TIGERS WRAP REGULAR SEASON WITH FOUR-GAME SPLIT AGAINST USF
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 1 |
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 11 | 0 |
JOLIET, Ill. – Playing in their final series of the regular season, the Olivet Nazarene University baseball team split a four-game set Thursday and Saturday against the St. Francis Fighting Saints at Watson Field and the DuPage Medical Group Field.
The series opened with a doubleheader split at Watson Field Thursday, with both teams winning by a final score of 5-1. The Tigers took Saturday's opener 4-2 in eight innings and looked poised to finish the sweep in the nightcap, but lost the lead down the stretch in the 9-7 finale setback.
St. Francis (25-19, 23-9 CCAC) cruised to a series-opening victory thanks to a dominant pitching performance from their starter. The Saints broke the scoreless tie with a crooked four-spot in the second inning, and added another run in the fourth to build an early 5-0 lead. Jordan Rhoden got the Tigers on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the final inning, which was part of a 3-for-3 day for the second baseman, but that was all the offense the team could muster in the loss.
Rhoden then toed the rubber as the ONU starter in Thursday's game two, where he was dominant in a nine-inning complete game. The sophomore hurler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, only allowing one earned run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in collecting his fifth win of the season for an impressive 5-2 pitching record. Taylor Steig gave Rhoden all the run support he would need with a two-RBI triple in the third as the Tigers cruised to the 5-1 win.
The Tigers only had one productive inning with four-run frame in the first inning of Saturday's opener, but it proved to be enough thanks to the stellar pitching of Thomas Plizga and Michael Freitas. Joseph Jimenez, Rhoden, and Evan Pogioli all plated RBIs in the first inning to stake the 4-0 lead. Plizga went four innings as the ONU starter, allowing one earned run on four hits before passing the ball to Freitas, who notched the three-inning save.
ONU looked poised to complete the doubleheader sweep and lock down the series win in Saturday's regular-season finale, building a 6-1 lead through the top half of the fourth. Jack Dupuis and Steig both had multi-RBI hits while Donovan Yelle notched a pair of RBI hits. But the Saints slowly chipped away at the ONU lead, eventually jumping ahead 7-6 after the seventh inning. Rhoden kept the game alive with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, but a USF homer walked off the game for a 9-7 final.
The Purple & Yellow Gold will now turn their attention to the postseason as they take on Saint Xavier in the opening game of the CCAC Tournament Thursday evening at 7 p.m. CST at the Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet, Ill.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu