ONU SPLITS MID-WEEK DOUBLEHEADER WITH SAINT XAVIER
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Xavier | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | X | 8 | 16 | 0 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Xavier | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team (21-17, 11-6 CCAC) spit the doubleheader against Saint Xavier University (17-20, 9-7 CCAC) Tuesday afternoon. The Cougars stole the first game of the day scoring 10 runs in the final inning only for the Tigers to quickly bounce back with seven unanswered runs to win the final game. Donovan Yelle provided the game-tying home run and a diving catch in the late stages of the game while Nolan Belschner pitched seven innings with 10 strikeouts in the win.
GAME 1: Saint Xavier 16, Olivet Nazarene 6
Thomas Burns took the mound to open the day and went 5.2 innings giving up four runs and a walk while striking out six batters. He allowed three runs in the first inning but found his grove in the following four and two-thirds. Outside of a solo home run in the third inning, Burns kept the Cougars off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing with SXU only recording hits three times.
Jack Dupuis and Noah Couch combined for four of the six Tigers' runs in the ball game. Couch tied the game at 3-3 in the second inning with his fourth home run of the season. Kai Hudson and Taylor Steig batted in two runners to put ONU ahead 6-4 before the Cougars went on their 10-run rally to win the ballgame.
GAME 2: Olivet Nazarene 8, Saint Xavier 6
SXU jumped out to an early lead with a three-run home run in the second inning. Kai Hudson scored the Tigers' first run of the game with a solo shot clearing the left field wall, his fourth of the campaign. Saint Xavier would regain their lead streaking for three runs in the fifth inning.
Taylor Steig's RBI single sparked the rally where the Tigers would score seven unanswered runs between the fifth and eighth innings. Donovan Yelle lead off the seventh inning taking the first pitch out of the park to level the score at 6-6. Steig would knock in the game-winning doubling to left-center field allowing Hudson to score.
Yelle would follow up to bat in the insurance run and his second RBI of the game. The senior outfielder then prevented a Cougar rally with a diving catch in center field to prevent multiple bases.
Kainoa Mane entered the game in relief to pitch the final two innings of the day. He recorded his fourth win on the season retiring all six batters faced with two strikeouts.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Tigers will welcome league-leading Trinity Christian to Watson Field for a three-game series this weekend. The first game of the series will be played this Friday, April 14 with the first pitch at 3 p.m. CT. They will wrap up the series with a doubleheader at TCC the following day Saturday, April 15 beginning at 1 p.m. Please visit ONUTigers.com for all the links to follow along.
--ONU—
*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant; email pkaindl@olivet.edu
