Xavier University Athletics
Tuesday, April 11
Fairborn, Ohio
6:30 p.m.
Xavier University
at
Wright State
Baseball Returns to Road Against Wright State on Tuesday Night
04.10.17 | Baseball
Senior Trent Astle gets the ball as XU travels to Fairborn for midweek contest
FAIRBORN, Ohio – Xavier baseball will squeeze in a quick non-conference game on Tuesday night, traveling to Wright State for a 6:30 p.m. matchup at Nischwitz Stadium before continuing league play on Thursday.
First pitch in the game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
XU comes into the contest at 18-14 (1-2 BIG EAST), while Wright State enters at 21-8 (11-1 Horizon League). Xavier won 7-4 on March 21 in the first meeting between the two schools this season.
• Xavier avoided a sweep at Villanova, busting out the bats for a 10-1 win on getaway day.
• Joe Gellenbeck hit his seventh homer of the season and Conor Grammes crushed his fourth for XU.
• Matt Fallon paced the offense with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, providing a double and three RBI. Fallon capped the weekend 5-for-11 (.455) with three RBI.
• XU's bullpen was lights-out on Sunday, providing 4.2 innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Musketeer relievers walked just two and struck out seven to slam the door.
• For the weekend, Xavier pitchers posted a combined 1.75 ERA, logging 25.2 innings and striking out 33 while allowing just eight hits. The Musketeers held Villanova to a team batting average of .095 over the three-game series.
• Will LaRue leads XU with a four-game hitting streak and a streak of 11 straight games reaching base.
• The Musketeers have drawn at least one walk in all 32 games this season. XU also worked a walk in all 62 games played in 2016. Going back to 2015, Xavier has walked in 103 straight games. The Musketeers' last game without a walk was April 26, 2015 against Georgetown.
• XU has played seven straight games without committing an error.
• Xavier ranks 39th nationally and first in the BIG EAST with 31 home runs on the season. XU is also 45th nationally with an average of 0.97 homers per game.
• Rylan Bannon leads the team with eight homers on the season, which ranks 45th nationally and first in the BIG EAST Conference.
• The Musketeers hit nine longballs a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson from March 31-April 2, including seven in a 22-9 win during Friday's series opener.
• XU was one of the top power teams in the nation last season as well, hitting 59 homers in 2016. That number ranked fourth all-time in program history.
• Xavier ranks 45th in the nation with 42 stolen bases this season and 54th nationally with 1.31 steals per game.
• Will LaRue ranks 29th nationally with 14 stolen bases. The junior outfielder is 52-for-61 (85.2%) in steal attempts during his career.
• The Musketeers have stolen at least one base in in 15 of their last 16 games and have stolen five bases in a game twice this season.
• 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 .330 (32-for-97) line in his last 28 games with 22 runs, eight doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI. He's also walked 24 times against 18 strikeouts to record a team-best .476 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.
• Rylan Bannon ranks 38th in the nation with 25 walks this season.
• Joe Gellenbeck ranks 74th nationally with 23 walks on the season.
• Both have walked nearly as many times as they have struck out: Bannon (25 BB, 27 K), Gellenbeck (23 BB, 30 K)
• Leadoff man Chris Givin has walked 13 times against just 10 strikeouts in 53 AB's.
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a solid start to 2017, going 4-1 in 12 appearances with a 1.80 ERA.
• The righty began the year without allowing a run (earned or unearned) in his first 22.1 innings.
• Prior to March 25 against Illinois State, 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 39.0 innings in relief, allowing just six earned runs for a 1.38 ERA.
• Xavier's ace, junior lefty Zac Lowther, is widely considered to be one of the top MLB Draft prospects in the BIG EAST.
• XU skipped Lowther's last start in an effort to have him fresh for the beginning of BIG EAST play against Villanova this weekend.
• He responded by taking a perfect game into the ninth last Friday, tying a career-high with eight innings and striking out a career-best 16 in a no-decision. The strikeouts were the most by an XU pitcher since 1997.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA through seven starts. He has limited opponents to a .157 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last three starts, fanning 11 against Ohio State on March 18, getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State and ringing up a career-high 16 last Friday at Villanova.
• Through his first seven starts, Lowther ranks second in the nation with 13.95 strikeouts per nine innings and seventh in the NCAA with 4.73 hits allowed per nine innings. He is also 28th nationally with 62 strikeouts.
• Already ranks eighth in program history in career strikeouts with 188.
• 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.
• Schilling set a new career-high with six strikeouts against Ohio State (3/19).
• 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 32 games this season and holds a .981 fielding percentage, a number which ranks first in the BIG EAST and 11th nationally.
• XU is currently riding a seven-game streak without committing an error.
• The Musketeers also rank 73rd in the nation with 26 double plays this season.
• XU tied a school record in 2016 with a .974 fielding percentage.
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .357 batting average, 41 hits and 15 multi-hit games on the season.
• He has been smoking hot over the last 15 games, recording a .509 batting average (27-for-53) with three homers and 11 RBI during the stretch.
