Xavier University Athletics
Tuesday, March 29
Hayden Field
3 P.M.
Xavier University
vs
Wright State
Baseball Plays Wright State, Kentucky in Midweek Contests
03.27.16 | Baseball
Musketeers have won five of last eight, including a 5-0 mark at Hayden Field
CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball returns home on Tuesday, hosting Wright State at Hayden Field before playing at Kentucky on Wednesday in a second midweek contest.
The Musketeers (8-15) have won five of their last eight, including a 5-0 mark at Hayden Field this season.
• Just one year removed from a BIG EAST Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Xavier is looking to rebound after a frustrating 15-38 (3-15 BIG EAST) season in 2015.
• The Musketeers are off to a 8-15 start, playing 18 of their first 23 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first eight weekend opponents were 2015 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Head coach Scott Googins is in his 11th season in 2016 with 19 returners, including All-BIG EAST pitcher Trent Astle and BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Nate Soria. Seniors Dan Rizzie and Andre Jernigan were also selected preseason All-BIG EAST.
• It's been feast or famine so far this season for XU. The Musketeers opened the year with seven straight losses before ripping off a weekend sweep at USC Upstate. Xavier then dropped four straight – three of those coming against No. 2 Vanderbilt – before rebounding with a 12-4 win at home against Miami (OH) on Wednesday and a weekend sweep of Central Michigan.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 84 of their 94 runs in their last 17 games, including a combined 37 runs in sweeps of CMU and USC Upstate.
• Wright State (15-8) has won five of six entering Tuesday's game at Hayden Field and took two-of-three from Valparaiso over the weekend. The Raiders defeated XU 4-1 on March 8 in Fairborn, Ohio.
• The Raiders were picked to repeat as Horizon League Champs in the league's annual preseason poll. WSU won 43 games and advanced to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015.
• Junior catcher Sean Murphy was a Preseason All-American by both Perfect Game and D1 Baseball. Last season, he was one of 20 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award. Pitcher Jesse Scholtens, shortstop Mitch Roman and outfielder Ryan Fucci were also named to the preseason All-Horizon League team.
• Kentucky (17-6, 4-2 SEC) is coming off a huge weekend series win over No. 1 Florida at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Wildcats snapped Florida's 17-game winning streak on Saturday before beating the Gators in walk-off fashion on Sunday to claim the series.
• UK is hitting .297 as a team led by Gunnar McNeill (.391, 4 HR, 28 RBI), Evan White (.386, 2 HR, 25 RBI) and Riley Mahan (.314, 3 HR, 13 RBI).
• The Wildcats have a team ERA of 3.93 and are paced by Dustin Beggs (6-0, 2.40 ERA).
• Xavier's sweep of Central Michigan last weekend was its second of the season and gave the Musketeers a four-game winning streak for the first time since April 9-13, 2014.
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came at USC Upstate from March 4-6 and snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to that, XU's last weekend sweep was from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
• With 54 stolen bases through March 24, XU ranked first nationally in steals and steals per game (2.7). The Musketeers are up to 55 after this weekend's series against UC.
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to the Mercer series (2-26/28), the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranked second in the nation with 20 steals and 1.00 steals per game as of March 24. He's swiped a base in five of his last eight games and has 10 steals over that span.
• Outside of junior Brad Kirschner, who entered the year with 99.1 career innings pitched, the options for Xavier in the bullpen came into 2016 with a combined 31 appearances and 32.2 innings pitched.• The bullpen options consist of 12 pitchers, but no seniors. Two juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen make up the 'pen.
• Seven arms came into 2016 without a single career appearance. Glass and Makarewicz will be making their respective career debuts when they next take the hill.
• Four true freshmen – Schramm, Williams, Malone and Czabala – all made their Xavier debuts during opening weekend at Arizona State. Matt Kent made his career debut on Friday at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
• Xavier has just three seniors on the 2016 roster after graduating 14 from its 2015 squad.
• The Musketeers lost 15 letterwinners overall and have 13 newcomers on the 2016 roster.
