Xavier University Athletics
Friday, April 8
Hayden Field
3 P.M.
Xavier University
vs
Morehead State
Baseball Hosts Morehead State in Final Non-Conference Series
04.06.16 | Baseball
CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball returns to Hayden Field this weekend for a three-game set against Morehead State.
The Musketeers (10-19) are coming off a 5-4 loss at Ball State on Tuesday, but took their last weekend series at Illinois State. This will be XU's final home non-conference series of the season before embarking on BIG EAST play on Friday, April 15 at Georgetown.
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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 until Sunday, April 10 when 31 members of the program have pledged to shave their heads in support of the cause. The head-shaving will occur this Sunday, following the series finale against Morehead State.Â
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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.
• The Musketeers are off to a 10-19 start, playing 23 of their first 29 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first eight 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.
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• Morehead State (17-11) is coming off a weekend series loss at Eastern Kentucky. The Eagles dropped the first two games before rebounding with a 16-2 win on travel day. The team plays one more midweek game, facing Tennessee on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before traveling to Cincinnati.
• The Eagles boast a team batting average of .321 – which ranks 12th in the nation – and eight batters hitting .314 or better, including Trevor Snyder (.375, 7 HR, 29 RBI), Tyler Niemann (.373, 2 HR, 14 RBI), Alex Stephens (.370, 4 HR, 32 RBI) and Reid Leonard (.368, 16 RBI).Â
• As of April 6, Morehead State ranks in the top-10 nationally in several offensive statistics, including doubles (70), hits (342), home runs (34), runs (237) and scoring average (8.5).
• The Eagles have a 4.57 team ERA.
• Game one starter Matt Anderson has a 2.56 ERA in seven starts, striking out 61 batters in 38.2 innings. He is first in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (14.20).Â
• Game two starter Aaron Leasher brings in a 3-1 record with a 3.89 ERA and has 52 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.
• Game three starter Patrick McGuff is 2-3 in five starts (nine appearances) and has a 7.52 ERA in 26.1 innings.
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• Xavier ranks 20th in the nation with 31 homers and is 21st in home runs per game (1.07).
• The Musketeers have homered at least once in 12 of their last 14 games, totaling 22 longballs over that span.
• Andre Jernigan and Joe Gellenbeck both rank 24th in the nation and are tied for the team lead with eight homers through 29 games. Both have surpassed last year's team leader in homers, Derek Hasenbeck, who hit six in 53 games.
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• Xavier ranks 57th in the nation with a fielding percentage of .973.
• XU has committed 28 errors in 29 games, including 10 games without an error at all.
• Catcher Dan Rizzie has been a standout behind the plate, throwing out 13 of 20 (.650) attempted base stealers with just one error this season.
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• Xavier's sweep of Central Michigan from March 18-20 was its second of the season and gave the Musketeers a four-game winning streak for the first time since April 9-13, 2014.
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came at USC Upstate from March 4-6 and snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to that, XU's last weekend sweep was from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
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• With 57 stolen bases, XU ranks 10th nationally in steals and 12th in steals per game (1.97).
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to the Mercer series (Feb. 26-28), the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranks sixth in the nation with 20 steals and 10th in the nation with 0.71 steals per game.
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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. 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. Matt Kent made his career debut on Friday, March 25 at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
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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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• 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 29 – 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 12.
• 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 two wins from tying former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history.
• Googins has 285 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
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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).
The Musketeers (10-19) are coming off a 5-4 loss at Ball State on Tuesday, but took their last weekend series at Illinois State. This will be XU's final home non-conference series of the season before embarking on BIG EAST play on Friday, April 15 at Georgetown.
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 | Â XAVIER BASEBALL VS. CANCER |
• The team will be collecting donations until Sunday, April 10 when 31 members of the program have pledged to shave their heads in support of the cause. The head-shaving will occur this Sunday, following the series finale against Morehead State.Â
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| Â THE MATCHUP |
|  Date – Time |  Follow Live |  Projected Starters |
|  Fri., April 8 – 3 p.m. |  Stats / @XavierBASE |  Zac Lowther vs. Matt Anderson |
|  Sat., April 9 – 1 p.m. |  Stats / @XavierBASE |  Brad Kirschner vs. Aaron Leasher |
|  Sun., April 10 – 12 p.m. |  Stats / @XavierBASE |  Damien Richard vs. Patrick McGuff |
| Â AROUND THE HORN |
• The Musketeers are off to a 10-19 start, playing 23 of their first 29 games on the road. The competition has been stiff early, as five of XU's first eight 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.
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| Â SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION |
• The Eagles boast a team batting average of .321 – which ranks 12th in the nation – and eight batters hitting .314 or better, including Trevor Snyder (.375, 7 HR, 29 RBI), Tyler Niemann (.373, 2 HR, 14 RBI), Alex Stephens (.370, 4 HR, 32 RBI) and Reid Leonard (.368, 16 RBI).Â
• As of April 6, Morehead State ranks in the top-10 nationally in several offensive statistics, including doubles (70), hits (342), home runs (34), runs (237) and scoring average (8.5).
• The Eagles have a 4.57 team ERA.
• Game one starter Matt Anderson has a 2.56 ERA in seven starts, striking out 61 batters in 38.2 innings. He is first in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (14.20).Â
• Game two starter Aaron Leasher brings in a 3-1 record with a 3.89 ERA and has 52 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.
• Game three starter Patrick McGuff is 2-3 in five starts (nine appearances) and has a 7.52 ERA in 26.1 innings.
