Xavier University Athletics
Tuesday, March 8
Dayton, Ohio
6:30 P.M.
Xavier University
at
Wright State
Baseball Gets Wright State in First Midweek Game of 2016 Season
03.07.16 | Baseball
Musketeers coming off a weekend sweep at USC Upstate
CINCINNATI – Coming off a weekend sweep at USC Upstate, Xavier baseball gets Wright State in its first midweek action on Tuesday night at Nischwitz Stadium in Fairborn, Ohio.
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• 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.
• 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.
• The Musketeers swept a three-game set at USC Upstate last weekend and are 3-7 overall.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 31 of their 41 runs in their last four games, including a 17 run series at USC Upstate and a 14-run outburst last Sunday at Mercer.
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• Wright State is 6-6 overall after dropping two of three last weekend at Georgia.
• 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.
• Fucci is off to a hot start with a .326 batting average, 3 homers and 13 RBI in 12 starts. Roman is second in the nation with 11 stolen bases.
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• Xavier's three straight wins at USC Upstate snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak. The three straight wins are the most for XU since taking three straight at the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament during the team's championship run.
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.Â
• The last road non-conference weekend sweep for the Musketeers came from April 12-14, 2013 at Evansville.Â
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• With 29 stolen bases on the season, XU ranks third nationally in steals (29) and is first in steals per game (2.9).
• The Musketeers have 25 steals in their last six games.
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to last weekend, the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranks 13th in the nation with eight steals and 11th with 0.80 steals per game. He's swiped a base in five straight games.
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• 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. Kent, 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• Seniors Dan Rizzie and Andre Jernigan were both tabbed preseason All-BIG EAST in a vote by the league's coaches.
• Rizzie earned the honor for a second straight season and is back to full health after missing a majority of the 2015 season with a hand injury.Â
• Rizzie, a 2014 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, is one of the top returning catchers in the conference. After missing most of last season with a hand injury, Rizzie will look to get back to the production level he showed in 2014 when he hit .307 to go with five home runs, 41 runs scored and 38 RBI.
• Jernigan earned preseason honors for the first time and has racked up 120 starts for Xavier at shortstop in the past two-plus seasons. A career .252 hitter, Jernigan brings a combination of speed and power to the shortstop position. In 2015, he led the Musketeers with 210 at-bats and 16 stolen bases, while ranking second on the team with 10 doubles and adding 13 multi-hit games.
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• 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 25 – including two during Xavier's four-game weekend at ASU – is sixth all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by 16.
• 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.
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• Head coach Scott Googins, now in his 11th year at Xavier, is just nine wins from tying former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history.
• Googins has 278 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
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• The Musketeers play their first 14 games on the road before welcoming local rival Miami (OH) to Hayden Field for the 2016 home opener on Wednesday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m.
• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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).
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• 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.
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 | Â THE MATCHUP |
|  Date – Time |  Follow Live |  Projected Starters |
|  Tuesday, March 8 – 6:30 p.m. |  Stats / Watch / @XavierBASE |  TBA vs. TBA |
| Â AROUND THE HORN |
• 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.
• The Musketeers swept a three-game set at USC Upstate last weekend and are 3-7 overall.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 31 of their 41 runs in their last four games, including a 17 run series at USC Upstate and a 14-run outburst last Sunday at Mercer.
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| Â SCOUTING THE RAIDERS |
• 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.
• Fucci is off to a hot start with a .326 batting average, 3 homers and 13 RBI in 12 starts. Roman is second in the nation with 11 stolen bases.
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| Â PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name (Class) | Position | Notes |
| Matt Fallon (Jr.) | Center Field | Transfer from Black Hawk College... has reached base in all 10 games this season... |
| Nate Soria (So.) | Designated Hitter | Led 2015 team in BA (.335), 2B (11) and OBP (.420)... has reached base in 43 of last 45 games going back to 2015... |
| Daniel Rizzie (Sr.) | Catcher | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... missed most of last season with hand injury... has three multi-hit games in 10 starts to begin 2016 season... |
| Joe Gellenbeck (Jr.) | Right Field | Has homered in each of Xavier's first three weekend series... on a team-high six game hitting streak... hit first career home run in game two of 2/20 doubleheader at ASU... |
| Ethan Schmidt (Jr.) | First Base | Went 1-for-4 with a run scored in two games at USC Upstate... |
| David Morton (Sr.) | Second Base | Riding a four-game hitting streak and is 7-for-18 (.389) with six RBI during that stretch... |
| Andre Jernigan (Sr.) | Shortstop | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... riding an eight-game hitting streak going back to '15... hit .429 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in the Mercer series... |
| Rylan Bannon (So.) | Third Base | Starter in all seven games at third... broke out of season-opening 0-for-16 slump with a 2-for-4 game last Sunday at Mercer... hit first career home run in third inning... |
| Will LaRue (So.) | Left Field | Hit .385 with four stolen bases in Mercer series... has a steal in each of his last five games... has also scored a run in each of his last four games... leads team with eight stolen bases... |
| Â PROJECTED ROTATION |
| Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Zac Lowther (So.) | LHP | Turned in a brilliant start on Friday at USC Upstate, tying a career-highs with seven innings of one-run ball... |
| 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... |
| Trent Astle (Jr.) | LHP | 2015 All-BIG EAST Second Team... has struggled in first three starts, walking six and allowing 15 runs in 10.1 innings... |
| Â BULLPEN |
| Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Garrett Schilling (So.) | RHP | Earned back-to-back saves in games two and three at USC Upstate... put up a career-high three innings of one-run relief in game four at ASU... |
| Brandon Johnson (So.) | RHP | Allowed five earned runs in first career start in game three at ASU... |
| Brad Kirschner (Jr.) | LHP | 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... |
| Trey Schramm (Fr.) | RHP | 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 on Saturday at USC Upstate, going three innings and striking out three... |
| Damien Richard (So.) | RHP | Tied for team-lead with eight innings out of the bullpen... has thrown multiple innings in all three of his appearances... closed out last Friday's win at USC Upstate with two innings and four strikeouts... |
| Taylor Williams (Fr.) | RHP | Sparkled in career debut, striking out six in 2.1 innings of relief at ASU... has nine K's in first six innings of career... |
| 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 |
| Matt Kent (Fr.) | RHP | Yet to appear in 2016 |
| Sam Czabala (Fr.) | LHP | Tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in Xavier debut at ASU |
| Christian Glass (So.) | RHP | Yet to appear in 2016 |
| Mitchel Makarewicz (Fr.) | RHP | Yet to appear in 2016 |
| Â BUSTING OUT THE BROOMS |
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.Â
• The last road non-conference weekend sweep for the Musketeers came from April 12-14, 2013 at Evansville.Â
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| Â BASE BURGLARS |
• The Musketeers have 25 steals in their last six games.
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to last weekend, the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranks 13th in the nation with eight steals and 11th with 0.80 steals per game. He's swiped a base in five straight games.
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| Â YOUNG GUNS IN THE 'PEN |
• Seven arms came into 2016 without a single career appearance. Kent, 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.
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| Â YOUTH MOVEMENT |
• The Musketeers lost 15 letterwinners overall and have 13 newcomers on the 2016 roster.
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| Â BIG EAST PROGNOSTICATIONS |
• It's the third straight season the Musketeers have been selected to finish fourth in the poll.
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| Â TWO NAMED ALL-BIG EAST |
• Rizzie earned the honor for a second straight season and is back to full health after missing a majority of the 2015 season with a hand injury.Â
• Rizzie, a 2014 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, is one of the top returning catchers in the conference. After missing most of last season with a hand injury, Rizzie will look to get back to the production level he showed in 2014 when he hit .307 to go with five home runs, 41 runs scored and 38 RBI.
• Jernigan earned preseason honors for the first time and has racked up 120 starts for Xavier at shortstop in the past two-plus seasons. A career .252 hitter, Jernigan brings a combination of speed and power to the shortstop position. In 2015, he led the Musketeers with 210 at-bats and 16 stolen bases, while ranking second on the team with 10 doubles and adding 13 multi-hit games.
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| Â TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM |
• Jernigan's career total of 25 – including two during Xavier's four-game weekend at ASU – is sixth all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by 16.
• 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.
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| Â GOOGINS CLOSING IN ON XU MARK |
• Googins has 278 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
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| Â 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.
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| Â 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.
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| Â 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).
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| Â 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