JOLIET, Ill. – The Indiana University South Bend (22-29, 17-15 CCAC) baseball team fell to Saint Xavier University (28-22, 20-12 CCAC) 9-1 in the opening round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Wednesday night in Joliet, Ill.
The Titans found themselves in a hole early in the game against three seed SXU allowing a run in the first inning and two runs in the second, giving SXU an early 3-0 lead. The Cougars continued to add on to their lead as the Titan offense was quiet scoring one more run in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning, giving SXU a commanding 6-0 lead through four innings of play.
After a scoreless fifth inning SXU scored three unearned runs in the sixth inning to pull away from the Titans 9-0 late in the game. The Titans eventually pushed a run across in the eighth inning on a Nick Turner RBI single making it a 9-1 game through eight innings. IUSB got a runner on in the ninth inning but couldn’t get anything going as they fell to SXU 9-1 moving the Titans to the losers bracket. The offense had several chances leaving 12 runners on base over the course of the game.
Jack Ryan was the lone Titan with a multi hit game going two-for-five, while Nick Turner had the sole RBI for IUSB. Andrew Parker took the loss on the mound only lasting 1.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits and one strikeout. Alex Marshall followed Parker throwing 1.1 innings giving up three runs of his own on four hits and no strikeouts. Max Lines and Lucky Teerman did their best to give the Titans a chance with Lines throwing 2.2 innings giving up three runs, zero earned, on three hits and two strikeouts while Teerman threw 2.1 innings giving up no runs on no hits and two strikeouts.
The Titans will now face the loser of game one in the winners bracket between one seed Judson University (28-21, 20-12 CCAC) and five seed Olivet Nazarane University 24-24, 18-14 CCAC) on Thursday May 1 at 5pm ET.