The Xavier Saints climbed back to .500 in the Mississippi Valley Conference Monday night by sweeping a doubleheader from Washington at Ken Charipar Field.

On the flip side, the struggling Warriors went home with their sixth straight loss in conference games.

A.J. Puk, Washington's top player, did not attend Monday's twinbill. Washington Coach Tony Lombardi declined to explain Puk's absence.

The Saints won a pair of tight games, 5-2 and 6-3.

Xavier scored three runs in the fourth inning of the opener on hits by Zach Brown, Luke Hammerberg and Mitch St. Andrews. They added two more in the fifth on hits by Brown and Jordan Ratz.

Brown and Ryan Meaney led the Xavier attack in the first game with two hits and an RBI.

“I like being moved up in the No. 4 spot in the lineup,” said Brown. "It helps me focus and makes me concentrate.”

Mack Mattke collected the win in Game 1, pitching six innings and giving up two runs on five hits while striking out seven. Drew Scott pitched the seventh inning and got the save.

“I felt a little rusty early on, but as the game went on I threw better,” said Mattke. “Giving up that home run in the fourth really helped me get my focus.”

Noah Dostal hit that solo homer for Washington (0-6, 3-10) in the fourth inning. Dostal and Johnny Dobbs both had two hits for the Warriors.

Jacob Hand took the loss for Washington, going four innings and giving way to Zach Christiansen in the fifth.

Game two saw the Saints (3-3, 6-4) jump on starting pitcher Robert Hogg for four runs on an RBI single by Brown, a two-run double by Ratz and an RBI triple by Jake Harriott in the first inning. Hogg settled down and gave up only two more runs the rest of the way, but the damage was done.

Brown and Ratz had two hits for Xavier in the second game to lead the nine-hit attack. Harriott and Hammerberg both tripled.

Mitch Keller went five innings for the Saints, giving three hits and striking out eight to pick up the win. Adam Pick finished the game with a save.

“It’s not like pitching at the sophomore level,” said Keller. “There is much more intensity and the games seem to matter more. My catchers keep me relaxed and tonight my  fastball was working.”

Washington’s Dostal came through with two hits again in the nightcap and Zach Gillis hit a solo home run for the Warriors in the sixth.

“It’s not about how hard you swing, it’s about staying relaxed and putting all the pieces of hitting mechanics together, getting your pitch, and taking a nice relaxed swing,” explained Dostal.

Xavier hosts Benton Community Tuesday night. Washington travels to Bettendorf Wednesday.

GAME 1

WASHINGTON (2)
Hogg, lf, 3 0 0 0, Harrington, lf, 0 0 0 0, Troendle, cf, 3 0 0 0, Dostal, ss, 3 2 2 1, Rings, c, 3 0 0 0, Metzger, cr, 0 0 0 0, Gillis, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Burdt, rf, 2 0 1 0, Rogers, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Dobbs, dh, 3 0 2 0, Hand, p, 0 0 0 0, Christiansen, p, 0 0 0 0, Thulin, 3b, 3 0 0 0. Totals 26 2 5 1.

XAVIER (5)
Grimm, cf, 3 0 0 0, Woods, ss, 3 1 0 0, Mattke, p, 2 0 1 0, Dlouhy, cr, 0 0 0 0, Scott, p, 0 0 0 0, Brown, 3b, 3 1 2 1, Pick, p, 3 0 1 0, Ratz, rf, 3 0 1 0, Hammerberg, dh, 3 1 1 0, Helms, c, 0 0 0 0, Meaney, lf, 3 1 2 1, St. Andrews, 2b, 3 0 1 0. Totals 26 5 9 3.

Washington   000 101 0 - 2 5 2
Xavier           000 320 x - 5 9 0

Hand, Christiansen (5) and Rings. Mattke, Scott (7) and Helms. W - Mattke. L - Hand. 2B - Mattke, Brown, Hammerberg, Meaney. HR - Dostal. SB - Pick, Meaney.

GAME 2

WASHINGTON (3)
Hogg, p, 3 1 1 0, Thulin, 3b, 4 1 1 1, Dostal, ss, 4 0 2 1, Rings, c, 4 0 0 0, Gillis, 1b, 3 1 1 1, Burdt, rf, 3 0 1 0, Troendle, cf, 1 0 0 0, Rogers, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Dobbs, dh, 2 0 0 0, Hand, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 3 6 3.

XAVIER (6)
Grimm, cf, 4 0 1 0, Woods, ss, 3 1 1 1, Mattke, 1b, 2 1 0 0, Brown, 3b, 4 1 2 1, Pick, dh/p, 3 0 0 0, Keller, p 0 0 0 0, Scott, p, 0 0 0 0, Hines, p, 0 0 0 0, Ratz, rf, 3 1 2 2, Harriott, lf, 3 0 1 1, Helms, c, 1 0 0 0, Hammerberg, dh, 2 0 1 0, Meaney, cr, 0 0 0 0, St. Andrews, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Tipton, 2b, 2 1 1 1. Totals 28 6 0 6.

Washington  002 001 0 - 3 6 5
Xavier          400 101 x - 6 9 0

Hogg and Rings. Keller, Scott (6), Hines (6), Pick (7) and Helms, Hammerberg (4). W - Keller. L - Hogg. 2B - Dostal. 3B - Harriott, Hammerberg. HR - Gillis. SB - Dostal, Troendle.