Baseball Drops Joe Nuxhall Classic Opener at Miami (OH), 3-2

Tuesday, April 12

Oxford, OH

7 P.M.

Xavier University

11-22

Miami (OH)

16-15

Xavier University

Miami

Baseball Drops Joe Nuxhall Classic Opener at Miami (OH), 3-2

04.12.16 | Baseball

Box Score

Freshmen Taylor Williams and Matt Kent solid on mound in setback

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletics Communication

OXFORD, Ohio – Xavier baseball got a pair of solid efforts on the mound by two freshmen righties on Tuesday night, but dropped its opener at the Joe Nuxhall Classic against Miami (OH), 3-2.

Matt Kent and Taylor Williams each tossed four innings, surrendering just one earned run between them, but Miami (OH) was able to make a 3-0 lead stand up after the second as the Musketeers dropped to 11-22 overall with the loss.

The Redhawks improved to 16-15 overall with the win, snapping a four-game losing streak in the series. Miami (OH) hadn't defeated Xavier since April 8, 2014 coming into tonight's game.

XU AT THE PLATE

· Sophomore Nate Soria produced his sixth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
· Sophomore Rylan Bannon worked a pair of walks, but finished the day hitless (0-for-2) to snap a team-leading 11 game hitting streak.
· Chris Givin, Joe Gellenbeck and Dan Rizzie all finished 1-for-4 for Xavier, which collected five hits total in the game.
· Blaine Griffiths reached twice via the walk and scored a run.
· The Musketeers worked six walks as a team and have now collected 41 free passes in their last nine games.
· Joe Gellenbeck (1-for-4, RBI) stole his eighth base of the season and smacked his team-leading 10th double.

XU ON THE MOUND

· Matt Kent (0-1) made his first career start and pitched well, allowing just one earned run and striking out three over four innings.
· The freshman righty has allowed just one earned run in his first 13 career innings at Xavier.
· Taylor Williams tossed a career-high four innings in relief, blanking Miami on two hits and striking out four to close out the game. It was a third straight scoreless appearance for Williams, who hasn't allowed a run in his last 8.1 innings.

HOW THE MUSKETEERS SCORED

THIRD INNING: Nate Soria led off the frame with a single to left, advancing on a one out walk by Will LaRue. After Dan Rizzie popped out, Joe Gellenbeck came through with a two out RBI double down the right field line.
FOURTH INNING: Blaine Griffiths and Rylan Bannon kick-started a two out rally with back-to-back walks before Nate Soria singled through the right side to score Griffiths and make it 3-2.

UP NEXT

· Xavier returns to the diamond on Wednesday afternoon, playing Cincinnati to close the Joe Nuxhall Classic in Oxford, Ohio. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET.