The Xavier Saints looked like they might contend for the state baseball title this year when they ran away with the Metro Tournament last month, but they went into a batting slump and disappeared for a few weeks.

"We're back," senior Zach Brown announced happily Monday night.

The Saints pounded Dubuque Hempstead in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Ken Charipar Field, 11-1 and 11-0, with both games lasting only five innings due to the mercy rule.

Hempstead arrived with an 8-4 record in the MVC, but the Mustangs had no answers for the Saints.

Mitch Keller tossed a two-hitter with eight strikeouts in the 11-1 victory, then Brown pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts in the 11-0 whitewash.

Keller and Brown did more than just pitch, however. Keller went 4-for-6 in the twinbill and drove in seven runs, while Brown went 5-for-6 and collected two RBIs.

The Saints began the day with a puny team batting average of .249, but they went 26-for-49 in the doubleheader and raised their mark to a more respectable .273.

"I think we've been too tense at the plate. Not relaxing," said Keller. "I was seeing it real well. Just try and take it the other way. Not try to do too much."

Xavier won three straight games in the Metro Tournament with an impressive display of pitching, hitting and defense, but the Saints struggled through a 14-game stretch where they won only six games.

They've won four straight now, raising their records to 13-8 overall and 8-6 in the conference.

"This is definitely the real Saints right now," said Keller, a junior who has committed to North Carolina.

Xavier has gotten solid pitching all year, and Monday's performances by Keller and Brown lowered the team ERA to 2.21.

"The pitching has been great," said Coach Dave Schemmel. "We've only had a few bad innings all year long. It kept us in ballgames, but you still have to come up with the hits to beat some good teams."

Corbin Woods, the de facto MVP of the Metro Tournament with his lusty hitting, battled a mysterious illness that sapped his strength and energy during the team's slump, but he belted a pair of triples in the first game Monday and appeared to be back in good form.

Bryce Grimm ripped three doubles in the opener and went 4 for 6 in the doubleheader with three runs and two RBIs. Jordan Ratz went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs. Luke Hammerberg and Ben Helms also went 3-for-5.

"It was nice to see things fall a little bit tonight," said Schemmel.

"Our biggest problem was taking too many strikes," the coach said, explaining the slump. "We got away from being aggressive like we were in the Metro tournament. We were guessing too much and taking too many strikes.

"We quit getting two-out hits. Geez, we were lucky if we got more than five hits a game."

The Saints got 14 hits in the first game Monday and tacked on 12 more in the nightcap. They finished with 22 runs and 26 hits, despite hitting only nine times in the twinbill due to the mercy rule.

Hempstead junior David Fitzgerald arrived in town with a 0.00 ERA in 18 innings this season, but the Saints torched him for seven earned runs in 2.2 innings Monday.

Brown raised his record to 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA, with 36 strikeouts in 31 innings. Keller has a 3-2 record with a 1.22 ERA, with 41 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.

GAME 1

HEMPSTEAD (1): Tomkins, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Till, lf, 2 1 1 0, D.Fitzgerald, 1b, 2 0 1 0, Oberbroeckling, dh, 1 0 0 0, Boleyn, ss, 2 0 0 0, J.Vaassen, rf, 2 0 0 0, Crimmins, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Breitbach, c, 2 0 0 0, Kutsch, cf, 2 0 0 0, Stumpf, p, 0 0 0 0, Schulz, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 16 1 2 0.

XAVIER (11): Grimm, cf, 4 2 3 1, Woods, ss, 3 2 2 1, Pick, 1b, 2 1 0 1, Brown, 3b, 3 1 2 2, O'Connell, pr, 0 1 0 0, Ratz, rf, 2 0 1 2, Hammerberg, c, 3 0 1 0, Drahozal, cr, 0 1 0 0, Meaney, lf, 3 1 2 0, Helms, dh, 3 1 2 0, Keller, p, 3 0 1 3, Miller, cr, 0 1 0 0, K.Dlouhy, 2b, 0 0 0 0. Totals 26 11 14 10.

Hempstead    000 10 - 1 2 2
Xavier            102 08 - 11 14 0

Stumpf, Schulz (5) and Breitbach. Keller and Hammerberg. W - Keller. L - Stumpf. 2B - Grimm 3, Keller. 3B - Woods 2. SB - Till, Fitzgerald, Crimmins.

GAME 2

HEMPSTEAD (0): Tomkins, 2b, 2 0 1 0, Till, lf, 3 0 1 0, D.Fitzgerald, p/1b, 2 0 1 0, Bushaw, cr, 0 0 0 0, Oberbroeckling, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Bortscheller, p, 1 0 0 0, Dupont, p, 0 0 0 0, Boleyn, ss, 3 0 0 0, Noonan, c, 1 0 0 0, Scheffert, 3b, 2 0 0 0, C.Fitzgerald, rf, 1 0 0 0, Kutsch, cf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 19 0 3 0.

XAVIER (11): Grimm, cf, 2 1 1 1, Herder, ph, 1 0 0 0, Woods, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Robinson, ph, 1 0 0 0, Pick, 1b, 2 2 0 0, Brown, p, 3 0 3 0, Miller, cr, 0 1 0 0, Clarahan, cr, 0 1 0 0, Ratz, rf, 3 1 2 2, Hammerberg, c, 2 0 2 1, Drahozal, cr, 0 3 0 0, Meaney, lf, 1 0 0 1, Harriott, ph/lf, 1 0 0 0, Helms, dh, 2 1 1 0, Schulte, ph, 0 0 0 1, Keller, ss, 3 0 3 4. Totals 23 11 12 10.

Hempstead    000 00 - 0 3 2
Xavier           124 4x - 11 12 1

D.Fitzgerald, Bortscheller (3), Dupont (4) and Noonan. Brown and Hammerberg. W - Brown. L - D.Fitzgerald. SB - C.Fitzgerald.