The Xavier Saints exploded for eight runs in the ninth inning Friday night and defeated Waterloo West, 16-8, in the first round of the Class 4A substate tournament at Xavier.

Xavier will host Cedar Falls in the second round of the substate tournament Monday night, with the winner facing Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Wednesday in the substate finals.

The Saints collected six hits in the ninth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Zach Brown and three doubles. It was Brown's first home run of the season.

"At the end of the game Xavier was just able to get big hits in the ninth, which just ended up snowballing on us," said Waterloo West Coach Kory Kelchen.

Adam Pick got the victory in relief. He also had two hits and three RBIs for the Saints (21-14). Mack Mattke went 4-for-5 with three RBIs.

Waterloo West finished the season with a 7-33 record, but the Wahawks gave the Saints a spirited battle before falling short. Matt Ohrt had a three-run double in the fifth inning for Waterloo West.

Xavier         003 023 008 - 16 11 3

Waterloo West  001 502 000 - 8 7 3