Cougars' Historic Season Concludes in NAIA Opening Round Championship Game
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Loyola | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | X | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
|
Cumberlands (KY) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | X | 11 | 12 | 0 |
WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) baseball team returned to Doyle Buhl Stadium for day three of the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round on Wednesday, May 15.
In their first game of the day, the No.4 Cougars defeated the No.3 Loyola Wolf Pack by a final score of 6-4 to advance to play the top-seeded Cumberlands Patriots in the Championship Game of the Williamsburg Bracket.
GAME 1: SAINT FRANCIS 6, LOYOLA (LA.) 4
- After Loyola grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning, the Cougars tied it up 1-1 in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a solo homerun to left center from junior Eli Riley.
- The Wolf Pack had a one-run lead until the bottom of the 6th inning when Xavier Croxton hit a homerun to left field to tie the game up again 2-2.
- In the top of the 7th inning, Loyola had an RBI single to once again take a one-run lead. The Cougars answered with a grand slam from Nick Parsons, his 19th homer of the season, to put USF up 6-3.
- Saint Francis was able to hold-off the Wolf Pack to earn their third national tournament victory and advance to play for a spot in the NAIA World Series.
- The Cougars put together seven hits as a team, with three homeruns. Parsons hit 2-3 at the plate with the grand slam and four RBI.
- Jayden Lepper hit 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base for the Cougars.
- Graham Kelham got the start on the mound for USF, striking out eight batters while holding Loyola to four hits in 5.0 innings of work.
- Blaine McRae earned his 5th win of the season after keeping Loyola to two hits and striking out two batters in 2.0 innings of relief.
GAME 2: CUMBERLANDS 11, SAINT FRANCIS 6
- A sacrifice fly from Lepper put the Cougars on the scoreboard first in the 2nd inning.
- The Patriots tied the game up 1-1 in the 3rd, but USF answered with two RBIs from Callan Stauffer and Lepper to take the two-run lead.
- After Cumberlands tied the score up 3-3 in the bottom of the 4th inning, Riley hit his second homerun of the day to center field, also scoring Parsons and Sam Pesa for a 6-3 lead.
- The Patriots hit four homeruns of their own in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings en route to the 11-6 win.
- As a team, the Cougars had nine hits, including a homerun from Riley and doubles from Lepper, Kolton Cardenas, and Brenden Lytle.
- Riley went 3-4 at the plate against Cumberlands with three RBI and three runs scored.
- Lepper hit 2-4 with two RBI, while Cardenas also went 2-4 with a run scored.
- Casey Henry started on the mound for Saint Francis, throwing a total of 4.2 innings with four strikeouts.
The Cougars concluded the season with an overall record of 40-19, the most wins in a single season in program history. USF also advanced to the NAIA Opening Round for the first time where they earned three national tournament wins.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