• Went 4-for-6 (.667) in two games to open up BIG EAST play at Villanova.
• Had best weekend yet against Fairleigh Dickinson (3/31-4/2), posting a .636 batting average (7-for-11) with a homer and six RBI in a three-game series sweep.
• Grammes has been recognized by the BIG EAST three times already this season, earning BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 21 and a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice (2/20, 4/4).
• 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.
• 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 15.1 innings in nine appearances with a 4.11 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 18-14 start to the season, his all-time record is now 325-344 (.486).
• 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.
• 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 in the game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
XU comes into the contest at 18-14 (1-2 BIG EAST), while Wright State enters at 21-8 (11-1 Horizon League). Xavier won 7-4 on March 21 in the first meeting between the two schools this season.
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PROBABLE PITCHERS |
| Game | Xavier | Wright State |
| 1 | Trent Astle, LHP -- 6.12 ERA, 32.1 IP, 17 K |
Trevor Swaney, RHP -- 5.40 ERA, 23.1 IP, 11 K |
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name | Class | Position | Hometown (HS) | Notes |
| Chris Givin | SO | SS | Castle Rock, Colo. (Rock Canyon) | Made return to lineup last Wednesday at Miami (OH) after missing 17 games due to a hand injury... spent four games in the fifth spot in the order before returning to the leadoff spot last Wednesday against Miami (OH)... has walked more than he has struck out on the season (13-10)... was 1-for-4 with a run and a two-run double 9-4 win against the RedHawks (4/5)... 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... |
| Joe Gellenbeck | SR | RF | Lebanon, Ohio (St. Xavier) | Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/6 & 3/13) twice this season... tied for second in the BIG EAST with seven homers... went yard in both of XU's wins last week... has been a sneaky threat on the bases, going 8-for-8 in steals... went 3-for-4 with his sixth homer and three RBI in a 9-4 against Miami (OH) on April 5... had a big weekend against Fairleigh Dickinson in which he hit .500 (6-for-12) with a homer and eight RBI... hit walk-off two run homer against Ohio State to cap a weekend sweep (3/19)... ranks 74th in the nation with 23 walks this season, including seven during XU's opening weekend at Troy... has reached base in 26 of 32 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) |
Began season 2-for-19 (.105) but has hit .330 (32-for-97) in last 28 games with 22 runs, eight doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI... leads team with eight homers on the season... went 4-for-9 (.444) in the series against Fairleigh Dickinson, leading XU with three homers and six runs scored... had first career multi-HR game, connecting for two bombs on March 31 in a 22-9 win over FDU... hit .500 (5-for-10) with a double, triple and two RBI in 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... |
| Conor Grammes | FR | 2B | McLean, Va. (McLean) | Smoking hot over last 15 games... batting .509 (27-for-53) with three homers and 11 RBI during the stretch... saw a 12-game reached base streak snapped on April 5 against Miami (OH)... leads team with 15 multi-hit games... hit fourth homer of season in Sunday's 10-1 win over Villanova... went 4-for-6 (.667) with four runs scored in two games at 'Nova... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (4/4) after hitting .636 (7-for-11) in the Fairleigh Dickinson sweep, homering and knocking in six runs... 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... |
| 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 86 of last 111 games going back to 2015... went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a two-run homer in a 9-4 win against Miami (OH) on April 5... hit .500 (5-for-10) with a a homer and five RBI in the Fairleigh Dickinson sweep... rebounded from a tough series (1-for-15) against Penn State 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... |
| Ethan Schmidt | SR | 1B | Granville, Ohio (Granville) | Walked a career-high three times and scored twice in Wednesday's win over Miami (OH)... went 3-for-3 with his first homer of the year off the bench in XU's 15-3 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (4/2)... collected hits in three of four games against Penn State... made 41 appearances and 21 starts at first in 2016... hit .224 with two homers and nine RBI... launched first career grand slam in a 12-4 win over Miami (OH) on March 16... had a seven-game hitting streak from April 16-24... |
| Will LaRue | JR | LF | Evansville, Ind. (Mater Dei) |
Has raised batting average steadily over 16 games, hitting .340 (18-for-53) with a homer and eight RBI... one of the top stolen base threats in the nation... leads team and ranks 29th nationally with 14 steals... went 4-for-11 (.364) in the Villanova series, scoring twice and knocking in two runs... went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win over Miami (OH) on April 5... had a pair of two-hit games in the Fairleigh Dickinson series, going 4-for-9 (.444) with four runs scored and his first homer of the season... collected one hit in each game of the Illinois State series... 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) | Led team with a .455 batting average, going 5-for-11 with three RBI last weekend against Villanova... 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 3-1 record and a 6.12 ERA in seven starts this season... ranks 11th in program history with 257.2 career innings pitched... ranks eighth in program history with 46 starts... tied for 10th in program history with 16 wins... went five scoreless last Wednesday (4/5), striking out three and scattering five hits in a 9-4 win over Miami (OH)... picked up a win against Wright State in the last meeting between the two teams, 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... |
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LAST TIME OUT |
• Xavier avoided a sweep at Villanova, busting out the bats for a 10-1 win on getaway day.
• Joe Gellenbeck hit his seventh homer of the season and Conor Grammes crushed his fourth for XU.
• Matt Fallon paced the offense with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, providing a double and three RBI. Fallon capped the weekend 5-for-11 (.455) with three RBI.
• XU's bullpen was lights-out on Sunday, providing 4.2 innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Musketeer relievers walked just two and struck out seven to slam the door.
• For the weekend, Xavier pitchers posted a combined 1.75 ERA, logging 25.2 innings and striking out 33 while allowing just eight hits. The Musketeers held Villanova to a team batting average of .095 over the three-game series.
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STREAKING |
• Will LaRue leads XU with a four-game hitting streak and a streak of 11 straight games reaching base.
• The Musketeers have drawn at least one walk in all 32 games this season. XU also worked a walk in all 62 games played in 2016. Going back to 2015, Xavier has walked in 103 straight games. The Musketeers' last game without a walk was April 26, 2015 against Georgetown.
• XU has played seven straight games without committing an error.
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BOMBS AWAY |
• Xavier ranks 39th nationally and first in the BIG EAST with 31 home runs on the season. XU is also 45th nationally with an average of 0.97 homers per game.
• Rylan Bannon leads the team with eight homers on the season, which ranks 45th nationally and first in the BIG EAST Conference.
• The Musketeers hit nine longballs a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson from March 31-April 2, including seven in a 22-9 win during Friday's series opener.
• XU was one of the top power teams in the nation last season as well, hitting 59 homers in 2016. That number ranked fourth all-time in program history.
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CATCH 'EM IF YOU CAN |
• Xavier ranks 45th in the nation with 42 stolen bases this season and 54th nationally with 1.31 steals per game.
• Will LaRue ranks 29th nationally with 14 stolen bases. The junior outfielder is 52-for-61 (85.2%) in steal attempts during his career.
• The Musketeers have stolen at least one base in in 15 of their last 16 games and have stolen five bases in a game twice this season.
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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 .330 (32-for-97) line in his last 28 games with 22 runs, eight doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI. He's also walked 24 times against 18 strikeouts to record a team-best .476 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 |
• Rylan Bannon ranks 38th in the nation with 25 walks this season.
• Joe Gellenbeck ranks 74th nationally with 23 walks on the season.
• Both have walked nearly as many times as they have struck out: Bannon (25 BB, 27 K), Gellenbeck (23 BB, 30 K)
• Leadoff man Chris Givin has walked 13 times against just 10 strikeouts in 53 AB's.
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THE OTHER INVINCIBLE KENT |
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a solid start to 2017, going 4-1 in 12 appearances with a 1.80 ERA.
• The righty began the year without allowing a run (earned or unearned) in his first 22.1 innings.
• Prior to March 25 against Illinois State, 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 39.0 innings in relief, allowing just six earned runs for a 1.38 ERA.
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SOMEHOW SPELLED WITHOUT A K |
• Xavier's ace, junior lefty Zac Lowther, is widely considered to be one of the top MLB Draft prospects in the BIG EAST.
• XU skipped Lowther's last start in an effort to have him fresh for the beginning of BIG EAST play against Villanova this weekend.
• He responded by taking a perfect game into the ninth last Friday, tying a career-high with eight innings and striking out a career-best 16 in a no-decision. The strikeouts were the most by an XU pitcher since 1997.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA through seven starts. He has limited opponents to a .157 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last three starts, fanning 11 against Ohio State on March 18, getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State and ringing up a career-high 16 last Friday at Villanova.
• Through his first seven starts, Lowther ranks second in the nation with 13.95 strikeouts per nine innings and seventh in the NCAA with 4.73 hits allowed per nine innings. He is also 28th nationally with 62 strikeouts.
• Already ranks eighth in program history in career strikeouts with 188.
• 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.
• Schilling set a new career-high with six strikeouts against Ohio State (3/19).
• 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 32 games this season and holds a .981 fielding percentage, a number which ranks first in the BIG EAST and 11th nationally.
• XU is currently riding a seven-game streak without committing an error.
• The Musketeers also rank 73rd in the nation with 26 double plays this season.
• XU tied a school record in 2016 with a .974 fielding percentage.
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THE KID CAN PLAY |
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .357 batting average, 41 hits and 15 multi-hit games on the season.
• He has been smoking hot over the last 15 games, recording a .509 batting average (27-for-53) with three homers and 11 RBI during the stretch.
• Went 4-for-6 (.667) in two games to open up BIG EAST play at Villanova.
• Had best weekend yet against Fairleigh Dickinson (3/31-4/2), posting a .636 batting average (7-for-11) with a homer and six RBI in a three-game series sweep.
• Grammes has been recognized by the BIG EAST three times already this season, earning BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 21 and a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice (2/20, 4/4).
• 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.
• 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 15.1 innings in nine appearances with a 4.11 ERA.
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2017 WEEKLY 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 18-14 start to the season, his all-time record is now 325-344 (.486).
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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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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
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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