• Xavier was picked fourth in the BIG EAST preseason coaches' poll, coming in just behind Seton Hall, Creighton and St. John's.
• It's the third straight season the Musketeers have been selected to finish fourth in the poll.
• Senior Andre Jernigan has reached base the hard way at a prolific clip, getting hit by a pitch 11 times in each of the last two seasons. Both seasons are tied for eighth all-time in the XU record book.
• Jernigan's career total of 28 – including two during Xavier's series against ASU and two more against Vandy – is fourth all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by 13.
• Sophomore Nate Soria reached via HBP 12 times as a freshman, a mark that was tied for fifth in a single season by a Musketeer.
• Head coach Scott Googins, now in his 11th year at Xavier, is just four wins from tying former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history.
• Googins has 283 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
• The Musketeers are wrapping up a road-heavy portion of their schedule, as the season's first 14 games were all road contests. Local rival Miami (OH) visited Hayden Field in the Musketeers' home opener last Wednesday.
• Xavier travels to eight states total as part of its 2016 regular season schedule, including Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and New Jersey. The Musketeers also play in Washington, D.C.
• Xavier's 22 opponents posted a combined record of 672-565 (.543) in 2015, which averages out to 30.5 wins per team.
• 15 of Xavier's 22 opponents had records of .500 or better last season.
• Xavier faces eight NCAA Tournament teams from 2015, including five in its first six series of the non-conference season.
• The combined 2015 record for XU's first six opponents is 226-140 (.618).
• Eight teams made trips to the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including Arizona State, Mercer, Wright State, Louisville, Morehead State, Indiana, Vanderbilt and St. John's.
• Xavier faces four teams that won at least 41 games in 2015, including Wright State (43), Vanderbilt (51), Louisville (47) and St. John's (41).
• In addition, eight more teams on the schedule posted 30-win seasons in 2015.
• The 2014 NCAA Champions, Vanderbilt advanced to the College World Series again last season before losing to Virginia in the best-of-three series. The Commodores have won at least 51 games in each of the last three seasons.
• The 2016 BIG EAST Tournament will be held in Aberdeen, Md. at Ripken Stadium – home of the Baltimore Orioles Single-A affiliate Aberdeen IronBirds.
• It will be the third different venue in the last three years for the conference tournament after stops in Brooklyn, N.Y. (2014) and Omaha, Neb. (2015).
• Xavier baseball has teamed up with the Vs. Cancer Foundation this spring to raise money to fight cancer nationally, as well as here in Cincinnati.
• The team will be collecting donations from now until April 10 when 31 members of the program have pledged to shave their heads in support of the cause. The head-shaving will occur following Xavier's home game against Morehead State.
The Musketeers (8-15) have won five of their last eight, including a 5-0 mark at Hayden Field this season.
 | THE MATCHUP |
| Date – Time | Follow Live | Projected Starters |
| Tues., March 29 – 3 p.m. | Stats / @XavierBASE | LHP Trent Astle vs. TBA |
| Weds., March 30 – 6:30 p.m. | Stats / Watch / @XavierBASE | LHP Greg Jacknewitz vs. TBA |
| AROUND THE HORN |
• The Musketeers are off to a 8-15 start, playing 18 of their first 23 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first eight weekend opponents were 2015 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Head coach Scott Googins is in his 11th season in 2016 with 19 returners, including All-BIG EAST pitcher Trent Astle and BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Nate Soria. Seniors Dan Rizzie and Andre Jernigan were also selected preseason All-BIG EAST.
• It's been feast or famine so far this season for XU. The Musketeers opened the year with seven straight losses before ripping off a weekend sweep at USC Upstate. Xavier then dropped four straight – three of those coming against No. 2 Vanderbilt – before rebounding with a 12-4 win at home against Miami (OH) on Wednesday and a weekend sweep of Central Michigan.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 84 of their 94 runs in their last 17 games, including a combined 37 runs in sweeps of CMU and USC Upstate.
| SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION |
• The Raiders were picked to repeat as Horizon League Champs in the league's annual preseason poll. WSU won 43 games and advanced to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015.
