Xavier University Athletics
Friday, March 18
Hayden Field
3 P.M.
Xavier University
vs
Central Michigan
Baseball Hosts CMU for Weekend Series at Hayden Field
03.17.16 | Baseball
Musketeers coming off big midweek win over Miami (OH) in home opener on Wednesday
CINCINNATI – Fresh off a 12-run explosion in its 2016 home opener, Xavier baseball returns home looking to sustain momentum in a three-game series against Central Michigan.
• 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 4-12 start, playing all 15 of their 16 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first six 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.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 50 of their 60 runs in their last 10 games, including a 17 run series at USC Upstate, a 14-run outburst last Sunday at Mercer and Wednesday's 12-run performance.
• Central Michigan enters the weekend at 4-12 overall, but coming off a 10-5 midweek win against Bowling Green.
• The Chippewas will be playing their 17th straight road game to start the season on Friday.
• Zach McKinstry (.338) leads CMU in batting average, hits (22) and doubles (5). Daniel Jipping is CMU's other .300 hitter and leads the team with three homers and 14 RBI.
• Friday starter Nick Deeg leads CMU with 23.2 innings pitched and sports a 4.94 ERA. Jordan Grosjean leads the team with nine appearances in relief and in ERA at 2.65.
• CMU is hitting just .238 as a team entering the weekend and sports a team ERA of 7.04.
• With 33 stolen bases on the season, XU ranks 16th nationally in steals (33) and is 15th in steals per game (2.06).
• 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 ranks 14th in the nation with 11 steals and 15th with 0.69 steals per game. He's swiped at least one base in seven of his last 11 games.
• 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.
• 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 eight wins from tying former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history.
• Googins has 279 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 on 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 MATCHUP |
| Date – Time | Follow Live | Projected Starters |
| Fri., March 18 – 3 p.m. | Stats / @XavierBASE | LHP Zac Lowther vs. LHP Nick Deeg |
| Sat., March 19 – 1 p.m. | Stats / @XavierBASE | LHP Greg Jacknewitz vs. RHP Michael Brettell |
| Sun., March 20 – 12 p.m. | Stats / @XavierBASE | TBA vs. RHP Pat Leatherman |
| AROUND THE HORN |
• The Musketeers are off to a 4-12 start, playing all 15 of their 16 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first six 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.
• Xavier's bats have woken up lately, as the Musketeers have scored 50 of their 60 runs in their last 10 games, including a 17 run series at USC Upstate, a 14-run outburst last Sunday at Mercer and Wednesday's 12-run performance.
| SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION |
• The Chippewas will be playing their 17th straight road game to start the season on Friday.
• Zach McKinstry (.338) leads CMU in batting average, hits (22) and doubles (5). Daniel Jipping is CMU's other .300 hitter and leads the team with three homers and 14 RBI.
• Friday starter Nick Deeg leads CMU with 23.2 innings pitched and sports a 4.94 ERA. Jordan Grosjean leads the team with nine appearances in relief and in ERA at 2.65.
• CMU is hitting just .238 as a team entering the weekend and sports a team ERA of 7.04.
| PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name (Class) | Position | Notes |
| Will LaRue (So.) | Left Field | Leads team and ranks 14th nationally with 11 stolen bases... has a steal in seven of his last 11 games... has scored a run in last three games... batting .500 (6-for-12) in last three games... collected a career-high four hits last Sunday at Vandy... |
| Blaine Griffiths (So.) | Designated Hitter | Has started last seven games, ranks second on Xavier with a .298 batting average... riding a three-game hitting streak... |
| Daniel Rizzie (Sr.) | Catcher | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... missed most of last season with hand injury... has four multi-hit games in 16 starts to begin 2016 season... |
| Joe Gellenbeck (Jr.) | First Base | Has homered in each of Xavier's first four weekend series... leads Xavier with four homers and is tied for team lead with 10 runs scored... hit first career home run in game two of 2/20 doubleheader at ASU... |
| Andre Jernigan (Sr.) | Shortstop | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... second on XU with 15 hits... leading team with six HBP... has made 125 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 45 of last 50 games going back to 2015... |
| David Morton (Sr.) | Second Base | Named BIG EAST Player of the Week last Monday for first time in his career... has an RBI in five of last nine starts... |
| Rylan Bannon (So.) | Third Base | Broke out of season-opening 0-for-16 slump with a 2-for-4 game in series finale at Mercer... hit first career home run in third inning of same game... launched second career HR in Miami (OH) win on Wednesday... |
| Matt Fallon (Jr.) | Center Field | Transfer from Black Hawk College... has reached base in 14 of 16 games this season... had two doubles in series finale at Vandy on Sunday... tallied a season-high three hits vs. Miami (OH) on Wednesday... |
| PROJECTED ROTATION |
| Day | Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Fri. | Zac Lowther (So.) | LHP | Has lasted at least five innings in all four of his turns so far as the Friday night starter... turned in a brilliant start last Friday at USC Upstate, tying career-highs with seven innings of one-run ball... |
| Sat. | 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... |
| Sun. | TBA |
| 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... has thrown six 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 | 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... |
| 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 in Saturday game at USC Upstate, going three innings and striking out three... has pitched 1+ innings in all six appearances and leads team with a 2.45 ERA and 14.2 innings out of the 'pen... |
| Damien Richard (So.) | RHP | Tied for team-lead with six appearances... has thrown multiple innings in all six of his appearances... has multiple strikeouts in four of six outings... 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... |
| 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 |
| 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 ranks 14th in the nation with 11 steals and 15th with 0.69 steals per game. He's swiped at least one base in seven of his last 11 games.
| 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.
| 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 279 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)
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Sunday, May 11