Posted: May 03, 2025
Cougars Eliminated From CL Tournament by Trojans in 6-4 Heartbreaker
Huntington (IN)
(26-26, 18-18)
5
Saint Francis (Ind.)
(30-23, 24-12)
6
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Huntington (IN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 8 | 3 |
Saint Francis (Ind.)
(30-23, 24-12)
4
Taylor (IN)
(43-9, 32-4)
6
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
|
Taylor (IN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 6 | 7 | 2 |
MARION, Ind. - The No. 2 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) baseball team played against No. 6 Huntington University and No. 1 seed Taylor University in two elimination games on day four of the Crossroads League Baseball Tournament on Saturday, May 3.
The Cougars defeated the Foresters 6-5 to stay in the tournament and advanced to face the top-seeded Trojans that night. Taylor narrowly beat Saint Francis, eliminating the Cougars from the tournament.
SAINT FRANCIS 6, HUNTINGTON 5
- After Huntington took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Sam Pesa hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Xavier Nolan and tying the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning.
- The Cougars had a strong second inning, taking a 6-1 lead. The scoring started with an RBI walk by Nolan, followed by Jayden Lepper's two-run single and Eli Riley's two-run double, which extended USF's lead to five runs.
- The Cougars used a big second inning to grab a 6-1 lead. The scoring got started with an RBI walk from Nolan before Jayden Lepper hit a two-run single and Eli Riley hit a two-run double to extend USF's lead to five runs.
- Huntington managed to score another run in the top of the fourth inning, bringing the score to 6-2.
- In the top of the fifth inning, the Foresters hit a three-run homer, cutting the Cougars' lead to 6-5.
- Saint Francis held on to win the elimination game on Saturday morning, allowing them to advance to face the top seed in the tournament on Saturday night.
- As a team, USF had eight hits and five walks against HU. Riley went 2-4 at the plate with an extra-base hit and two RBI. Lepper also drove in two runs, while Nolan and Pesa both hit doubles and drove in a run each. Nolan, Brenden Lytle, and Callan Stauffer all had stolen bases against the Foresters.
- Blaine McRae earned the win, striking out eight batters and limiting Huntington to three hits over seven innings on the mound.
- Cameron Niedens secured his sixth save of the season, pitching one inning without allowing any hits or runs.
TAYLOR 6, SAINT FRANCIS 4
- Saint Francis jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, thanks to an RBI groundout from Kasen Oribello and an RBI single from Ayden Lichtensteiger.
- The Trojans responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, taking a narrow 3-2 lead.
- Lichtensteiger answered with an RBI single to left field to tie the game up 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning.
- In the top of the sixth inning, Lytle hit a single to left field, allowing pinch runner Hunter Frost to score and giving USF a 4-3 lead.
- Taylor regained the lead by scoring three runs through a wild pitch, a fielder's choice, and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning.
- The Cougars were unable to score again in the final two innings as Taylor won the game by a final score of 6-4 to advance to the Crossroads League Tournament Championship.
- Saint Francis recorded nine hits and three walks against the Trojans. Lichtensteiger, Riley and Stauffer all went 2-4 at the plate. Lichtensteiger had two RBI, while Riley and Stauffer had a combined three runs scored. Riley also had a triple, while Lepper contributed with a double.
- Perry Stow had four strikeouts while allowing seven hits in 6.1 innings on the mound as the Cougars' starting pitcher.
- Andrew Kent added three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of relief.
The Cougars conclude the tournament with an overall record of 30-24 and ended the regular season with a league record of 24-12.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
