ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – It was an offensive explosion Wednesday (April 11) at Brennan Field as the Lewis baseball team defeated St. Xavier 22-12 in a nonconference game.
 
Lewis (11-18-1) scored runs in seven of eight innings in the game and walked 19 times in the contest. Connor Rutherford (DePere, Wis./DePere) reached base six times in the game, going 3-for-3 with three walks. Among the hits were a grand slam and a triple as he finished with eight RBI and four runs scored.
 
Neal Tyrell (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) also had three hits and added three RBI. Anthony Cavalieri (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) had two hits and four RBI, while Brandon Post (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove), Jermaine Terry (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) and Troy Hajdukovic (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) all scored four runs. Matt Verdun (Homer Glen, Ill./St. Rita) drove home three runs and Alex Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) had a pair of RBI.
 
Robert Talarico (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) (1-1) picked up the win in .2 innings of work, striking out two batters. George Manikas (Lockport, Ill./Joliet Catholic) and Ryan Ward (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) also pitched scoreless innings.
 
The Flyers scored a run in the first and St. Xavier (17-20) posted two runs in the top of the second before the Flyers came back with four in the second to take a 5-2 lead, thanks to a two-RBI hit from Rutherford. Lewis scored three more in the third, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Verdun. The Cougars scored four in the fourth to make it 8-6, but Lewis scored five in its half of the inning behind Rutherford's grand slam.
 
Lewis pushed four more runs across in the fifth as Rutherford tripled home a pair of runs to take a 17-6 lead. St. Xavier scored three times in the sixth and seventh each, cutting the lead to 17-12. Cavalieri singled home two runs in the bottom of the seventh and Trayvon Johnson (Berkeley, Ill./St. Joseph's) doubled home another in what would end up being another four-run inning. An Alex Kiszkowski (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) infield single in the eighth ended the game.

The Flyers remain at home for a four-game series with Wisconsin-Parkside, with play beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday (April 14).