TIGERS MOVE TO THIRD IN CCAC STANDINGS AFTER SPLIT SERIES AT IUSB

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team climbed to the No. 3 spot in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) standings after splitting a four-game series at Indiana South Bend this weekend.

All four games were played in the Hoosier State, with both doubleheaders being split on each day. The Tigers dropped the series opener Friday 4-5 before battling back with a 14-6 victory to close out the day. Saturday's doubleheader followed a similar script, with ONU falling 5-2 in game one before responding with a 16-1 drumming of the Titans to cap the series.

After Indiana South Bend (17-27, 9-17 CCAC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third, the Tigers responded with a pair of runs off the bats of Taylor Steig and Joseph Jimenez to tie the game. Two innings later, Jack Dupuis gave ONU the lead when he scored on the error, and Steig extended the lead with another RBI. But the Titans rallied with three runs in their half of the sixth to steal the lead and the game.

The Tigers responded with 14 runs on 13 hits to close out Friday with a win. Steig staked ONU to an early lead with a two-run blast over the wall in the first inning. The lead only ballooned from there as the Tigers recorded multi-run frames in the fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth innings, including five runs in the final frame, to cruise to the 14-6 victory. Jordan Rhoden picked up the win as the ONU starter, going six innings with only one earned run and striking out five to pick up his fourth win on the campaign.

ONU struck first in Saturday's opener, with Jacob Burt lifting an RBI single in the second and Donovan Yelle plating a run on an RBI groundout to put the Tigers up 2-0. But that would be the only two runs the Purple & Yellow Gold would be able to plate as the Titans scooped up five quick runs to take the win.

The fourth and final game was a no-doubter for ONU, pounding out 15 hits for 16 runs to end things early in the seventh inning via mercy rule. On the flip side, IU South Bend only mustered up six hits for just one run as the Tigers ran away with the game. Dupuis and Kai Hudson both plated three RBIs while Masen Beatty, Evan Pogioli, and Taylor Bledsoe all recorded a pair of RBIs each. Eli Laurent picked up the win as the Tiger starter.

The Purple & Yellow Golf will close out the season series against Saint Xavier with a doubleheader at Watson Field Monday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. CST.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu