Friday, March 31
Hayden Field
3 p.m.
Xavier University
vs
Fairleigh Dickinson
Baseball Hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in Three Game Series at Hayden Field
03.30.17 | Baseball
Musketeers are 5-1 at home this season
CINCINNATI – Winners in six of eight, Xavier baseball hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in a three-game series at Hayden Field this weekend.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
XU comes into the series at 13-12 overall, while Fairleigh Dickinson enters at 4-11 (2-1 NEC).
• Conor Grammes leads the team with a streak of nine straight games reaching base.
• As a team, Xavier has stolen at least one base in five straight games.
• XU has had at least one player hit by a pitch in 11 straight games.
• Junior third baseman Rylan Bannon has recovered from a slow start for the second straight season, transitioning into the third spot in the lineup after beginning the year in the two-hole.
• After a 2-for-19 (.105) weekend at Troy, Bannon has recorded a 25-for-75 (.333) line in his last 21 games with 14 runs, six doubles, two triples, five homers and 15 RBI. He's also walked 16 times against 14 strikeouts to record a team-best .468 on-base percentage.
• In a bit of a statistical oddity, Bannon also shook off a 0-for-16 start at the plate last season to hit .296 (56-for-189) the rest of the way.
• Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Gellenbeck ranks 44th nationally with 20 walks on the young season.
• Gellenbeck's on-base percentage is second on the team at .388 and he has walked nearly as many times as he has struck out this year (20-to-23).
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a strong start to 2017, going 3-1 in nine appearances with a 0.72 ERA – a number which ranks ninth nationwide.
• The righty began the year without allowing a run (earned or unearned) in his first 22.1 innings.
• Prior to this past Saturday, Kent was one of just two pitchers in college baseball to have thrown 19 innings or more without surrendering a run this season. The other was BIG EAST foe Ryan Testani of Seton Hall, who had thrown 19 scoreless frames and has since allowed runs as well.
• In 2016, Kent also went 10.1 innings before allowing the first earned run of his career and allowed just one run (unearned) out of the bullpen all season. For his career, Kent has thrown 34 innings in relief with a 0.53 ERA.
• Xavier's Friday night starter, junior lefty Zac Lowther, is widely considered to be one of the top MLB Draft prospects in the BIG EAST.
• This weekend, Xavier is skipping Lowther's start in an effort to have him fresh for the beginning of BIG EAST play.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA through six starts. He has limited opponents to a .191 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last two starts, fanning a career-high 11 against Ohio State on March 18 and getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State.
• Through his first six starts, Lowther ranks 17th in the nation with 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings. He is also 41st nationally with 46 strikeouts.
• Over the summer, Lowther led the prestigious Cape Cod League in strikeouts.
• Xavier junior Garrett Schilling is transitioning to the rotation in 2017 after serving in the bullpen for his first two years on the team.
• Against Ohio State last Sunday (3/19), Schilling set a new career-high with six strikeouts.
• Schilling threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five and scattering three hits in his first career start at Troy (2/18). He left after throwing just 72 pitches.
• Schilling picked up his first win as a starter at Penn State (2/25), allowing just three hits and one unearned run in six innings of work.
• A lights-out closer as a sophomore, Schilling posted a 1.91 ERA (tied for eighth in XU history) and broke the school record for saves with 14.
• Xavier has made just 22 errors in 25 games this season and holds a .976 fielding percentage, a number which ranks 50th nationally.
• The Musketeers also rank 49th in the nation with 22 double plays this season.
• XU tied a school record in 2016 with a .974 fielding percentage.
• The Musketeers are coming off their second BIG EAST Championship run in three seasons in 2017 after sweeping both the regular season and league tournament titles in 2016. Xavier went 32-30 (14-4 BIG EAST) a year ago and brings back 26 letterwinners from its most recent title run.
• Six everyday starters are back for the Musketeers. XU also brings back 13 pitchers, representing all but 54 innings pitched from last season. 48.1 of those 54 innings lost were thrown by junior righty Damien Richard, who remains on the roster but is rehabbing from an injury.
• XU returns quantity and quality, bringing back All-BIG EAST First Team selections Rylan Bannon and Nate Soria, as well as All-BIG EAST Second Team honorees Zac Lowther, Joe Gellenbeck and Garrett Schilling.
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .323 batting average, 30 hits, seven doubles and 10 multi-hit games on the season.
• He had a memorable first collegiate weekend at Troy, recording two hits in all four games from the four spot in the order. He finished the weekend batting .471 (8-for-17) with three runs, three doubles, a homer and five RBI.
• On March 21, he was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the first time after hitting .571 (8-for-14) in a 3-1 week against No. 1 Louisville and Ohio State.
• He recorded his fifth multi-hit game of the season on March 15 at No. 1 Louisville, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
• The McLean, Va. native has also been a top option out of the bullpen, logging nine innings in six appearances with a 5.00 ERA.
• Six different Musketeers have been honored by the BIG EAST Conference with weekly awards this season.
• Head coach Scott Googins is in his 12th season in 2017 after reaching several milestones a year ago.
• Xavier's skipper became the all-time winningest baseball coach at Xavier with win No. 288 at Georgetown on April 15, 2016.
• Googins also picked up career win No. 300 on May 19, 2016 against Villanova.
• After a 13-12 start to the season, his all-time record is now 320-342 (.483).
• One of just four unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selections, senior Joe Gellenbeck was named the program's first-ever preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year in December. The lefty swinger had a breakout season in 2016, homering in 10 of XU's 15 weekend series and leading the BIG EAST with 51 RBI and 125 total bases. A force in the middle of the lineup, the Lebanon, Ohio native and St. Xavier grad also ranked second for Xavier with 13 homers, 16 doubles, 41 runs, 70 hits and a .508 slugging percentage.
• Clutch in big moments, Gellenbeck had back-to-back walk-off hits to clinch a series win over Creighton in mid-May in addition to a game-tying homer in the third inning of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship game.
• Gellenbeck played in and tied all 62 games for Xavier last season, tying a school record, while also hitting .300 (9-for-30) with a homer and six RBI in seven postseason starts.
• Seven Musketeers – Nate Soria, Joe Gellenbeck, Chris Givin, Rylan Bannon, Will LaRue, Zac Lowther and Garrett Schilling – were selected by the league's coaches as Preseason All-BIG EAST honorees – the most for the program since joining the league for the 2014 season.
• Xavier had two preseason All-BIG EAST selections in each of the last two seasons and had one selection during its first year in the league.
• The seven selections more than doubles the total preseason All-BIG EAST picks in Xavier's proram history. The Musketeers had five overall in the last three seasons.
• Each of the selections is a first-time honoree.
• Five juniors, one senior and one sophomore were honored for Xavier.
• The defending league regular season and tournament champions, Xavier was picked to finish first in the BIG EAST for the first time in program history.
• Xavier had been picked fourth in each of its three seasons in the league prior to the first-place prediction on Tuesday.
• In addition to the BIG EAST poll, XU was also picked to win the league by publications like D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game and Baseball America.
Full Coaches Poll
First place votes in ( )
T1. Xavier – 32 points (4)
T1. St. John's – 32 pts. (3)
3. Creighton – 25 pts.
4. Seton Hall – 24 pts.
5. Georgetown – 17 pts.
6. Villanova – 9 pts.
7. Butler – 8 pts.
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* - due to ties in voting there are four outfielders and five starting pitchers on the 2017 Preseason All-BIG EAST team
• At its lowest point in 2016, Xavier was 14-26 and 1-3 in BIG EAST play in 2016 after a series-opening loss to St. John's.
• From that point on, XU would win eight straight games and 18 of its final 22.
• XU's senior class of Dan Rizzie, Andre Jernigan and David Morton combined to hit .395 in seven postseason games, carrying the Musketeers to a BIG EAST Championship for the second time in three seasons and another trip to Nashville for the NCAA Tournament.
• The Musketeers beat host and top-seeded Vanderbilt 15-1 in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament and also picked up a win against Washington, reaching the NCAA Tournament Regional Championship for the first time in program history.
• XU hit 59 home runs as a team, ranking among the national leaders and posting the fifth-most homers ever by an XU team.
• Xavier's fielding percentage of .974 tied a program record set in 2011.
• Xavier's 32 wins in 2016 were tied for the second-most in school history.
• Following a record-setting season, Xavier had two players selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft for the first time since 2008. Dan Rizzie went first, going to the New York Mets in the 13th round and Andre Jernigan followed as a 14th round selection of the Minnesota Twins.
• Xavier has now had at least one player drafted in 10 of the last 12 years.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
XU comes into the series at 13-12 overall, while Fairleigh Dickinson enters at 4-11 (2-1 NEC).
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PROBABLE PITCHERS |
| Game | Xavier | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 1 | Trent Astle, LHP -- 6.29 ERA, 24.1 IP, 13 K |
Logan Frati, RHP -- 7.11 ERA, 12.2 IP, 12 K |
| 2 | Garrett Schilling, RHP -- 4.09 ERA, 33 IP, 25 K |
Danny Demetrops, LHP -- 2.75 ERA, 19.2 IP, 16 K |
| 3 | Greg Jacknewitz, LHP -- 3.99 ERA, 29.1 IP, 26 K |
Corey Zeller, RHP -- 7.15 ERA, 22.2 IP, 20 K |
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name | Class | Position | Hometown (HS) | Notes |
| Mitch Gallagher | JR | SS | Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) | Has hit .319 in last 21 games, going 22-for-69 with a homer and 11 RBI since the Penn State series... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/28) after hitting .467 (7-for-15) with six runs scored during a 3-1 week for XU... had two game-deciding RBI in Illinois State series win, including a walk-off single in Sunday's series-clinching, 3-2 win (3/25)... batted .455 (5-for-11) overall with four RBI in the Illinois State series... went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in midweek win over Wright State (3/21)... drove in three runs, including a walk-off sacrifice fly in 5-4 win over Ohio State (3/19)... hit .400 (8-for-20) in five spring break starts at Charlotte and Georgia... has played all over the infield (1B, 2B and SS), but has settled into shortstop role as regular starter Chris Givin deals with an injury... hit .339 as a sophomore at Palomar Junior College... transferred to XU over the off-season... was one of seven Comets to sign D-I after earning First Team All-PCAC honors... began college career at Pepperdine... |
| Joe Gellenbeck | SR | RF | Lebanon, Ohio (St. Xavier) | Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/6 & 3/13) twice already this season... hit walk-off two run homer against Ohio State last Sunday (3/19)... ranks 44th in the nation with 20 walks this season, including seven during XU's opening weekend at Troy... has reached base in 21 of 25 games this season... preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year... unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selection... 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection... 2016 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team... started all 62 games in 2016, tying a program record... led team and BIG EAST with 51 RBI and 125 total bases... ranked 57th in NCAA Division I with 13 longballs... homered in 10 of Xavier's 15 weekend series... |
| Rylan Bannon | JR | 3B | Joliet, Ill. (Joliet Catholic) |
Saw team-high five-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday... began season 2-for-19 (.105) but has hit .333 (25-for-75) in last 21 games with 14 runs, six doubles, five homers and 15 RBI... leads team with five homers on the season... hit .500 (5-for-10) with a double, triple and two RBI in last weekend's series win against Illinois State... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after Penn State series (2/27), in which he hit .500 (8-for-16) with two HR and eight RBI in four games... went 6-for-8 (.750) in doubleheader sweep against PSU (2/25)... preseason All-BIG EAST selection... 2016 All-BIG EAST First Team selection... 2016 NCAA Tournament Nashville All-Regional Team... coming off a breakout sophomore season, shaking off a 0-for-16 start at the plate to hit .296 (56-for-189) the rest of the way... became a sparkplug at the leadoff spot for the Musketeers... played in 60 games with 59 starts at third base... tied for team-lead with 34 walks and 17 doubles... led team with a .390 on-base percentage... was fourth on team with a .273 batting average... walked 17 times and struck out just 10 times in league play, raising his OBP to .420 in BIG EAST action... |
| Connor Grammes | FR | DH | McLean, Va. (McLean) | Smoking hot over last nine games as XU has gone 6-3... batting .516 (16-for-31) with a homer and four RBI during the stretch... leads team with nine-game reached base streak... leads team with 10 multi-hit games... went 5-for-12 (.417) with two runs and an RBI last weekend in Illinois State series... named BIG EAST Player of the Week for first time in career after hitting .571 (8-for-14) with 12 total bases in a 3-1 week for XU, including a sweep of Ohio State (3/21)... hit solo homer in come-from-behind, 6-5, win over Ohio State on Sunday (3/19)... went 2-for-3 with an RBI at No. 1 Louisville on Wednesday (3/15)... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after a big first weekend at Troy... hit .471 (8-for-17) with three runs, three doubles, a homer and five RBI in four starts... has also logged nine innings out of the bullpen... hit .500 with a .587 on-base percentage as a high school senior... was a back-to-back state champion wrestler and graduated as McLean's all-time leader in wins on the mat... |
| Chris Givin | SO | 2B | Castle Rock, Colo. (Rock Canyon) | Made return to lineup on Wednesday at Miami (OH) after missing 17 games due to injury... opened season as leadoff hitter, but went 1-for-4 in the fifth spot of the order in return... scored six runs and walked four times despite just one hit in the Penn State series... preseason All-BIG EAST selection... 2016 NCAA Tournament Nashville All-Regional Team... made 48 starts in strong freshman season... second on team with a .293 average and .384 OBP... stepped up in BIG EAST play, tying for the team lead with a .333 average (21-for-63) and leading the team with a .432 OBP... played a steady second base, making just six errors (.975 fielding percentage) in 50 games... linchpin of defense that ranked 33rd in the nation in double plays (54) and tied a school record with a .974 fielding percentage... |
| Nate Soria | JR | C | Homer Glen, Ill. (St. Rita of Cascia) | Named to 2017 Johnny Bench Award Watch List... fourth straight year XU has had a catcher on the list... returning to catcher role after serving as an outfielder/DH during sophomore season... has reached base in 81 of last 104 games going back to 2015... rebounded from a tough series (1-for-15) against PSU to hit .333 (3-for-9) with a homer at Charlotte... also went 3-for-9 in a pair of midweek games at Georgia (3/7-8)... put together a .308 (4-for-13) series with a homer and three RBI in XU's opening weekend trip to Troy... preseason All-BIG EAST selection... 2016 All-BIG EAST First Team selection... 2015 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American... 2015 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year... tied for first on team with a .333 (20-for-60) batting average in BIG EAST play... |
| Nate Monastra | FR | 1B | Lewis Center, Ohio (Olentangy) | Went 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and hit second homer of season in a 7-4 win over Wright State (3/21)... went 3-for-9 with a double and two RBI in a pair of games against Georgia (3/7-8)... went 2-for-3 with a homer and double in his first two college at-bats at Troy (2/18)... hit .456 with 28 RBI as a high school senior... was ranked as the second-best catching prospect in the state of Ohio by Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report... |
| Will LaRue | JR | LF | Evansville, Ind. (Mater Dei) |
Has raised batting average steadily over last two weeks, hitting .276 (8-for-29) with four RBI in last nine games... one of the top stolen base threats in the nation... leads team with 10 steals... collected one hit in each game against Illinois State last weekend... had a pair of two-hit games and hit .400 (4-for-10) in a weekend sweep against Ohio State (3/18-19)... went 2-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and three steals in two midweek games at Georgia (3/7-8)... preseason All-BIG EAST selection... appeared in 61 games with 60 starts during a breakout season... became one of the nation's best basestealers... swiped 31 bags in 36 attempts (86.1% success rate)... ranked 13th in the nation in total steals (31) and 27th in steals per game (0.51)... fourth on team with 38 runs scored... tied for fourth on team with 25 walks... third on team with 57 hits... |
| Matt Fallon | SR | CF | Glenview, Ill. (Loyola) | Collected hits in each game of last weekend's series against Illinois State, going 4-for-10 (.400) with four runs scored... hit .400 (6-for-15) in opening weekend at Troy, including a career-best 4-for-4 performance in the finale... moved up to leadoff spot in series finale against PSU and put together a 2-for-5 line with a run scored (2/26)... played in all 62 games last season, tying XU record, and made 61 starts... named to 2016 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team after hitting .500 (5-for-10) with four runs scored... scored the winning run during a semifinal walk-off win against St. John's (5/26)... named to NCAA Tournament Nashville All-Regional Team after collecting a hit in each game and appearing on SportsCenter for a highlight-reel catch in center... tied for team lead with 34 walks... finished season on an eight-game hitting streak... reached in 50 of 62 games... |
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PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Trent Astle | SR | LHP | Jeffersonville, Ind. (Jeffersonville) | Has a 6.29 ERA in four starts this season... picked up the win in last start against Wright State, going 6.1 innings and allowing three earned runs while striking out six (3/21)... held No. 1 Louisville to two runs through four innings before coming out in the fifth (3/15)... threw six innings of scoreless ball in first start of season at Troy (2/18)... was fantastic in BIG EAST play in 2016, leading XU starters with a 3-0 record and a 2.82 ERA... helped seal series sweeps against Butler, Seton Hall and Villanova with game three wins... was second on team in starts (15), innings (69.2) and tied for second in wins (5)... was the winning pitcher in XU's win over Villanova to clinch the regular season title... was All-BIG EAST Second Team as a sophomore in 2015 after posting a career-best 3.42 ERA and leading XU in IP, K and GS... three a complete-game, three-hit shutout against No. 1 seeded Creighton to lead XU to the 2014 BIG EAST Championship as a freshman in 2014... |
| Garrett Schilling | JR | RHP | Clawson, Mich. (Bishop Foley) | Preseason All-BIG EAST selection... struck out career-high six on Sunday against Ohio State (3/19)... made first career start at Troy, throwing seven innings of one-run ball and leaving with just 72 pitches thrown (2/18)... continued his hot start with six innings without an earned run against PSU (2/25)... 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection... 2016 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team... made a team-leading 29 appearances out of the bullpen, tied for sixth in XU single season history... turned in one of the best season's in XU history by a closer... set a new Xavier single season record, while leading the BIG EAST and ranking seventh in NCAA Division I with 14 saves... led team with a 1.91 ERA, which ranks tied for eighth in XU single season history... tied for third on team with four wins... third in the league with 24 games finished... |
| Greg Jacknewitz | SR | LHP | Delaware, Ohio (Bishop Watterson) | Has lowered ERA in three straight outings... allowed two runs in 5.1 innings last time out against Illinois State in a no-decision (3/25)... turned in six innings of one-run ball, striking out six against Ohio State (3/19)... had best start of XU career against Penn State (2/26)... tied a career-high with seven innings, allowing zero runs and striking out a career-high 13 against the Nittany Lions... struck out five in 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs in series finale at Troy... made 16 appearances and nine starts in 2016... was fifth on team with 53 innings pitched and third on the team in strikeouts with 39... helped clinch the BIG EAST regular season title with two innings of scoreless relief in a win against Villanova... made a team-high 20 appearances and ranked sixth in the nation with 5.37 hits allowed per game as a sophomore in 2015... |
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STREAKING |
• Conor Grammes leads the team with a streak of nine straight games reaching base.
• As a team, Xavier has stolen at least one base in five straight games.
• XU has had at least one player hit by a pitch in 11 straight games.
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RIDING RYLAN |
• Junior third baseman Rylan Bannon has recovered from a slow start for the second straight season, transitioning into the third spot in the lineup after beginning the year in the two-hole.
• After a 2-for-19 (.105) weekend at Troy, Bannon has recorded a 25-for-75 (.333) line in his last 21 games with 14 runs, six doubles, two triples, five homers and 15 RBI. He's also walked 16 times against 14 strikeouts to record a team-best .468 on-base percentage.
• In a bit of a statistical oddity, Bannon also shook off a 0-for-16 start at the plate last season to hit .296 (56-for-189) the rest of the way.
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WAIT FOR THE GOOD PITCHES |
• Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Gellenbeck ranks 44th nationally with 20 walks on the young season.
• Gellenbeck's on-base percentage is second on the team at .388 and he has walked nearly as many times as he has struck out this year (20-to-23).
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THE OTHER INVINCIBLE KENT |
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a strong start to 2017, going 3-1 in nine appearances with a 0.72 ERA – a number which ranks ninth nationwide.
• The righty began the year without allowing a run (earned or unearned) in his first 22.1 innings.
• Prior to this past Saturday, Kent was one of just two pitchers in college baseball to have thrown 19 innings or more without surrendering a run this season. The other was BIG EAST foe Ryan Testani of Seton Hall, who had thrown 19 scoreless frames and has since allowed runs as well.
• In 2016, Kent also went 10.1 innings before allowing the first earned run of his career and allowed just one run (unearned) out of the bullpen all season. For his career, Kent has thrown 34 innings in relief with a 0.53 ERA.
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ZAC ATTACK |
• Xavier's Friday night starter, junior lefty Zac Lowther, is widely considered to be one of the top MLB Draft prospects in the BIG EAST.
• This weekend, Xavier is skipping Lowther's start in an effort to have him fresh for the beginning of BIG EAST play.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA through six starts. He has limited opponents to a .191 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last two starts, fanning a career-high 11 against Ohio State on March 18 and getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State.
• Through his first six starts, Lowther ranks 17th in the nation with 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings. He is also 41st nationally with 46 strikeouts.
• Over the summer, Lowther led the prestigious Cape Cod League in strikeouts.
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SCHILLING AT THE START |
• Xavier junior Garrett Schilling is transitioning to the rotation in 2017 after serving in the bullpen for his first two years on the team.
• Against Ohio State last Sunday (3/19), Schilling set a new career-high with six strikeouts.
• Schilling threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five and scattering three hits in his first career start at Troy (2/18). He left after throwing just 72 pitches.
• Schilling picked up his first win as a starter at Penn State (2/25), allowing just three hits and one unearned run in six innings of work.
• A lights-out closer as a sophomore, Schilling posted a 1.91 ERA (tied for eighth in XU history) and broke the school record for saves with 14.
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X CAN PICK IT |
• Xavier has made just 22 errors in 25 games this season and holds a .976 fielding percentage, a number which ranks 50th nationally.
• The Musketeers also rank 49th in the nation with 22 double plays this season.
• XU tied a school record in 2016 with a .974 fielding percentage.
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THE KING RETURNS |
• The Musketeers are coming off their second BIG EAST Championship run in three seasons in 2017 after sweeping both the regular season and league tournament titles in 2016. Xavier went 32-30 (14-4 BIG EAST) a year ago and brings back 26 letterwinners from its most recent title run.
• Six everyday starters are back for the Musketeers. XU also brings back 13 pitchers, representing all but 54 innings pitched from last season. 48.1 of those 54 innings lost were thrown by junior righty Damien Richard, who remains on the roster but is rehabbing from an injury.
• XU returns quantity and quality, bringing back All-BIG EAST First Team selections Rylan Bannon and Nate Soria, as well as All-BIG EAST Second Team honorees Zac Lowther, Joe Gellenbeck and Garrett Schilling.
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THE KID CAN PLAY |
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .323 batting average, 30 hits, seven doubles and 10 multi-hit games on the season.
• He had a memorable first collegiate weekend at Troy, recording two hits in all four games from the four spot in the order. He finished the weekend batting .471 (8-for-17) with three runs, three doubles, a homer and five RBI.
• On March 21, he was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the first time after hitting .571 (8-for-14) in a 3-1 week against No. 1 Louisville and Ohio State.
• He recorded his fifth multi-hit game of the season on March 15 at No. 1 Louisville, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
• The McLean, Va. native has also been a top option out of the bullpen, logging nine innings in six appearances with a 5.00 ERA.
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2017 HONORS |
• Six different Musketeers have been honored by the BIG EAST Conference with weekly awards this season.
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GOOGS AT THE HELM |
• Head coach Scott Googins is in his 12th season in 2017 after reaching several milestones a year ago.
• Xavier's skipper became the all-time winningest baseball coach at Xavier with win No. 288 at Georgetown on April 15, 2016.
• Googins also picked up career win No. 300 on May 19, 2016 against Villanova.
• After a 13-12 start to the season, his all-time record is now 320-342 (.483).
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XU'S FIRST PRESEASON POY |
• One of just four unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selections, senior Joe Gellenbeck was named the program's first-ever preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year in December. The lefty swinger had a breakout season in 2016, homering in 10 of XU's 15 weekend series and leading the BIG EAST with 51 RBI and 125 total bases. A force in the middle of the lineup, the Lebanon, Ohio native and St. Xavier grad also ranked second for Xavier with 13 homers, 16 doubles, 41 runs, 70 hits and a .508 slugging percentage.
• Clutch in big moments, Gellenbeck had back-to-back walk-off hits to clinch a series win over Creighton in mid-May in addition to a game-tying homer in the third inning of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship game.
• Gellenbeck played in and tied all 62 games for Xavier last season, tying a school record, while also hitting .300 (9-for-30) with a homer and six RBI in seven postseason starts.
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SEVEN ALL-BIG EAST PICKS |
• Seven Musketeers – Nate Soria, Joe Gellenbeck, Chris Givin, Rylan Bannon, Will LaRue, Zac Lowther and Garrett Schilling – were selected by the league's coaches as Preseason All-BIG EAST honorees – the most for the program since joining the league for the 2014 season.
• Xavier had two preseason All-BIG EAST selections in each of the last two seasons and had one selection during its first year in the league.
• The seven selections more than doubles the total preseason All-BIG EAST picks in Xavier's proram history. The Musketeers had five overall in the last three seasons.
• Each of the selections is a first-time honoree.
• Five juniors, one senior and one sophomore were honored for Xavier.
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PICKED TO REPEAT |
• The defending league regular season and tournament champions, Xavier was picked to finish first in the BIG EAST for the first time in program history.
• Xavier had been picked fourth in each of its three seasons in the league prior to the first-place prediction on Tuesday.
• In addition to the BIG EAST poll, XU was also picked to win the league by publications like D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game and Baseball America.
Full Coaches Poll
First place votes in ( )
T1. Xavier – 32 points (4)
T1. St. John's – 32 pts. (3)
3. Creighton – 25 pts.
4. Seton Hall – 24 pts.
5. Georgetown – 17 pts.
6. Villanova – 9 pts.
7. Butler – 8 pts.
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* - due to ties in voting there are four outfielders and five starting pitchers on the 2017 Preseason All-BIG EAST team
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A RUN TO REMEMBER |
• At its lowest point in 2016, Xavier was 14-26 and 1-3 in BIG EAST play in 2016 after a series-opening loss to St. John's.
• From that point on, XU would win eight straight games and 18 of its final 22.
• XU's senior class of Dan Rizzie, Andre Jernigan and David Morton combined to hit .395 in seven postseason games, carrying the Musketeers to a BIG EAST Championship for the second time in three seasons and another trip to Nashville for the NCAA Tournament.
• The Musketeers beat host and top-seeded Vanderbilt 15-1 in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament and also picked up a win against Washington, reaching the NCAA Tournament Regional Championship for the first time in program history.
• XU hit 59 home runs as a team, ranking among the national leaders and posting the fifth-most homers ever by an XU team.
• Xavier's fielding percentage of .974 tied a program record set in 2011.
• Xavier's 32 wins in 2016 were tied for the second-most in school history.
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DRAFTING MUSKETEERS |
• Following a record-setting season, Xavier had two players selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft for the first time since 2008. Dan Rizzie went first, going to the New York Mets in the 13th round and Andre Jernigan followed as a 14th round selection of the Minnesota Twins.
• Xavier has now had at least one player drafted in 10 of the last 12 years.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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IF
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OF
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IF
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OF
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IF
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IF
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LHP
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IF
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OF
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LHP
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C
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IF
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RHP
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RHP
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C
/ 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