• Junior catcher Sean Murphy was a Preseason All-American by both Perfect Game and D1 Baseball. Last season, he was one of 20 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award. Pitcher Jesse Scholtens, shortstop Mitch Roman and outfielder Ryan Fucci were also named to the preseason All-Horizon League team.
• Kentucky (17-6, 4-2 SEC) is coming off a huge weekend series win over No. 1 Florida at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Wildcats snapped Florida's 17-game winning streak on Saturday before beating the Gators in walk-off fashion on Sunday to claim the series.
• UK is hitting .297 as a team led by Gunnar McNeill (.391, 4 HR, 28 RBI), Evan White (.386, 2 HR, 25 RBI) and Riley Mahan (.314, 3 HR, 13 RBI).
• The Wildcats have a team ERA of 3.93 and are paced by Dustin Beggs (6-0, 2.40 ERA).
| PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name (Class) | Position | Notes |
| Will LaRue (So.) | Left Field | Leads team with a .329 batting average and ranks second nationally with 20 stolen bases... has scored a run in seven of last 10 games... batting .447 (17-for-38) in last 10 games... collected a career-high four hits last Sunday at Vandy... |
| Chris Givin (Fr.) | Second Base | Has made last eight of last nine starts at second base... third on team with a .278 batting average... has a hit in seven of his last 11 games... has scored a run in five of last seven games... |
| Daniel Rizzie (Sr.) | Catcher | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... missed most of last season with hand injury... batting .407 (11-for-27) with three homers in last seven starts... |
| Joe Gellenbeck (Jr.) | First Base | Has homered in each of Xavier's first six weekend series... leads Xavier with six homers and 16 RBI... went 8-for-17 (.471) with a pair of three-hit games in four starts last week... hit first career home run in game two of 2/20 doubleheader at ASU... |
| Andre Jernigan (Sr.) | Shortstop | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... coming off a 3-for-4 game against UC on Sunday that saw him set a career-high with 11 total bases (2 HR, 3B)... fourth on XU with 23 hits... leading team with six HBP... has made 132 starts at SS in last two-plus seasons... |
| Nate Soria (So.) | Right Field | Led 2015 team in BA (.335), 2B (11) and OBP (.420)... has reached base in 49 of last 56 games going back to 2015... |
| Blaine Griffiths (So.) | Designated Hitter | Has started 10 of last 11 games, ranks fifth on Xavier with a .263 batting average... has reached base in six of last seven games... |
| Rylan Bannon (So.) | Third Base | Started season 0-for-16 and is 14-for-47 (.298) with three homers and eight RBI since... |
| Matt Fallon (Jr.) | Center Field | Transfer from Black Hawk College... has reached base in 20 of 23 games this season... knocked in a season-high four runs in the series finale against CMU... |
| PROJECTED STARTERS |
| Day | Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Tues. | Trent Astle (Jr.) | LHP | 2015 All-BIG EAST Second Team... off to a slow start with a 10.29 ERA in six starts... |
| Weds. | Greg Jacknewitz (Jr.) | LHP | Twirled 6.2 innings of two-run ball in first outing at ASU... went six innings and allowed just two runs in Saturday's win at USC Upstate... has lasted at least five innings in four of six starts... |
| BULLPEN |
| Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Garrett Schilling (So.) | RHP | Earned back-to-back saves in games two and three at USC Upstate and leads XU with four saves... put up a career-high three innings of one-run relief in game four at ASU... has thrown nine straight scoreless innings... |
| Brandon Johnson (So.) | RHP | Allowed five earned runs in first career start in game three at ASU... tossed a scoreless inning at Louisville on Tuesday... |
| Brad Kirschner (Jr.) | LHP | Tied for team-lead with nine appearances... Struck out the only batter he faced in season debut at ASU... threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief on Sunday, helping Xavier claim the sweep... picked up the win with 2.2 innings of relief against Miami (OH) on Wednesday... has gone two or more innings in each of last six appearances, including a pair of starts last week... |
| Trey Schramm (Fr.) | RHP | Tied for team-lead with nine appearances... Threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in career debut at ASU... tossed 3.2 innings with four strikeouts in series finale at Mercer... earned first career win in Saturday game at USC Upstate, going three innings and striking out three... has pitched 1+ innings in all of his appearances... |
| Damien Richard (So.) | RHP | Tied for second on team with eight appearances... has thrown 1+ innings in all of his appearances... has multiple strikeouts in six of eight outings... closed out Sunday's CMU win with a career-high 4.2 innings and four strikeouts... |
| Taylor Williams (Fr.) | RHP | Sparkled in career debut, striking out six in 2.1 innings of relief at ASU... struck out three in two innings of quality relief at UC on Friday... |
| Jason Hall (Jr.) | RHP | Made season debut on Sunday at Mercer, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief... |
| Noah Malone (Fr.) | RHP | Made career debut, tossing 0.2 innings at ASU |
| Sam Czabala (Fr.) | LHP | Tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in Xavier debut at ASU |
| BUSTING OUT THE BROOMS |
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came at USC Upstate from March 4-6 and snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to that, XU's last weekend sweep was from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
| BASE BURGLARS |
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to the Mercer series (2-26/28), the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranked second in the nation with 20 steals and 1.00 steals per game as of March 24. He's swiped a base in five of his last eight games and has 10 steals over that span.
| YOUNG GUNS IN THE 'PEN |
• Seven arms came into 2016 without a single career appearance. Glass and Makarewicz will be making their respective career debuts when they next take the hill.
• Four true freshmen – Schramm, Williams, Malone and Czabala – all made their Xavier debuts during opening weekend at Arizona State. Matt Kent made his career debut on Friday at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
| YOUTH MOVEMENT |
• The Musketeers lost 15 letterwinners overall and have 13 newcomers on the 2016 roster.
| BIG EAST PROGNOSTICATIONS |
• It's the third straight season the Musketeers have been selected to finish fourth in the poll.
| TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM |
• Jernigan's career total of 28 – including two during Xavier's series against ASU and two more against Vandy – is fourth all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by 13.
• Sophomore Nate Soria reached via HBP 12 times as a freshman, a mark that was tied for fifth in a single season by a Musketeer.
| GOOGINS CLOSING IN ON XU MARK |
• Googins has 283 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
| ROAD WARRIORS |
• Xavier travels to eight states total as part of its 2016 regular season schedule, including Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and New Jersey. The Musketeers also play in Washington, D.C.
| 2016 OPPONENT BREAKDOWN |
• 15 of Xavier's 22 opponents had records of .500 or better last season.
• Xavier faces eight NCAA Tournament teams from 2015, including five in its first six series of the non-conference season.
• The combined 2015 record for XU's first six opponents is 226-140 (.618).
• Eight teams made trips to the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including Arizona State, Mercer, Wright State, Louisville, Morehead State, Indiana, Vanderbilt and St. John's.
• Xavier faces four teams that won at least 41 games in 2015, including Wright State (43), Vanderbilt (51), Louisville (47) and St. John's (41).
• In addition, eight more teams on the schedule posted 30-win seasons in 2015.
• The 2014 NCAA Champions, Vanderbilt advanced to the College World Series again last season before losing to Virginia in the best-of-three series. The Commodores have won at least 51 games in each of the last three seasons.
| 2016 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT |
• It will be the third different venue in the last three years for the conference tournament after stops in Brooklyn, N.Y. (2014) and Omaha, Neb. (2015).
| XAVIER BASEBALL VS. CANCER |
• The team will be collecting donations from now until April 10 when 31 members of the program have pledged to shave their heads in support of the cause. The head-shaving will occur following Xavier's home game against Morehead State.
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/ BaseballHIGHLIGHTS | Baseball vs. UConn (BIG EAST Tournament)
Thursday, May 22
HIGHLIGHTS | Baseball at Penn State (Game 3)
Saturday, May 17
HIGHLIGHTS | Baseball at Creighton (Game Three)
Sunday, May 11
HIGHLIGHTS | Baseball at Creighton (Game 2)
Sunday, May 11