JOLIET, Ill. -- A first-game win enabled the University of St. Francis baseball team to gain a split on the front end of its four-game series against Judson University before the Eagles outlasted the Fighting Saints 3-1 in extra innings in Game 2 of its Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday at Slammers Stadium. St. Francis muscled its way to a 9-3 win in the opener.
Five different players registered multi-hit games for St. Francis (13-21, 10-10 CCAC) led by first baseman
Nate Maliska, who went a combined 5-for-10 with two RBIs on the day.
Mitchell Thomas went 3-for-5 with two walks on the afternoon, while
Ethan Fleming also picked up three hits in his nine at-bats at the plate.
Max Montgomery (2-for-9) led the Saints with three runs scored, with
Ryan Louthan (3-for-7, 3 RBIs) and
Dylan Scafuri (1-for-3, 4 BB) did the same in RBIs and walks, respectively.
Game 1: USF 9, Judson 3
After spotting the Eagles a run to start off the game, the Saints responded with a three-run first inning followed by single runs in the second and third frames to build a comfortable 5-1 advantage before putting the game out of reach in the fourth and fifth innings with another four runs.
Dominik Alberico drove in the first run, while Louthan plated the other two in the first inning with a deep double to right field. Maliska and
Jake Merda each had RBIs in the second and fourth innings, respectively and later Maliska and Louthan capped off the USF scoring with one RBI apiece in the fifth stanza.
Maliska and Thomas each accounted for three hits apiece, while Montgomery had two hits with three runs scored at the top of the order.
Jack Otis (4-3) struck out two and allowed three earned runs en route to this fourth victory of the season in his five innings of work.
Quinn McGuire (two innings),
Cody Nold (one inning) and
Zac Blazekovich (1 inning) all combined to throw shutout baseball, with the trio retiring all but one batter faced.
Game 2: Judson 3, USF 1 (9 innings)
Tied at 1-1 after seven innings of regulation in the nightcap, Judson (23-11, 11-5) was able to coax a leadoff walk that would later result in the go-ahead run being scored after back-to-back base hits put runners at first and third in the ninth inning. A double steal in the next at-bat plated an insurance run for the Eagles, marking the score at 3-1 heading into the bottom of the final frame.
JU's Devin Schular then shut down all hope of a comeback from the Saints by retiring three of the four batters he faced, resulting in his fourth win of the year.
Anthony Panzella was shouldered with the loss after going the first 8 1/3 innings before the uprising. He struck out two batters against two walks while allowing two earned runs.
Maliska, Louthan and Fleming each collected two hits as part of St. Francis' seven total hits in the contest. Scafuri drove home the Saints' lone run in the third inning as part of a 1-for-1, 2 BB game for him at the plate.
Up Next
The two teams continue the four-game series on Saturday, April 4 in Elgin, Ill. First pitch for the doubleheader is slated for 1 pm at Hoffer Field.
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