SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Jack Otis tossed his second complete game of the season in the University of St. Francis baseball team's 3-1 second-game victory over Indiana University South Bend.  The Titans, however, took advantage of eight walks from the Saints' pitching staff to rally for seven runs in the sixth and seventh frames of the opener to gain the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference split with its 10-9 Game 1 win at Slammers Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The Saints (15-27, 12-14 CCAC) required seven hits to get the job done in the second game with Nate Maliska's leadoff homerun in the first inning being the biggest one for USF.  St. Francis collected 14 hits earlier in the day in the opener, where the Saints led the contest 9-1 through the first six innings before falling 10-9 by the game's end.

Game 1:  Indiana South Bend 10, USF 9
St. Francis scored nine runs, but the Titans stormed back from a 9-1 deficit to earn a 10-9 walk-off victory to open Game 1.  Eight different players contributed to USF's 14 total hits with Jake Merda (3-for-5, 1 RBI) leading the way with three hits to his credit.

The Saints scored multiple runs in each of the third (2), fourth (3), fifth (3) and sixth (2) innings to take an initial 9-1 lead before the Titans' bats came alive to the tune of nine hits and ten runs before all was said and done.  Josiah Nelson led the way for IUSB (18-25, 13-13), going 4-for-5 with four runs scored while Luis Turmero went 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

USF connected for four hits with a RBI from Mitchell Thomas to score its first two runs of the game in the third inning before Noah Munson connected for a two-run shot over the rightfield wall in the fourth to mark the score at 4-0.  In the fifth, USF took advantage of two IUSB balks to score a pair of runs and capped off its scoring in the frame with a RBI single off the bat of Dominik Alberico.  Later in the sixth, Thomas and Merda each authored a RBI double to push USF's scoring tally up to 9-1.

The Saints appeared to be on their way to their fifteenth win of the season at that point, only to have IUSB connect for eight hits and coax seven walks which resulted in nine IUSB runs being scored over the final four innings of play.  Four hits and a walk sandwiched in the middle in the final inning set the stage for the walk-off comeback, resulting in the Titans solidifying the victory in their favor with a final score of 10-9.

Game 2:  USF 3, Indiana South Bend 0
Otis (5-4) became the Saints' winning pitcher with his second complete game of the season.  He surrendered six hits against no walks, and struck out six, while being just two outs away from his first shutout as a Saint.  Outside of the final inning, IUSB did have runners reach second base in two of the previous six innings, but Otis was able to get out of those jams via lineouts.  Those were the only offensive threats the Titans would make throughout the entirety of the game.

USF's first tally came in the first inning, when Maliska blasted a leadoff homerun on the fifth pitch of the game over the rightfield wall.  In the sixth, the Saints picked up two insurance runs after taking advantage of a two-out walk by connecting for three consecutive hits from Alberico, Brant Singler and Munson – with the latter accounting for the two RBIs.

St. Francis' seven hits were registered by six different players, including Alberico (2-for-3), who was the lone Saint to collect two hits in the game.

Up Next
The two teams continue the four-game series on Saturday in Joliet.  First pitch for the doubleheader is slated for 12 pm at Slammers Stadium.
 
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