The coach knows best, especially when facing one of the former players in his program.

Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel said he had an idea that Jefferson pitcher Bailey Hollingsworth, who played his freshman season for the Saints, would be spinning curveballs with no outs and the winning run on second base in the bottom of the seventh inning of a tie game Friday night at Ken Charipar Field.

So, after giving the bunt sign to Alex Ries, who failed to deliver on the first pitch, Schemmel took the bunt off. One strike later, Ries lined a single just inside third base that plated the winning run in a 5-4 win over the J-Hawks that completed a doubleheader sweep. The Saints rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the opener, 10-9.

"I figured Bailey has a bunch of different pitches and I figured with who we had up next in the order, Alex would be just as good as anybody to get some solid contact," Schemmel said. "So I just let him go."

Ries was surprised Schemmel took the bunt off.

"I don't know why he did that," Ries said. "But I just went with it and tried to make something good of it."

Xavier (18-5, 12-4) ran its winning streak to six games and holds a three-game lead in the MVC Valley Division. The Saints are 5-1 in one-run games.

"Our goal is to always battle back when we're down," Ries said. "So, that's what we did."

Twice.

Xavier led the first game, 6-4, heading into the top of the seventh inning. But Alex Larson singled home one run and Drew Striegel belted a two-out grand slam that gave the J-Hawks a 9-6 lead.

But three base hits, a Jefferson error, and Helms' two-out double produced four runs and Xavier escaped with the win.

"I don't know if we got away with anything," Helms said. "We fought it out. Jefferson is a good team, even though their record might not show it. They still have a lot of talent. We came out and fought hard and didn't give up, I guess."

Jefferson (6-17, 4-12) lost for the 12th time in its last 13 games. The last three have been one-run losses and the J-Hawks held leads in all three games. They are 0-5 in one-run games.

"Those are definitely could've/should've wins for us," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "We're not blaming anybody. These two games were not one-pitch, one-hit ballgames. It wasn't anything one person did.

"But these are the type of games that we need to be winning.

"We have to play seven innings of ball. Errors and leadoff walks will come back to haunt you. But I think we're getting better. That's what we're honing in on in the second half of the season. Hopefully, it will start paying off for us."

Schemmel said he wasn't fooled by the J-Hawks' record and was hoping his team wouldn't be either, especially with a doubleheader at No. 5 Kennedy coming up on Monday night.

"They always scare us," Schemmel said. "They're a big rival of ours. Anytime you have a rivalry ... and I was just hoping we weren't going to look past these guys to Kennedy. I think we did a nice job tonight."

Xavier junior Mack Mattke, who had three hits as the designated hitter in the opener, came on in relief in the nightcap with the bases loaded and two outs in the Jefferson seventh. He fanned Hollingsworth on three pitches, and got the win when the Saints rallied in the bottom of the inning.

Ean McNeal, who pitched the seventh inning and gave up five runs in the opener, was the winning pitcher when the Saints came back for the win. Jordan Dee took the loss for the J-Hawks.

Jefferson senior Michael Rooney was 5-for-5 in the doubleheader, with three hits in the opener and two in the nightcap.

Sophomore Corbin Woods belted a two-run home run in the nightcap for Xavier. Senior Eric Zenisek drove in four runs and scored three in the opener.

Game 1

JEFFERSON (9)
Tanner Unkel, 2b, 4 1 1 0, Michael Rooney, cf, 3 1 3 1, Alex Larson, p-ss, 4 0 1 1, Aaron Gruwell, pr, 0 1 0 0, Jordan McCormick, 1b, 3 1 0 0, Drew Striegel, c, 4 1 2 4, Drake Vanous, cr, 0 1 0 0, Jake Schmidt, dh, 4 1 1 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 0 0 0 0, Jordan Dee, p, 0 0 0 0, Bailey Hollingsworth, rf, 3 1 2 1, Christian Knox, lf, 2 1 0 0, Sam Techau, 3b, 3 0 1 1. Totals 30 9 11 8.

XAVIER (10)
Blake Helms, ss, 4 0 1 3, Corbin Woods, p-3b, 4 0 0 0, Tyler Hines, cr, 0 0 0 0, Nate Even, 2b, 3 1 0 0, Mack Mattke, dh, 4 1 3 1, Colin Brown, 3b, 0 0 0 0, Andrew Sodawasser pr, 0 1 0 0, Dane Mehring, lf, 0 0 0 0, Alex Ries, cf, 2 2 0 0, Kevin Hosch, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Ean McNeal, lf-p, 4 2 2 2, Eric Zenisek, rf, 4 3 2 4, Colby Brecht, c, 4 0 3 0, Josh Tipton, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 32 10 12 10.

Jefferson  001 210 5 -  9 11 2
Xavier      100 014 4 - 10 12 0
(Two outs when winning run scored)

Larson, Dee (6) and Striegel. Woods, McNeal (7) and Brecht. W - McNeal. L - Dee. 2B - Schmidt, Hollingsworth 2, Helms, Mattke 2, Brecht 2. HR - Striegel, Zenisek. SB - Unkel, Even.

Game 2

JEFFERSON (4)
Unkel, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Rooney, cf, 2 1 2 1, Larson, 3b, 3 0 1 1, McCormick, 1b, 2 0 1 0, Striegel, dh, 4 0 0 0, Colten Jourdan, c, 0 0 0 0, Chance Tiedtke, p, 3 0 2 0, Drake Vanous, cr-rf, 0 1 0 0, Hollingsworth, rf-p, 4 0 1 0, Knox, lf, 2 1 0 0, Kramer, ss, 3 1 1 1. Totals 27 4 8 3.

XAVIER (5)
Helms, ss, 2 1 0 1, Woods, 3b, 3 1 1 2, Even, 2b-p, 4 1 0 0, Mattke, 1b-p, 1 0 0 0, Ries, cf, 4 0 2 1, Hosch, dh-1b, 2 1 0 0, Tyler Hines, p, 0 0 0 0, Brown, 2b, 0 0 0 0, McNeal, lf, 2 0 0 0, Mehring, lf, 1 0 0 0, Zenisek, rf, 3 1 1 0, Brecht, c, 2 0 1 1, Sodawasser, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 24 5 5 5.

Jefferson   001 300 0 - 4 8 1
Xavier       002 002 1 - 5 5 2
(No outs when winning run scored)

Tiedtke, Hollingsworth (5) and Jourdan. Hines, Even (5), Mattke (7) and Brecht. W - Mattke. L - Hollingsworth. 2B - Rooney, McCormick, Zenisek. HR - Woods. SB - Rooney, Vanous, Kramer, Woods, Even, Sodawasser.