ELGIN, Ill. -- A six-run fourth inning held up for the University of St. Francis baseball team as the Fighting Saints made it a doubleheader sweep with 9-6 and a 4-2 wins over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Judson University on Thursday afternoon. The second game went extra innings, with USF plating two runs on two outs in the 11th frame.
Drew Dant had a big day with his five hits, two runs batted in and three runs scored.
Jake Merda (four hits) and
Ethan Fleming (three) joined Dant with hits in both games.
Game 1: USF 9, Judson 6
St. Francis' six runs in the opener were aided by three hits, but the visitors benefited heavily from two Judson errors in that frame, which pushed five unearned runs across the plate.
Jake Klepacz got things started by accepting a free pass after being hit with a pitch. Dant and
Mitchell Thomas later collected RBI singles with Merda providing a hard-hit triple to drive in the final run.
Cliff Vickers gave the Saints their seventh run one inning later with his RBI single before being pushed home himself on a Dant base hit. Dant would later score two batters later following another defensive miscue by the hosts for the Saints' ninth run of the game.
The Saints (14-19, 10-8 CCAC) would manage nine hits in total. Dant would lead the way with three, while Fleming followed up with two of his own.
Sean Michalak (3-1) picked up his third win of the season after working the first 6 1/3 innings on the mound.
Zac Blazekovich would come in relief to record the final two outs of the game resulting in this second save of the year.
Game 1: USF 4, Judson 2 -- 11 innings
After jumping out to a 1-0 advantage in the nightcap, St. Francis would relinquish the lead in the fifth inning when a two-out error allowed two Judson runs to cross the plate.
A two-out rally in the top of the sixth inning regained momentum for St. Francis, with
Alex Martinez connecting for a RBI double to score
Jake Merda and tie the score at 2-2. Martinez also accounted for USF's run in the fourth inning via a RBI fielder's choice.
After each team left three runners on base apiece over the next four innings of play, the Saints would score two runs in the top of the 11th inning to vault ahead 4-2. The Eagles would not go down easily, however. The hosts found themselves in a prime position in the bottom half of the stanza, working the bases full with just one out. A leadoff double later followed by a walk and a single had the tying and winning runs in scoring position, but the Eagles did not have one more clutch hit in the bag with the game ending on a groundout to the shortstop.
Quinn McGuire (1-1) would take credit for the win, while Blazekovich came on in relief in the 11th, earning his second save of the day.
Merda and Martinez each authored three-hit performances in the contest. Dant collected two hits along with one intentional walk.
Up Next
The Saints conclude the four-game series against Judson with a doubleheader on Friday (April 4) beginning at 1 pm at Slammers Stadium.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
