Xavier University Athletics
Friday, May 13
Hayden Field
3 P.M.
Xavier University
vs
Creighton
Baseball Welcomes Creighton for Critical BIG EAST Series
05.11.16 | Baseball
First-place implications in three-game set this weekend at Hayden Field
CINCINNATI – Fresh off a second straight weekend sweep in BIG EAST action, Xavier baseball welcomes Creighton to Hayden Field for a three-game weekend set.
The Musketeers are 22-26 overall (9-3 BIG EAST) and coming off a weekend sweep against Seton Hall at Owen T. Carroll Field. XU is also 9-5 this season at home.
The Bluejays enter the game at 32-11 overall and 10-2 in league play.
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• Xavier has turned its season around over the last three weeks, claiming three consecutive series against conference foes for the first time since 2011.
• The Musketeers are currently riding an eight-game winning streak – the team's longest since a nine-game spurt from March 6-18, 2011.
• Xavier has won nine straight on three separate occasions in program history (2011, 1975, 1972).
• Just one year removed from a BIG EAST Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, XU is looking to rebound after a frustrating 15-38 (3-15 BIG EAST) season in 2015. The Musketeers are off to a 9-3 start in league play, including series wins over St. John's, Butler and Seton Hall.
• XU surpassed last season's win total with a 1-0 win over St. John's on Sunday, April 24.
• The Musketeers have played 35 of their 48 games away from Hayden Field. The competition was stiff early, as seven of XU's first 11 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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• Head coach Scott Googins, now in his 11th year at Xavier, surpassed former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history on Friday, April 15 at Georgetown.
• Googins has 297 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
• Read about some of Coach Googins' biggest accomplishments at Xavier.
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• Creighton (32-11, 10-2 BIG EAST) enters the series on a two-game losing streak, dropping the final game of last weekend's series vs. Georgetown and a midweek contest against Wichita State. Prior to the two game hiccup, the Bluejays had won seven straight.
• CU has yet to drop a weekend series in BIG EAST play during its three seasons as a conference member. The Bluejays are 37-10 overall in the BIG EAST and 15-0-1 in weekend series since coming to the league in 2013.
• The Bluejays lead the all-time series 8-2, but XU and CU play for just the third series as BIG EAST foes this weekend. In 2014, XU defeated Creighton in the BIG EAST Championship to seal a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Creighton swept the series in Omaha, Neb.
• Creighton thrives on pitching and defense, ranking eighth in the nation in team ERA (2.73) and sixth in fielding percentage (.981). The Bluejays don't surrender many base hits either, ranking second in hits allowed per nine innings (6.96).
• This weekend will showcase two of the nation's best base-stealing teams. CU ranks 40th in the NCAA with 68 steals, while XU ranks 13th nationally with 81 steals.
• Friday starter Rollie Lacy is 21st in the nation with eight wins and comes into the weekend with a 2.58 ERA in 69.2 innings.
• Saturday starter Jeff Albrecht, who enters his start with an ERA of 1.75 in 51.1 innings, ranks second nationally in hits per nine innings (4.91) and 16th nationally in WHIP (0.92).
• Sunday starter Keith Rogalla has a 3.46 ERA in 54.2 innings and ranks 51st in the NCAA in hits per nine innings (6.59).
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• Xavier ranks 26th in the nation with 45 homers and is 31st in home runs per game (0.94). The 45 homers are already tied for 10th most in a season by XU with seven games to play.
• The Musketeers have homered at least once in 18 of their last 33 games, totaling 36 longballs over that span.
• Andre Jernigan ranks 33rd in the nation with 12 longballs, including four in his last 12 games.
• Joe Gellenbeck ranks 105th in the nation with nine longballs and has homered in eight of XU's 13 weekend series.
• XU boasts the top three home run hitters in the BIG EAST Conference: Jernigan (12), Gellenbeck (9), Rizzie (8)
• Xavier launched six homers against St. John's in an 11-8 win on Saturday, April 23 at Hayden Field. It was the most homers in a game by a Xavier team since April 30, 2010 when XU bashed six against Dayton in a 21-5 win.
• Both have surpassed last year's team leader in homers, Derek Hasenbeck, who hit six in 53 games.
• Xavier has already passed last season's team total of 27 longballs.
