JOLIET, Ill. --- The .400-Hit Club and then some came through for the University of St. Francis softball team on Friday afternoon as the Fighting Saints got right back into the thick of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference race with 10-1 and 7-6 victories over defending champion Saint Xavier University.

USF (19-7, 6-2 CCAC) totaled 26 hits on the day with Kaylie Sippel (5-for-5, 3 RBI), Maddie Massaro (4-for-6, 6 RBI), Danielle Callahan (3-for-7, 2 RBI) and Rose Mwaro (3-for-6, 1 RBI) all delivering hits in both ends of the twinbill.  Sippel and Massaro are both hitting .438 on the season with Callahan right behind at .435 and Mwaro at .417.

Also coming through offensively were Gracyn Gabriel (4-for-6, 1 RBI) and Bridget McDermott (4-for-6, 2 RBI).

In the circle, Hannah Vachon (10-2) did not allow an earned run in the opener, while freshman Jordan Closs (3-2) came up big in a pressure situation in the nightcap.

Game 1: USF 10, Saint Xavier 1
In a rare feat, all seven Saints that recorded hits in Game 1 each produced multiple hits led by Gabriel's perfect 3-for-3 game.  She also drove in a run.

Brittany Osborne, Callahan, McDermott and Massaro matched up their two hits with two RBIs.  The other two-hit games came from Sippel and Mwaro.  All 15 of St. Francis' hits in the contest were singles.

USF (19-7, 6-2 CCAC) shocked Saint Xavier with six runs over the first two innings and matched up a four-run second with another four runs in the fourth inning.  Callahan had a two-run single in the first four-run inning with Osborne doing the same in the fourth.

Vachon was the benefactor of the four-inning offensive explosion, notching her tenth win of the season.  She gave up just three hits with the only run allowed being unearned.  She also struck out two batters against two walks.

Game 2: USF 7, Saint Xavier 6
The see-saw affair ended in USF's favor on Mwaro's two-out, walk-off single through the left side of the infield to score Madisen Tucker (single) with the winning run.  That ended a three-run rally for the Saints over the last three innings after they fell behind Saint Xavier 6-4 in the top of the fifth inning.

After scoring just one unearned run in the opener, the Cougars (17-11, 4-2) put up a pair of runs after their first at bat in the nightcap.  St. Francis countered with a Sippel two-run double and a Massaro RBI single to go up 3-2 after the first inning.

Saint Xavier forced the second of four ties in the contest in the second inning before the Saints regained a one-run edge with a Massaro sacrifice fly in the third.

The guests then powered up for two home runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead only to have Massaro deliver yet again.  The senior catcher capped off a string of four straight Saints to reach base to open the fifth inning with her two-run single to tie the contest at six-all.

Closs then came on to deliver two scoreless innings, including getting out of a two-on, two-out situation in the sixth inning, before Mwaro's heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Massaro finished the game driving in four runs on her two hits and sacrifice fly, while Sippel went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs.  McDermott matched her two hits in the opener with two more in Game 2.

Notes: The first-game loss for Saint Xavier snapped a 17-game conference winning streak for the Cougars dating back to last year.  The last team to beat SXU: the Saints on April 15 of last year … Saint Xavier also came in having won 27-of-28 league games over the past two-plus seasons … The doubleheader sweep marked the first time that SXU had lost a conference twinbill since April 13, 2019 … Of USF's 26 hits on the day, only two went for extra bases … With her two multi-hit games, Sippel has now joined Callahan with double-figure totals in that category.  Callahan has 14 said games with Sippel now at ten … With her two RBIs in Game 1, Callahan also now has ten games with two or more runs batted in this season … McDermott extended her hitting streak to a season-high six contests in Game 2 … Massaro's four RBIs in Game 2 were her most as a Saint … USF hosts Trinity Christian College on Thursday at 3:30 pm.       

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