The top third of the order - Adrian Zietara, Noah McCreary and Brandon Matias - combined to go 8-for-14 with five RBIs and five runs scored to lead St. Ambrose to a 9-7 win over St. Francis (Ill.) in the second game of a doubleheader at NelsonCorp Field in Clinton, Iowa, Sunday afternoon. The Saints won the first game 10-4.

McCreary and Matias each collected three hits while Zietara went 2-for-4 in the win.

After St. Francis (22-16, 20-6 CCAC) scored in the top of the first, SAU came right back in the bottom of the inning. Zietara led off with a single, McCreary doubled and Matias drove them both in with a double. Brock Webber hit a sacrifice fly to put the Bees in front 3-1.

The Saints got one run back in the top of the third, but again the Bees had the answer in the bottom half. A Webber double moved Joey Fitzgerald, who reached on a fielder's choice, to third. Mucha laced a double down the line in right to score Fitzgerald and pinch runner Jalen Avery. Bryce Vincent came thrown with a single up the middle to score Mucha for a 6-2 lead.

USF scored three times in the fifth to get within a run at 6-5. But in the bottom of the sixth, Matias launched a two-run home run to left to up the lead to 8-5. McCreary added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth.

St. Francis made things interesting in the ninth, scoring two runs and having runners on the corners but Jake Jacek recorded his fourth strikeout of the game to wrap up the win.

Parker Ruth earned the win after throwing 2/3 of an inning. Jacek got the save with four innings of relief. Nathaniel Johnson started and worked 4 1/3 innings.

St. Ambrose (22-19, 16-12 CCAC) dug itself a big hole early in losing the first game.

Three errors over the first two innings helped USF take a quick 5-0 lead. SAU got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second. Dan Laughery's infield single allowed Jake Mucha to score, and when the shortstop's throw was high, Webber came around to score.

The Saints hit a big three-run home run in the top of the third to go up 8-2, and added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. The Bees got their final two runs in their last at bat. With two outs, Zietara singled. McCreary followed with an RBI triple and Matias then doubled to bring in McCreary to account for the final score.

McCreary finished with two of the team's seven hits.

Sergio Marchizza was tagged with the loss. Danny Molony worked four innings in relief.

SAU will visit Trinity Christian Tuesday.