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| Â PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name (Class) | Position | Notes |
| Will LaRue (So.) | Left Field | Ranks fourth on team with a .291 batting average and ranks sixth nationally with 20 stolen bases... has scored a run in 10 of his last 15 games... batting .339 (20-for-59) with six multi-hit efforts in last 15 games... |
| Chris Givin (Fr.) | Second Base | Has started at second in 13 of 15 games... leads team with a .309 batting average... has a hit in 11 of his last 15 games... batted .500 (6-for-12) with three runs scored in XU's weekend series at Illinois State... |
| Daniel Rizzie (Sr.) | Catcher | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... missed most of last season with hand injury... riding a eight-game hitting streak... batting .435 (22-for-51) with four homers in last 13 starts... leads team with 13 multi-hit games... |
| Joe Gellenbeck (Jr.) | First Base | Has homered in each of Xavier's first eight weekend series... tied for team lead with eight homers... leads XU with 23 RBI... went 8-for-17 (.471) with a pair of three-hit games in four starts last week to earn a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll... hit first career home run in game two of Feb. 20 doubleheader at ASU... |
| Andre Jernigan (Sr.) | Shortstop | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... tied for team lead in homers (8) and runs scored (19)... leading team with seven HBP... has made 138 starts at SS in last three-plus seasons... put up a 4-for-5 line with a career-high six RBI on Sunday to help XU take the series at Illinois State... |
| Nate Soria (So.) | Right Field | Led 2015 team in BA (.335), 2B (11) and OBP (.420)... has reached base in 50 of last 59 games going back to 2015... |
| Blaine Griffiths (So.) | Designated Hitter | Has started 14 of last 17 games... reached base in 10 of last 13 games... has an RBI in three of last four games... put up a career-high three hits in Sunday's win at Illinois State... |
| Rylan Bannon (So.) | Third Base | Started season 0-for-16 and is 22-for-67 (.328) with three homers and 10 RBI since... tied for team lead with an eight-game hitting streak... |
| Matt Fallon (Jr.) | Center Field | Transfer from Black Hawk College... has reached base in 24 of 29 games this season... |
| Â PROJECTED STARTER |
| Day | Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Fri. | Zac Lowther | LHP | Has lasted at least five innings in all seven of his turns so far as the Friday night starter... leads team in innings (43) and strikeouts (41)... turned in a brilliant start at USC Upstate (3/4), tying career-highs with seven innings of one-run ball... struck out a career-high eight in six innings of shutout ball against CMU (3/18)... spun six innings of scoreless ball against Illinois State on Friday, striking out seven to improve to 3-3... |
| Sat. | Brad Kirschner | LHP | Taking second turn in weekend rotation in 2016... made seven relief appearances before starts in his last three outings... has a 4.50 ERA as a starter (14 innings, 7 ER, 13 K)... |
| Sun. | Damien Richard | RHP | Taking second turn in weekend rotation... Made seven appearances out of the bullpen before starting his first career game at Wright State on March 8... tossed five innings, allowing three runs and striking out three to get the win on Sunday at Illinois State... |
| Â BULLPEN |
| Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Garrett Schilling (So.) | RHP | Tied for second on team with 10 appearances... Earned back-to-back saves in games two and three at USC Upstate and leads XU with four saves... put up a career-high three innings of one-run relief in game four at ASU... has thrown 11.2 straight innings without giving up an earned run... |
| Brandon Johnson (So.) | RHP | Allowed five earned runs in first career start in game three at ASU... tossed a scoreless inning at Louisville last Tuesday... |
| Trey Schramm (Fr.) | RHP | Tied for team lead with 11 appearances... 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 10 of 11 appearances... |
| Taylor Williams (Fr.) | RHP | Tied for team lead with 11 appearances... sparkled in career debut, striking out six in 2.1 innings of relief at ASU... struck out three in two innings of quality relief at UC last Friday... held Ball State scoreless in two innings on Tuesday... |
| Jason Hall (Jr.) | RHP | Made season debut on Sunday at Mercer, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief... threw a scoreless inning in Friday's 12-1 win at Illinois State... |
| Matt Kent (Fr.)Â Â | RHPÂ Â Â Â | Has pitched six innings over four appearances without giving up an earned run... coming off a career-high three inning, three strikeout relief outing at Ball State... |
| Â BOMBS AWAY |
• The Musketeers have homered at least once in 12 of their last 14 games, totaling 22 longballs over that span.
• Andre Jernigan and Joe Gellenbeck both rank 24th in the nation and are tied for the team lead with eight homers through 29 games. Both have surpassed last year's team leader in homers, Derek Hasenbeck, who hit six in 53 games.
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| Â X CAN PICK IT |
• XU has committed 28 errors in 29 games, including 10 games without an error at all.
• Catcher Dan Rizzie has been a standout behind the plate, throwing out 13 of 20 (.650) attempted base stealers with just one error this season.
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| Â BUSTING OUT THE BROOMS |
• Xavier's last weekend sweep came at USC Upstate from March 4-6 and snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to that, XU's last weekend sweep was from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
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| Â BASE BURGLARS |
• Xavier stole seven bases in back-to-back games at Mercer, tallying 17 for the weekend series.
• Prior to the Mercer series (Feb. 26-28), the last time Xavier stole seven bases in a game was on March 31, 2015 at Dayton.
• Sophomore Will LaRue ranks sixth in the nation with 20 steals and 10th in the nation with 0.71 steals per game.
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| Â YOUNG GUNS IN THE 'PEN |
• Seven arms came into 2016 without a single career appearance. 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. Matt Kent made his career debut on Friday, March 25 at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
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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 TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM |
• Jernigan's career total of 29 – 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 12.
• 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 285 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
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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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/ BaseballHIGHLIGHTS | Baseball vs. UConn (BIG EAST Tournament)
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Saturday, May 17
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Sunday, May 11
HIGHLIGHTS | Baseball at Creighton (Game 2)
Sunday, May 11