Xavier Single Season Home Run Leaders
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• Sophomore righty Garrett Schilling has been a stalwart in the bullpen this season for Xavier, compiling 10 saves in 21 appearances to go with a team-leading 1.67 ERA.
• The back end of the bullpen has been a strength for XU all season, as the Musketeers are 19-0 when leading after eight innings.
• His last save at Seton Hall moved him into a tie for third on the all-time list of single season save leaders at Xavier.
Xavier Single Season Save Leaders
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• Xavier ranks 36th in the nation with a fielding percentage of .975.
• The program record for fielding percentage in a season is currently .974, a mark set in 2011.
• XU has committed 44 errors in 48 games, including 19 errorless outings.
• The Musketeers rank 30th in the NCAA with 45 double plays turned.
• Catcher Dan Rizzie has been a standout behind the plate, throwing out 58.1 percent (18-for-31) of attempted base stealers with just two errors in 47 starts.
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• With 81 stolen bases, XU ranks 13th nationally in steals and 16th in steals per game (1.69).
• 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 16th in the nation with 25 steals and 27th in the nation with 0.53 steals per game.
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• Xavier's sweep of Seton Hall from May 6-7 was its fourth of the season and gave the Musketeers an eight-game winning streak for the first time since winning nine straight from March 6-18, 2011.
• The last time XU had four sweeps in a season was in 2013 when the Musketeers swept four series (UMass, Dayton, Evansville and St. Bonaventure)
• Xavier swept Butler from April 29-May 1 on the road and also ran the table on Central Michigan at home from March 18-20. Xavier's first sweep of the year came at USC Upstate from March 4-6, which snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to the USC Upstate sweep, XU last ran the table from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
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• Since the beginning of conference play, XU has put together a 3.71 team ERA on the hill. Five Musketeer pitchers have posted ERA's at 3.06 or lower in 12 BIG EAST games.
• Trey Schramm has yet to allow a run in league play with a 0.00 ERA in eight innings.
• Matt Kent (3.06 ERA, 17.2 IP), Damien Richard (2.45 ERA, 7.1 IP), Trent Astle (2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP) and Garrett Schilling (2.19 ERA, 12.1 IP) have all been superb thus far in BIG EAST action.
• Xavier's pitching staff finished the Butler series with a 1.00 ERA (27 IP, 3 ER) covering all three games.Â
• XU's bullpen finished the weekend at Butler allowing just one earned run in 10 innings (0.90 ERA), including 8.1 consecutive scoreless innings to end the weekend.
• As a unit, the Musketeer 'pen has posted a 2.12 ERA (34 IP, 8 ER) in its last nine games.
• In 36 non-conference games, Xavier recorded a team ERA of 5.00.
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• Seven pitchers for XU came into 2016 without a single career appearance and five have thrown significant innings for the Musketeers this spring.Â
• Four true freshmen – Trey Schramm, Taylor Williams, Noah Malone and Sam Czabala – all made their Xavier debuts during opening weekend at Arizona State. Another rookie, Matt Kent, made his career debut on Friday, March 25 at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
• Schramm and Williams are both among the team leaders in appearances, while throwing a combined 73 innings of relief.
• Kent has worked his way into the weekend rotation after making his first career start against Miami (OH) on April 12.
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• Xavier has just three seniors on the 2016 roster (Andre Jernigan, Dan Rizzie and David Morton) 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 has been clipped by a pitch 11 times again this season, moving into a tie for third all-time in XU history in HBP.Â
• Jernigan's career total of 33 is tied for third all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by eight.
• 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.
All-Time Career Leaders in HBP
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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 are 22-26 overall (9-3 BIG EAST) and coming off a weekend sweep against Seton Hall at Owen T. Carroll Field. XU is also 9-5 this season at home.
The Bluejays enter the game at 32-11 overall and 10-2 in league play.
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 THE MATCHUP |
|  Date – Time |  Follow Live |
|  Fri., May 13 – 3 p.m. |  Stats / Video / @XavierBASE |
|  Sat., May 14 – 2 p.m. |  Stats / Video / @XavierBASE |
|  Sun., May 15 – 12 p.m. |  Stats / Video / @XavierBASE |
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 PROJECTED STARTERS |
| Fri. | LHP Zac Lowther (5-4, 3.09 ERA) vs. RHP Rollie Lacy (8-2, 2.58 ERA) |
| Sat. | RHP Matt Kent (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. LHP Jeff Albrecht (6-0, 1.75 ERA) |
| Sun. | LHP Trent Astle (3-4, 6.53 ERA) vs. RHP Keith Rogalla (5-2, 3.46 ERA) |
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 AROUND THE HORN |
• Xavier has turned its season around over the last three weeks, claiming three consecutive series against conference foes for the first time since 2011.
• The Musketeers are currently riding an eight-game winning streak – the team's longest since a nine-game spurt from March 6-18, 2011.
• Xavier has won nine straight on three separate occasions in program history (2011, 1975, 1972).
• Just one year removed from a BIG EAST Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, XU is looking to rebound after a frustrating 15-38 (3-15 BIG EAST) season in 2015. The Musketeers are off to a 9-3 start in league play, including series wins over St. John's, Butler and Seton Hall.
• XU surpassed last season's win total with a 1-0 win over St. John's on Sunday, April 24.
• The Musketeers have played 35 of their 48 games away from Hayden Field. The competition was stiff early, as seven of XU's first 11 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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 XU'S WINNINGEST COACH |
• Head coach Scott Googins, now in his 11th year at Xavier, surpassed former coach John Morrey for most wins in school history on Friday, April 15 at Georgetown.
• Googins has 297 wins in his first 10+ seasons, while Morrey had 287 over 12 years (1993-2004).
• Read about some of Coach Googins' biggest accomplishments at Xavier.
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 SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION |
• Creighton (32-11, 10-2 BIG EAST) enters the series on a two-game losing streak, dropping the final game of last weekend's series vs. Georgetown and a midweek contest against Wichita State. Prior to the two game hiccup, the Bluejays had won seven straight.
• CU has yet to drop a weekend series in BIG EAST play during its three seasons as a conference member. The Bluejays are 37-10 overall in the BIG EAST and 15-0-1 in weekend series since coming to the league in 2013.
• The Bluejays lead the all-time series 8-2, but XU and CU play for just the third series as BIG EAST foes this weekend. In 2014, XU defeated Creighton in the BIG EAST Championship to seal a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Creighton swept the series in Omaha, Neb.
• Creighton thrives on pitching and defense, ranking eighth in the nation in team ERA (2.73) and sixth in fielding percentage (.981). The Bluejays don't surrender many base hits either, ranking second in hits allowed per nine innings (6.96).
• This weekend will showcase two of the nation's best base-stealing teams. CU ranks 40th in the NCAA with 68 steals, while XU ranks 13th nationally with 81 steals.
• Friday starter Rollie Lacy is 21st in the nation with eight wins and comes into the weekend with a 2.58 ERA in 69.2 innings.
• Saturday starter Jeff Albrecht, who enters his start with an ERA of 1.75 in 51.1 innings, ranks second nationally in hits per nine innings (4.91) and 16th nationally in WHIP (0.92).
• Sunday starter Keith Rogalla has a 3.46 ERA in 54.2 innings and ranks 51st in the NCAA in hits per nine innings (6.59).
