JOLIET, Ill. - Sophomore right fielder Tom Whelan (St. Rita H.S./Chicago, IL) drove home the tie-breaking run with a 12th-inning triple to lead University of St. Francis to a 7-3 victory and a sweep of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference-season opening three-game series with Robert Morris University on Monday afternoon at Silver Cross Field.

Whelan's clutch hit followed a one-out walk to senior left fielder Tom Serruto (Glenbard West H.S./Glen Ellyn, IL). The Saints added three more insurance runs in the inning on run-scoring singles by freshman first baseman Joe Ruge (Riverside-Brookfield H.S./North Riverside, IL), senior third baseman Andy Zurales (Lincoln-Way Central H.S./New Lenox, IL) and senior catcher Pat Grady (Sandburg H.S./Orland Park, IL).

The Saints (9-5, 3-0) forced the game into extra innings by pushing across the tying run in the top of the eighth on an infield single by senior second baseman Steve Witczak (St. Rita H.S./Chicago, IL). That was one of five hits on the afternoon for Witczak, who pushed his team-leading batting average to .471 through the season's first 14 games.

Sophomore closer Corey Schultz (Kankakee H.S./Kankakee, IL) fired 4.2 innings of shutout relief to push his record to 4-0 and keep his earned run average at a perfect 0.00 in 11.2 innings of work. Senior starting pitcher Joe Koehler (Mount Carmel H.S./Worth, IL) worked the initial 7.1 innings and scattered 9 hits. One of the 3 runs charged against him was unearned.

The Saints finished with 16 hits in the 12-inning affair, with three other players joining Witczak (5-for-7, a run scored, 2 RBI) with multiple hits. Grady was 3-for-7 with an RBI, while sophomore shortstop David Schwabe (Driscoll Catholic H.S./Wood Dale, IL) and Whelan each added a pair of hits.

The victory over Robert Morris (13-5, 0-3) leaves USF at the top of the CCAC standings following the first weekend of conference play. The Saints are 3-0 and the only team in the league without a loss with the exception of Olivet Nazarene who has yet to play a conference game.

Olivet, though, will open CCAC play on Tuesday as it plays host to USF in a doubleheader in Bourbonnais. That twin bill is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m.