earned run in his six innings as the starter. He struck out six batters and permitted only four hits. Jurka wrapped things up with three innings of one-run ball in notching his first save on the collegiate level.
Notes: The Saints gained the title outright after Trinity Christian College knocked off Saint Xavier University 5-3 in Game 2 on Saturday and St. Ambrose University tied Trinity International University 4-4 when darkness ended Game 2 after eight innings ... Maffie moved into sole possession of the No. 2 spot on the school's single-season home run chart with his 19 now … The two-home run game in the nightcap was Maffie's fourth of the season and the team's fifth. Pappas had the other one … The Saints have hit 22 home runs in their last 14 games compared with 23 over the first 34 contests of the campaign … USF has scored nine or more runs in five of its last six games … Maffie has driven in an average of two runs per game over his last 18 contests having totaled 36 of his 59 in that time … McGuire, Ketchum and Hidalgo have all reached base safely in 11 consecutive games … Malczewski added to the loaded leader board in mound wins with four … The Saints take a six-game winning streak and 14 victories in their last 15 games into the postseason. They will open CCAC Tournament play Thursday night at 7 pm against Calumet College of St. Joseph at Duly Health and Care Field, where they have won eight in a row.
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