CLINTON, Iowa --- The University of St. Francis baseball team got off to a quick start in Game 1 against St. Ambrose University and the Fighting Bees returned the favor in the nightcap as the two teams split their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at NelsonCorp Field. The Fighting Saints claimed the opener 10-4, but their late rally in Game 2 came up short in a 9-7 setback.
Jake Klepacz and
Drew Dant continued their hitting prowess with two more multi-hit contests each. Klepacz went 5-for-9 with three runs scored and two runs batted in on the day, while Dant also drove in a pair of runs and scored twice on 4-of-7 hitting.
John McGuire powered up twice to drive in four runs and scored five times in the leadoff spot.
Sam Pileggi (2-2) recorded his longest stint of the season to earn the important first-game victory, enabling the Saints (22-16, 20-6 CCAC) to maintain their three-game lead in the league standings.
Game 1: USF 10, St. Ambrose 4
Head coach
Brian Michalak's club improved to 16-0 when scoring eight or more runs this season. The Saints needed just three innings to get to that count on Sunday keyed by a four-run second inning and a three-run third.
Klepacz got the scoring started with a two-out, RBI single to centerfield in the first inning. His double combined with one from
Max Montgomery drove in three more runs to extend USF's lead to 5-0 in the second inning.
One inning later, McGuire delivered his first of two home runs on the day with his three-run shot to left centerfield. The hit came with two outs.
Dant added an RBI triple in the seventh inning and scored on
Brayan Hidalgo's groundout.
Klepacz finished the game with three hits in four at-bats and the two RBIs. Montgomery also drove home two runs on the double, while Dant and
Josh Kirnbauer had a pair of hits each.
Pileggi fell just one out short of his first complete-game performance of the season. After retiring the first two batters on strikeouts, he allowed three straight hits to end his 117-pitch afternoon. The senior finished with a season-best seven strikeouts.
Game 2: St. Ambrose 9, USF 7
St. Ambrose (22-19, 16-12) put up three runs in both the first and third innings and never trailed the rest of the afternoon. The Saints did cut the deficit to 6-5 with their own three-run frame in the fifth inning, but could get no closer.
USF did get the tying run on base in the ninth inning after St. Ambrose rebuilt its lead to 9-5.
Nate Maliska and
Cliff Vickers drove in runs to make it 9-7 before the Fighting Bees got a strikeout to end the game and seal the split.
Klepacz, Dant,
Alex Mielcarz and Vickers each had a pair of hits with the latter three also driving in one run.
St. Ambrose out-hit the Saints 13-11 in the contest with six of the hits going for extra bases, including five doubles.
Notes: Dant added to his league-leading numbers, pushing his conference-best batting average to .449 … Klepacz is also hitting over .400 at .412 with McGuire and his 18-game hitting streak right on the cusp at .390 … McGuire doubled his home run count on Sunday. He entered the doubleheader with two round-trippers for the campaign. The four home runs are a career high. He had two total during the first three years of his career … The streaks of reaching base continue for Dant and McGuire, extending to 25 and 22 games, respectively … After a day off Monday, the Saints are right back at it on Tuesday when they wrap up their season series with Indiana University South Bend at Duly Health & Care Field with a 1 pm doubleheader.
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