CHICAGO -- In a battle between last season's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season co-champions, Saint Xavier University came away with 4-1 and 11-0 victories over the University of St. Francis softball team Tuesday afternoon.

Out-hitting St. Francis 17-7 on the day, Saint Xavier (19-6, 2-0 CCAC) rallied with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning after the Fighting Saints (9-14, 4-2) had knotted up the score at 1-1 in the top half of the fourth frame in Game 1.  The Cougars continued their hot hitting in Game 2, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first stanza before slamming the door with the 11-0 shutout.

Kylie Cook extended her hitting streak to seven games with a hit in each end of the doubleheader, including the game-tying RBI double in the opening contest.  Isabella Landeros added another two hits to the cause.

Game 1:  Saint Xavier 4, USF 1
Saint Xavier broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a two-out slicing single that landed just inside the third base foul line to take a 1-0 lead.  One half inning later, St. Francis gained that run back when Cook connected for her double to plate Jaelynn Taylor, who had reached base via a single to open up the frame.

SXU put its own rally caps on in the fifth, however, when a two-run home run over the left field wall allowed the Cougars to regain a 3-1 edge.  Before the inning was completed, the hosts plated one more run to mark the score at 4-1.

Along with singles from Cook and Taylor, Landeros collected two hits to her total, while Morgan Smardo registered one.

Game 2:  Saint Xavier 11, USF 0 -- 5 innings
In the nightcap, Saint Xavier scored seven runs within the first two innings and tacked on another one frame later before putting the nail in the Saints' coffin with a trio of runs in the fourth inning.  USF could only counter with two hits scattered throughout the five-inning shortened game.

Emily Boyle and Cook each registered one single apiece in the contest.

Abbie Carr went 2-for-2 with three runs batted in to lead Saint Xavier's offensive attack.

Up Next
The Saints will travel to Palos Heights, Ill. on Saturday, April 5 to take on the Trolls of Trinity Christian College.  First pitch of the CCAC doubleheader is slated to begin at 12 pm.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.