JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis baseball team had its hits and put plenty of runners on base, but only came away with one run on the day in dropping 6-1 and 3-0 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference decisions to Olivet Nazarene University on Saturday afternoon at Slammers Stadium.

A 1-for-15 day at the plate with runners in scoring position was the main culprit as the Fighting Saints left 18 runners stranded over 16 innings.  The majority of those came in the early innings with USF (10-15, 7-4 CCAC) leaving seven runners on in the first five innings of the opener and four over the first two innings in the nightcap.

Eight of St. Francis' nine starters had hits in Game 1, where the Saints left 11 runners on base.  Max Montgomery and Ryan Louthan led the offense with three hits each on the day.  Dominik Alberico and Mitchell Thomas joined them in collecting hits in each end of the twinbill.   They both finished with two hits.

Both ONU starters – Qade Carrington (3-3) and Nicholas Gniedziejko (1-2) – went no less than seven innings with the latter tossing a complete game.

With the sweep, Olivet Nazarene (10-16, 6-6) takes the season series from the Saints, three games to one. 

Game 1: Olivet Nazarene 6, USF 1
Olivet Nazarene had five of its first six batters reach base in a two-run second inning before extending its lead to 6-0 with a four-run fifth inning.  Jude Coursey's bases-clearing double with two outs in the latter frame was the big blow.

USF's only run of the day came in the bottom of the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Louthan.  That also was the inning where it left the bases loaded.  In three other innings, the Saints left two runners on base each time.

In three innings where USF did not leave multiple runners on base, it hit into double plays.  For the game, the Saints went 0-for-6 in the clutch. 

Nate Maliska and Montgomery reached base three times each (two hits, one walk) at the top of the order with Maliska providing the lone run.

Game 2: Olivet Nazarene 3, USF 0
The Saints put a pair of runners on in each of the first two innings and two more in the sixth, but came away empty-handed each time.  They would finish the contest going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Olivet Nazarene used solo home runs from Landon Holt and Alex Seaton in the third and fifth innings to build its lead.  Coursey struck again with another run-producing hit in the sixth inning.

Louthan was the only player to get two hits for St. Francis, which outhit ONU 6-5.

Gniedziejko was strong throughout, striking out eight batters without allowing a walk.  Each of his three outs recorded in the first inning were all by strikeouts.  He had at least one punchout in six of his seven innings.

Up Next
The Fighting Saints and Trinity Christian College conclude their postponed game from last Saturday (March 14) on Monday at 3 pm in Palos Heights.

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