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 PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name (Class) | Position | Notes |
| Rylan Bannon (So.) | Third Base | Started season 0-for-16 and is 38-for-135 (.281) with three homers and 16 RBI since... had an 11-game hitting streak snapped on April 12 at Miami (OH)... has reached base in 22 of his last 27 games... |
| Daniel Rizzie (Sr.) | Catcher | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... 2016 Johnny Bench Award Watch List... missed most of last season with hand injury... riding a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base in 10 straight games... batting .328 (41-for-125) with eight homers in last 31 starts... leads team with 16 multi-hit games... |
| Joe Gellenbeck (Jr.) | First Base | Has homered in eight of XU's 13 weekend series... second in the BIG EAST with nine homers... second on team with 33 RBI... hit first career home run in game two of Feb. 20 doubleheader at ASU... |
| Andre Jernigan (Sr.) | Shortstop | 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST... leads team and BIG EAST with 12 homers and 104 total bases... leads team with 33 RBI... also leads team with 11 HBP and 31 runs scored... riding a five-game hitting streak... his four triples are the most in a season by a Musketeer since Stephen Schoettmer in 2013... has made 156 starts at SS in last three-plus seasons... |
| Nate Soria (So.) | Right Field | Led 2015 team in BA (.335), 2B (11) and OBP (.420)... has reached base in 63 of last 78 games going back to 2015... had a streak of five straight multi-hit games snapped on Tuesday, April 19 at NKU... leads team with .372 batting average (16-for-43) in BIG EAST play... had first career multi-HR effort on Saturday, April 23 in game two win against St. John's (2-for-3, 3 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI)... |
| Chris Givin (Fr.) | Second Base | Second on team with a .357 batting average (15-for-42) in BIG EAST play... has a hit in 18 of his last 23 games... OBP of .385 is first on the team... 11-for-22 (.500) in last two weekend series... riding a four-game hitting streak... |
| Will LaRue (So.) | Left Field | Ranks 16th nationally with 25 stolen bases and 27th nationally with 0.52 steals per game... tied for second on team with 30 runs scored... tied for second on team with 21 walks... |
| David Morton (Sr.) | Designated Hitter | Has started last five games in either right field or as the DH... batting .250 (5-for-20) in last six games... had a pinch hit two-run single off the bench to lead XU to a win at Butler on Friday, April 29... |
| Matt Fallon (Jr.) | Center Field | Transfer from Black Hawk College (JC)... has reached base in 40 of 47 games this season... leads team with 29 walks... OBP of .354 is fifth on team... |
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 PROJECTED STARTERS |
| Day | Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Fri. | Zac Lowther (So.) | LHP | Has lasted at least five innings in all 12 of his turns so far as the Friday night starter... leads team in innings (75.2) and strikeouts (66)... 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... limited Morehead State to one run over seven innings (4/8)... After allowing four runs in each of first two BIG EAST starts, rebounded to post seven innings of one-run ball at Butler (4/29)... picked up a win last Friday at Seton Hall (5/6), going six and allowing two earned runs to go with seven strikeouts... |
| Sat. | Matt Kent (Fr.) | RHP | Second on team with 2.05 ERA in 30.2 innings... has limited opponents to a .243 batting average... didn't make career debut until March 25 at Cincinnati, but tossed 10.1 innings before allowing an earned run... still has yet to allow an earned run in relief (9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 8 K)... made first career start at Miami (OH) on April 12, throwing four innings and allowing just one earned run... went a career-high six innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out three against Georgetown (4/17)... clinched back-to-back series for XU, winning game two starts vs. St. John's (4/24) and at Butler (5/1)... looking to rebound after his shortest start of the season last weekend at Seton Hall (5/7)... |
| Sun. | Trent Astle (Jr.) | LHP | 2015 All-BIG EAST Second Team... has posted a 2-0 record to go with a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings during league play... has won last two starts, helping seal sweeps at Butler and Seton Hall... went five innings, allowing just one run at Butler (5/1)... lasted a season-high seven innings and gave up just two runs on Saturday at Seton Hall (5/7), helping XU to a 10-6 win... second on team with 51 innings pitched... |
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 BULLPEN |
| Name (Class) | Throws | Notes |
| Garrett Schilling (So.) | RHP | Leads team with 21 appearances... has the win or save in five of XU's last eight games (four saves, one win)... leads team with a 1.67 ERA... leads XU and ranks 18th in the nation with 10 saves... had a streak of 16.2 innings without an earned run snapped at Georgetown (4/17)... Earned back-to-back saves in games two and three at USC Upstate (3/5-6)... put up a career-high three innings of one-run relief in game four at ASU (2/21)... saved back-to-back wins vs. St. John's (4/23-24)... |
| Trey Schramm (Fr.) | RHP | Tied for second on team with 20 appearances... has pitched 1+ innings in 14 of 20 appearances... has thrown 14 straight scoreless innings... yet to allow a run in league play (6 APP, 8 IP, 4 K)... Threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in career debut at ASU (2/20)... tossed 3.2 innings with four strikeouts in series finale at Mercer (2/28)... earned first career win in Saturday game at USC Upstate, going three innings and striking out three (3/5)... tied a season-high with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief against Morehead State (4/10)... struck out two in two scoreless frames at Butler, helping XU seal a weekend sweep (5/1)... |
| Taylor Williams (Fr.) | RHP | Tied for second on team with 20 appearances... sparkled in career debut, striking out six in 2.1 innings of relief at ASU (2/20)... struck out three in two innings of quality relief at UC (3/25)... went a career-high four innings at Miami (OH), striking out four (4/12)... picked up first career save with two innings of scoreless relief at Butler (5/1)... |
| Damien Richard (So.) | RHP | Has made 14 appearances (10 in relief, four starts)... has also taken two turns in weekend rotation... started first career game at Wright State (3/8)... has thrown 26 innings out of the bullpen, compiling a 2.42 ERA (7 ER) as a reliever... has a 2.45 ERA in league play (3 APP, 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 K)... tossed five innings, allowing three runs and striking out three to get the win at Illinois State (4/3)... pitched well in last start at NKU, going a career-high six innings and limiting the Norse to one run on three hits (4/19)... helped XU seal a win on Saturday, throwing 4.1 innings of one-run relief against St. John's (4/23)... posted two innings of scoreless relief at Butler (5/1) to help seal a weekend sweep... |
| Greg Jacknewitz (Jr.) | LHP | Ranked sixth in the nation in hits per nine innings (5.37) in 2015... Twirled 6.2 innings of two-run ball in first outing at ASU (2/20)... went six innings and allowed just two runs in XU's win at USC Upstate (3/5)... last four appearances have been out of the bullpen after making eight straight starts to open the year... |
| Brad Kirschner (Jr.) | LHP | Has taken five turns in weekend rotation in 2016... has made six starts and eight relief appearances overall... has a 5.06 ERA as a starter (32 innings, 18 ER, 20 K)... coming off a brilliant relief appearance in game two at Seton Hall in which he tossed 6.2 innings, striking out six and scattering six hits (5/7)... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for his relief performance... |
| Brandon Johnson (So.) | RHP | Allowed five earned runs in first career start in game three at ASU (2/20)... tossed a scoreless inning at nationally-ranked Louisville (3/15)... |
| Jason Hall (Jr.) | RHP | Made season debut at Mercer, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief (2/28)... threw a scoreless inning at Illinois State (4/1)... finished out XU's midweek loss to IU (4/20)... |
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 BOMBS AWAY |
• Xavier ranks 26th in the nation with 45 homers and is 31st in home runs per game (0.94). The 45 homers are already tied for 10th most in a season by XU with seven games to play.
• The Musketeers have homered at least once in 18 of their last 33 games, totaling 36 longballs over that span.
• Andre Jernigan ranks 33rd in the nation with 12 longballs, including four in his last 12 games.
• Joe Gellenbeck ranks 105th in the nation with nine longballs and has homered in eight of XU's 13 weekend series.
• XU boasts the top three home run hitters in the BIG EAST Conference: Jernigan (12), Gellenbeck (9), Rizzie (8)
• Xavier launched six homers against St. John's in an 11-8 win on Saturday, April 23 at Hayden Field. It was the most homers in a game by a Xavier team since April 30, 2010 when XU bashed six against Dayton in a 21-5 win.
• Both have surpassed last year's team leader in homers, Derek Hasenbeck, who hit six in 53 games.
• Xavier has already passed last season's team total of 27 longballs.
Xavier Single Season Home Run Leaders
| Name or Names (Year or Years) | Home Runs |
| Ben Thomas (2009), Dan Froehle (1986) | 16 |
| Ben Thomas (2011), Jim Dallio (1996), Sean West (1995) | 15 |
| Matt Watson (1999) | 14 |
| Ben Thomas (2010), Mike Sak (1995), Andy Jansen (1982) | 13 |
| Bobby Freking (2010), Jim Dallio (1997, 1998), Scott Gordon (1989), Ted Shalloe (1985), Dan Froehle (1983), Andre Jernigan (2016) | 12 |
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 SCHILLING SAVES IT |
• Sophomore righty Garrett Schilling has been a stalwart in the bullpen this season for Xavier, compiling 10 saves in 21 appearances to go with a team-leading 1.67 ERA.
• The back end of the bullpen has been a strength for XU all season, as the Musketeers are 19-0 when leading after eight innings.
• His last save at Seton Hall moved him into a tie for third on the all-time list of single season save leaders at Xavier.
Xavier Single Season Save Leaders
| Name or Names (Year or Years) | Saves |
| Jordan Conley (2009) | 13 |
| Seth Willoughby (2012) | 12 |
| Jordan Conley (2008) | 10 |
| Garrett Schilling (2016) | 10 |
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 X CAN PICK IT |
• Xavier ranks 36th in the nation with a fielding percentage of .975.
• The program record for fielding percentage in a season is currently .974, a mark set in 2011.
• XU has committed 44 errors in 48 games, including 19 errorless outings.
• The Musketeers rank 30th in the NCAA with 45 double plays turned.
• Catcher Dan Rizzie has been a standout behind the plate, throwing out 58.1 percent (18-for-31) of attempted base stealers with just two errors in 47 starts.
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 BASE BURGLARS |
• With 81 stolen bases, XU ranks 13th nationally in steals and 16th in steals per game (1.69).
• 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 16th in the nation with 25 steals and 27th in the nation with 0.53 steals per game.
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 BUSTING OUT THE BROOMS |
• Xavier's sweep of Seton Hall from May 6-7 was its fourth of the season and gave the Musketeers an eight-game winning streak for the first time since winning nine straight from March 6-18, 2011.
• The last time XU had four sweeps in a season was in 2013 when the Musketeers swept four series (UMass, Dayton, Evansville and St. Bonaventure)
• Xavier swept Butler from April 29-May 1 on the road and also ran the table on Central Michigan at home from March 18-20. Xavier's first sweep of the year came at USC Upstate from March 4-6, which snapped a season-opening seven game losing streak.
• Prior to the USC Upstate sweep, XU last ran the table from April 11-13, 2014 against Villanova at Hayden Field.
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 STEPPING IT UP ON THE MOUND |
• Since the beginning of conference play, XU has put together a 3.71 team ERA on the hill. Five Musketeer pitchers have posted ERA's at 3.06 or lower in 12 BIG EAST games.
• Trey Schramm has yet to allow a run in league play with a 0.00 ERA in eight innings.
• Matt Kent (3.06 ERA, 17.2 IP), Damien Richard (2.45 ERA, 7.1 IP), Trent Astle (2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP) and Garrett Schilling (2.19 ERA, 12.1 IP) have all been superb thus far in BIG EAST action.
• Xavier's pitching staff finished the Butler series with a 1.00 ERA (27 IP, 3 ER) covering all three games.Â
• XU's bullpen finished the weekend at Butler allowing just one earned run in 10 innings (0.90 ERA), including 8.1 consecutive scoreless innings to end the weekend.
• As a unit, the Musketeer 'pen has posted a 2.12 ERA (34 IP, 8 ER) in its last nine games.
• In 36 non-conference games, Xavier recorded a team ERA of 5.00.
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 YOUNG GUNS |
• Seven pitchers for XU came into 2016 without a single career appearance and five have thrown significant innings for the Musketeers this spring.Â
• Four true freshmen – Trey Schramm, Taylor Williams, Noah Malone and Sam Czabala – all made their Xavier debuts during opening weekend at Arizona State. Another rookie, Matt Kent, made his career debut on Friday, March 25 at UC, setting down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion.
• Schramm and Williams are both among the team leaders in appearances, while throwing a combined 73 innings of relief.
• Kent has worked his way into the weekend rotation after making his first career start against Miami (OH) on April 12.
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 YOUTH MOVEMENT |
• Xavier has just three seniors on the 2016 roster (Andre Jernigan, Dan Rizzie and David Morton) 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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 BIG EAST PROGNOSTICATIONS |
• 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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 TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM |
• 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 has been clipped by a pitch 11 times again this season, moving into a tie for third all-time in XU history in HBP.Â
• Jernigan's career total of 33 is tied for third all-time at Xavier, trailing leader Mark Elwell (41 HBP, 2009-13) by eight.
• 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.
All-Time Career Leaders in HBP
| Name (Years at XU) | HBP |
| Mark Elwell (2009-13) | 41 |
| John McCambridge (2008-11) | 39 |
| Bill Fish (1996-99) | 33 |
| Andre Jernigan (2013-Present) | 33 |
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 2016 OPPONENT BREAKDOWN |
• 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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 2016 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT |
• 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).
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