JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis baseball team could not hold the Judson University offensive lineup at bay in an elimination game of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at Slammers Stadium. In the wild see-saw affair that showcased 32 hits and 29 runs scored between the two teams, the No. 5-seeded Fighting Saints suffered the 15-14 setback to the No. 4-seeded Eagles resulting in the end of USF's 2026 campaign.
The Saints would jump out to a 1-0 lead after scoring a run in the top of the first inning via a RBI single from
Dominik Alberico before Judson (34-20) plated four runs of its own in the bottom half of the same frame to claim a 4-1 lead.
The next inning, St. Francis quickly regrouped to cut its deficit to one run (4-3) when
Nate Maliska blasted the final homerun of his collegiate career over the right field wall, but that rally was short lived when Judson retaliated with three runs in the third before plating three additional tallies one inning later - after allowing one Saint to cross the plate via a defensive miscue in the top half of the fourth frame to mark the score at 10-4.
The sixth inning was nothing short of crazy as fans saw eight men cross the plate between the two teams, which resulted in Judson walking away with a 12-10 lead when all was said and done after USF locked the score of 10-10 with a clutch two-out, two-RBI double from
Dylan Scafuri after USF's at bats. Judson allowed 10 Saints to come to the plate, resulting in six runs with RBIs from
Jake Merda (2),
Ryan Louthan (1), Alberico (1) and the two from Scafuri in the top half of that frame before the Eagles took advantage of the Saints being unable to turn a potential inning-ending bases loaded double play in the bottom of the stanza that resulted in two Eagles crossing the plate after a subsequent errant throw.
The roller coaster of a game kept on going over the next two innings when Judson plated three more runs in its half of the seventh before St. Francis charged back by adding four additional runs to its tally in the top half of the eighth to bring the Saints to within one run at 15-14. USF's eighth inning rally was led by Alberico, who picked up this third RBI of the night with a bases loaded single. Scafuri followed with a RBI-single of his own before
Christian Rosales connected for a sacrifice fly to plate Louthan. Shortly thereafter, Alberico would account for USF's final run of the inning after taking advantage of a Judson passed ball.
Alberico (4-for-5) drove in three of USF's runs on his four hits. Scafuri (2-for-5) also had three RBIs, while Maliska (2 RBI) and Louthan (1 RBI) each also registered a pair of hits. Merda (1-for-2, 2 RBI) led both teams by coaxing four walks.
Cody Nold (1-1) was credited with the loss in relief in his one inning of work on the mound.
The Saints closed out their season at 21-30 overall.
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