TIGERS DROP WEEKEND SERIES TO DEFENDING CCAC CHAMPION USF
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | X | 13 | 16 | 1 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | X | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
|
St. Francis (IL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (IL) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team took on one of their biggest tests of the season thus far, dropping three games out of four in a weekend series against the defending conference champions St. Francis (Ill.)
The Tigers dropped a doubleheader on the road Friday, falling 6-4 in the opener and 7-6 in extra innings in the nightcap. In Saturday's doubleheader at Watson Field, ONU opened things up with a dominant 13-1 win before letting a lead slip late in a 5-4 setback to round out the series.
ONU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Friday's opener with RBI hits from Evan Pogioli and Alex Seaton. The latter plated another run in the third to maintain the two-run advantage before the Fighting Saints put up a five-spot in the fifth to take the lead for good. Pogioli roped an RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to two but it was all the Tigers could muster in the loss.
It took 10 innings to decide a winner in the second game Friday. Sam Reczek blasted his first career home run with a two-run shot to tie the game in the ninth inning and force extras. But the Tigers failed to get any runs across in their half of the 10th, and USF capitalized with a quick run to walk off the game.
Joey Boland turned things around for the Tigers with a gem in Saturday's opener, going the distance while allowing just one run with six strikeouts to pick up the complete game win. The offense made things easy for him with an early nine-spot in the second inning, rallying with two outs to put things out of reach. Five different Tigers recorded an RBI in the big inning, highlighted by Seaton's bases-clearing, three-RBI double that kicked off the rally.
ONU looked poised to secure the series split, building a 4-2 lead heading into the eighth inning thanks to back-to-back RBI singles from Reczek and Taylor Bledsoe in the sixth and an RBI triple off the bat of Seaton in the seventh. But the Fighting Saints would rally for three runs in the eighth and would hold on for the win.
The Tigers will continue play in the CCAC with a four-game set against Judson this weekend.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu