USF Bests Park; Advances to Day Three of NAIA Opening Round
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 0 |
|
Park | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) baseball team defeated Park University (Mo.) in the Cougars' second elimination game of the day during day two of the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round in Williamsburg, Ky. on Tuesday, May 14.
After a tough back-and-forth battle, the No. 4 Cougars defeated the No. 5 seeded Pirates by a final score of 9-7.
Park snagged an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning. Callan Stauffer hit his first collegiate homerun to left field in the top of the 3rd inning to put USF on the board. Sam Pesa followed with a two-run double in the same inning to put the Cougars on top 3-2. After the Pirates took a 7-3 lead in the 5th inning, USF scored four runs to tie it up in the top of the 6th thanks to a sac fly from Brenden Lytle, an RBI from both Stauffer and Ayden Lichtensteiger, and an RBI double from Xavier Croxton. Stauffer hit two RBI singles in the 7th and 9th innings to put the Cougars on top 9-7.
As a team, Saint Francis had 18 hits. Stauffer led with four RBI after going 3-5 at the plate with a homerun, a run scored, and a stolen base. Pesa hit 2-4 with two RBI, while Croxton went 2-6 with two doubles. Kolton Cardenas also went 3-5 at the plate with two runs scored.
Lukas North earned his 4th win of the season on the mound for USF after holding Park to four hits and striking out four batters through 5.1 innings of relief.
The Cougars are now 39-18 overall and will play No. 3 Loyola University New Orleans on Wednesday, May 15 at 12:00 PM.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
