The Aquinas baseball team took the final game of a four-game weekend series in Bellevue, Ky. against Saint Xavier (Ill.), using a 7-6 win in the fourth game to earn the Sunday (Feb. 27) doubleheader split. It was only the second loss of the season for the 14-2 Cougars, as AQ is 4-6 on the year after the weekend series.
Saint Xavier pulled out a pair of wins on Saturday (Feb. 26) against AQ, winning 4-3 and 8-2. The Cougars put together an 11-0 win in Sunday's opener before Aquinas responded by scoring the first seven runs in the nightcap and holding on for the 7-6 victory. AQ centerfielder
Nathan Wilcox delivered a three-run homer in game two and completed a game-ending double play by throwing out the potential tying SXU runner to close out the victory.
Saturday – Game 1: Saint Xavier 4, Aquinas 3
All four Cougar runs came in the second inning for the early 2-0 lead. AQ cut the deficit in half on a
Nathan Hughes RBI double and a run-scoring single from
Grant Martin to plate Hughes for the 4-2 score.
Kelvin Aracena doubled home pinch runner Tony Arnold and the Saints had runners on the corner before SXU turned a game-ending double play for the win.
Mason Hill allowed four runs (only one earned) on six hits in five innings. He struck out four batters. Aracena and
Braden Nawrocki each went 2-for-3 with a double.
Saturday – Game 2: Saint Xavier 8, Aquinas 2
Saint Xavier scored single runs in four of the first five innings, but used a four-run sixth inning to take control, 8-0. The Saints' two runs came on a two-run single from Wilcox, bringing home
Lorenzo Cupri and Nawrocki.
Dane Smitz went 2-for-4 and
Mark Binkowski walked twice for AQ.
Zach Marshall started on the hill for the Saints and gave up four runs (three earned) in five innings.
Sunday – Game 1: Saint Xavier 11, Aquinas 0
The opener was all SXU, as the Cougars took control with a six-run third innings and led 9-0 after four innings. Smitz and
Aidan Schmuckal collected AQ's hits, with Smitz notching a double.
Sunday – Game 2: Aquinas 7, Saint Xavier 6
AQ scored all seven of its runs in the opening two innings, with a four-run first inning followed by three more tallies in the second stanza. Wilcox, Aracena, and
Ryan Gillings each had RBI singles in the first, while
Sean Wing scored Wilcox with an RBI single. The lead grew to 7-0 on a three-run blast to left field from Wilcox, as Smitz and
Braden Brown scored on the round tripper.
Saint Xavier made it 7-3 after the fourth and 7-6 after six innings, setting up a nail-biting seventh inning. After an SXU leadoff triple,
Nathan Myers induced a groundball out. The Cougars had runners on the corners after a hit by pitch, but the following SXU hitter flew out to center field and Wilcox fired a strike home to Gillings, who applied the tag on the runner for the game-ending double play.
Conor Gausselin earned the win by allowing three runs on five hits in 4.1 innings on the bump. Myers closed out the victory, giving up five hits and three runs in the final 2.2 innings.
Wilcox finished 2-for-3 with the homer, two runs, and four RBI. Smitz went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Saint Xavier held a slim 10-9 advantage in hits.
The Saints begin their Spring Break trip next weekend (Mar. 5-6) in Mocksville, NC with a three-game series against Carolina University.
