Just about everybody expected Xavier to defeat Dubuque Senior in the Class 4A playoffs Friday night, but not like this.

The Saints scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and scrambled past the Rams, 5-1, in the substate quarterfinals at Ken Charipar Field.

Xavier (26-10) will host Dubuque Hempstead (20-18) in the substate semifinals at 7 p.m. Monday, with the winner facing Kennedy in the substate finals Wednesday at Kennedy.

The Saints entered Friday night's game with a 25-10 record and No.9 spot in the Class 4A rankings. The Rams arrived with a 16-23 mark and a big challenge, but it was a nailbiter all the way.

The game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning with a possible upset brewing.

"We did not get a break for the first five innings," Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel said. "We hit the ball off the pitcher's leg and it goes right to the first baseman. We hit line drives right at people. All those little things."

The Saints got another bad break in the top of the fifth inning when the home-plate umpire made a mistake. He admitted it, but it didn't do the Saints any good.

Dubuque Senior trailed 1-0 at that point, but the Rams had a runner on second base with two outs. Connor Grant struck out swinging and the umpire raised his right fist and signalled "out," but the pitch was low and Grant took off for first base, not knowing if Xavier catcher Colby Brecht had caught the ball cleanly or not.

Brecht couldn't see the umpire's signal and didn't hear the ump say anything, so he threw the ball to first base, not knowing if the play was over or not. Unfortunately for the Saints, Brecht overshot first baseman Mack Mattke and the runner scored from second base to tie the game at 1-1.

Schemmel argued with the home-plate umpire, because the umpire clearly signalled that the batter was out.

"He said he signalled the wrong thing, but said the right thing," Schemmel related. "Our dugout heard 'out,' so I don't want to comment any more than that."

Brecht wasn't sure what to do. He didn't see the umpire's signal, because the umpire was behind him, and he didn't hear the umpire make a call, either safe or out.

"No, I didn't hear anything," Brecht said. "I thought I caught it, and then I heard everybody cheering. I saw him (Grant) take off running, so I thought I'd throw it. It sailed on me."

Xavier pitcher Ean McNeal was working on a one-hit shutout at the time of the mishap.

"After that overthrow, my body just got drained for a second," he said. "I was a little scared, seeing that."

McNeal pulled himself together and got the next batter on a weak popup.

The Saints finally caught a break in the bottom of the sixth inning with the game tied, 1-1. They had runners at first and second with two outs when freshman Bryce Grimm, playing only his second varsity game for Xavier all season, hit a weak grounder toward the second baseman for the apparent third out.

Kevin Hosch, the pinch-runner at first base, distracted Dubuque Senior second baseman David Janes as he ran by and Janes let the ball get through him for an error. Corbin Woods scored from second base to give the Saints a 2-1 lead, but they didn't stop there.

McNeal socked an RBI double to left-center, making it 3-1. Another run scored on a wild pitch, making it 4-1, then Eric Zenisek beat out an infield single to make it 5-1.

McNeal allowed two hits in the sixth inning and two more hits in the seventh, but he stranded all those runners. He finished with a five-hitter and surrendered one unearned run in a strong performance.

Xavier and Dubuque Hempstead split a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader this season. They'll meet Monday night to see who gets to face Kennedy in the substate finals on Wednesday.

DUBUQUE SENIOR (1)
Grant, p, 4 0 0 0, Janes, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Jantsch, rf, 3 0 0 0, Merritt, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Blake, pr, 0 0 0 0, Jones, ss, 3 0 1 0, Hansen, dh, 3 0 0 0, Sabers, 1b, 0 0 0 0, Kremer, lf, 3 0 1 0, Clemens, cf, 2 0 0 0, Powers, ph, 1 0 0 0, Capesius, c, 2 0 2 0, Blake, cr, 0 1 0 0, Moore, cr, 0 0 0 0.
Totals 27 1 5 0.

XAVIER (5)
Helms, ss, 3 1 1 0, Woods, 3b, 1 1 0 0, Even, 2b, 3 0 1 0, Mattke, 1b, 2 0 1 0, Sodawasser, pr, 0 0 0 0, Hosch, pr, 0 1 0 0, Ries, cf, 3 0 0 0, Grimm, lf, 3 1 0 0, McNeal, p, 3 1 1 1, Zenisek, rf, 3 0 1 1, Brecht, c, 3 0 0 0. Totals 24 5 5 2.

Dubuque Senior   000 001 0 - 1 5 3
Xavier                 100 004 x - 5 5 3

Grant and Capesius. McNeal and Brecht. W - McNeal. L - Grant. 2B - Kremer, Mattke, McNeal. SB - Blake, Helms, Woods, Zenisek.