Brian Erbe sat quietly in the Xavier dugout Tuesday night and munched a few slices of pizza while the Saints battled the Linn-Mar Lions at Bob Erusha Field.

He offered some words of encouragement to the Saints, patted a few kids on the back and had a question for one of the umpires on a tricky play, but for the most part he left the heavy worrying to interim head coach Nikki Price.

Erbe is recovering from triple bypass heart surgery on May 11, so it's probably good for him to keep the stress level as low as possible and let Price and the other assistant coaches sweat the details. And there was a lot of sweating Tuesday.

The young Saints trimmed the younger Lions in both softball games, 3-2 and 4-3, in a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference nailbiters at Xavier.

Erbe had time to socialize with fans during the games and visit the concession stand before returning to the dugout. Meanwhile, the Saints successfully extended their modest winning streak to six games with the twin-killing.

Jacey Wiebold tossed a complete game in the opener for Xavier and survived a shaky fifth inning after the Saints had staked her to a 3-0 lead. Linn-Mar scored twice in the top of the fifth, but the Lions lost a potential run when Georgia Kolf was thrown out at the plate on an unusual play.

The unusual sequence began with Linn-Mar trailing 3-1 and the bases loaded with one out. Kelsey Duggan hit what should have been a single to left field with Kolf at third base, but Kolf wasn't sure if Xavier left fielder Sydney Galligan would catch the ball or not.

Kolf returned to third base, looking to tag up. Galligan caught the ball on one hop and fired to third baseman Jamie Feltes, who turned and threw the ball to catcher Erica Miller for a force play at the plate. Kolf got caught in no-man's land and was an easy out.

Linn-Mar scored a second run in the inning on a bases-loaded walk, but the force at the plate on what should have been a single to left field cost the Lions dearly.

The Lions put two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but Wiebold wiggled out of trouble for the complete-game victory.

It was a frustrating loss for the young Lions, who do not have a single senior on their roster, and there was more frustration on the way in the nightcap.

Maddy Ryan socked a two-run homer for Linn-Mar in the second game and Kortlan Ollinger added a solo shot for a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, but Xavier tied the game in the bottom of the fifth and took a a 4-3 lead in the sixth on an RBI single by Courtney Colston.

Xavier freshman Erin Drahozal retired the last six batters she faced in the nightcap to get the 4-3 victory.

Alexis Kelsey was the hard-luck loser for Linn-Mar in the first game and Cheyenne Hansen suffered a similar fate in the nightcap.

Hayley Deutmeyer went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI for Xavier in the first game. Galligan went 3-for-4 for the Saints in the second game and Jenna Schulte drove in two runs.

The young Saints, with only two seniors on their roster, raised their records to 18-12 overall and 12-10 in the conference. The younger Lions fell to 16-17 overall and 11-11 in the league.

Xavier did not commit an error in the entire doubleheader and Linn-Mar committed only two miscues. Both clubs made several nice fielding plays.

GAME ONE

LINN-MAR (2)
Ollinger, cf, 2 0 0 1, Duggan, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Kelsey, p, 3 0 0 1, M.Rizor, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Ryan, ss, 4 0 1 0, Hansen, dp, 2 1 1 0, Kolf, lf, 2 0 1 0, Decker, pr, 0 0 0 0, Swanson, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Yearling, c, 3 1 1 0, Harms, rf, 3 1 1 0. Totals 26 2 4 2.

XAVIER (3)
Schwach, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Galligan, lf, 3 0 0 0, Feltes, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Schulte, 1b, 2 1 0 0, Drahozal, dp, 3 0 1 1, Richards, pr, 0 0 0 0, Deutmeyer, ss, 3 1 2 1, Breitbach, rf, 3 0 0 1, Miller, c, 3 0 1 0, Richards, cr, 0 0 0 0, Colston, cf, 2 0 0 0, Wiebold, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 3 6 3.

Linn-Mar     000 020 0 - 2 4 1
Xavier        200 100 x - 3 6 0

Kelsey and Yearling; Wiebold and Miller. W - Wiebold (8-6). L - Kelsey (3-2). 3B - Deutmeyer.

GAME TWO

LINN-MAR (3)
Ollinger, cf, 3 1 2 1, Duggan, 2b, 3 0 1 0, Kelsey, ss, 2 1 1 0, M.Rizor, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Ryan, dp, 3 1 1 2, Hansen, p, 3 0 0 0, Kolf, lf, 3 0 0 0, Swanson, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Yearling, c, 3 0 0 0, Harms, rf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 3 5 3.

XAVIER (4)
Schwach, 2b, 4 0 1 0, Galligan, rf, 4 2 3 0, Feltes, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Schulte, 1b, 2 0 0 2, Drahozal, p, 3 0 0 0, Deutmeyer, ss, 2 2 1 0, Breitbach, dp, 2 0 1 0, Miller, c, 1 0 1 1, Bastain, cr, 0 0 0 0, Colston, cf, 2 0 1 1, Ireland, lf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 22 4 8 4.

Linn-Mar     000 210 0 - 3 5 1
Xavier        011 011 x - 4 8 0

Hansen and Yearling; Drahozal and Miller. W - Drahozal (9-6). L - Hansen (7-3). HR - Ollinger, Ryan. SB - Bastain, Colston.