Another Clutch Home Run Puts SAU In The Driver's Seat At Baseball Tournament

JOLIET, Ill. --- For the second day in a row, top-seeded St. Ambrose University used a home run to spark a rally, this time in a 5-3 win over No. 3 seed Saint Xavier University on Friday to remain as the lone unbeaten in the 2026 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.  The same two teams will meet for the title on Saturday at Slammers Stadium.

Saint Xavier (34-18) will need to upend St. Ambrose (31-19) twice to advance to the NAIA National Championships Opening Round, while the Fighting Bees need a victory in the first contest or the if-necessary game to gain the league's automatic bid to the Opening Round.

Matthew McBrien was the key cog on Friday for SAU.  Trailing 3-1, his two-run home run in the sixth inning tied the contest at three-all and sparked a four-run outburst.  Neither team would score the rest of the afternoon. 

Following its earlier loss, Saint Xavier rebounded to eliminate Judson University on Friday night, scoring 16 runs over the final four innings of its shortened seven-inning affair to defeat the Eagles 17-1.

One game earlier, Judson was the one doing all of the scoring, outlasting No. 5 seed University of St. Francis 15-14.

Saturday's title game starts at 4 pm with the if-necessary game to follow 30 minutes after the first contest.

The complete schedule and results follow:

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Game #1: No. 4 seed Judson 10, No. 5 seed St. Francis 0 --- 7 innings
Game #2: No. 3 seed Saint Xavier 2, No. 6 seed Indiana South Bend 0

Thursday, April 30, 2026
Game #3: No. 1 seed St. Ambrose 2, No. 4 seed Judson 1
Game #4: No. 3 seed Saint Xavier 6, No. 2 seed Olivet Nazarene 4 --- 10 Innings
Game #5: No. 4 seed Judson 4, No. 6 Indiana South Bend 3 --- 10 Innings
Game #6: No. 5 St. Francis 10, No. 2 Olivet Nazarene 3

Friday, May 1, 2026
Game #7: No. 1 seed St. Ambrose 5, No. 3 seed Saint Xavier 3
Game #8: No. 4 seed Judson 15, No. 5 seed St. Francis 14
Game #9: No. 3 seed Saint Xavier 17, No. 4 seed Judson 1

Saturday, May 2, 2026
Game #10: No. 1 seed St. Ambrose (31-19) vs. No. 3 seed Saint Xavier (34-18) --- 4 pm (Championship)
Game #11: Winner-Game #10 vs. Loser-Game #10 --- 7 pm (If necessary)