Friday, April 7
Villanova, Pa.
3 p.m.
Xavier University
at
Villanova
Baseball Opens BIG EAST Play This Weekend at Villanova
04.06.17 | Baseball
Musketeers enter league play with season-high four game winning streak
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Xavier baseball begins BIG EAST Conference action this weekend, heading to Villanova for a three-game series at Villanova Ballpark.
First pitch in the series is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., while games two and three will both come at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
XU comes into the series at 17-12 overall and with a four-game winning streak, while Villanova enters at 4-16 on the season. The Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Rutgers on Wednesday.
• Xavier extended its winning streak to four with a 9-4 win over Miami (OH) at Hayden Field.
• The Musketeers improved to 10-2 in their last 12 with the result.
• After being held scoreless for just the third time this season last Wednesday at Miami (OH), Xavier's offense has churned out 54 runs on 53 hits in the last four games.
• The Musketeers cranked out two home runs in today's game, giving the team 11 in the past four games. XU has had a double in each of the last 10 games and a homer in each of the last four games.
• Xavier worked a season-high 12 walks in the game, the most free passes by an XU team since walking 14 times on May 11, 2013 against UMass.
• Joe Gellenbeck went 3-for-4 with his sixth homer of the season and three RBI. It was his second straight three-hit performance as Gellenbeck is now hitting .600 (6-for-10) with seven RBI in his last two games.
• Senior lefty Trent Astle (3-1) got the win, tossing five scoreless innings. Astle scattered five hits and struck out three.
• Joe Gellenbeck leads XU with a four-game hitting streak.
• Matt Fallon has reached base in nine straight, while Joe Gellenbeck and Will LaRue have reached in eight straight.
• XU has had a double in 10 straight games and homered in four straight games.
• As a team, Xavier has stolen at least one base in 13 straight games.
• XU has played four straight games without committing an error.
• Xavier ranks 33rd nationally and first in the BIG EAST with 29 home runs on the season. XU is also 39th nationally with an average of 1.00 homers per game.
• Rylan Bannon leads the team with eight homers on the season, which ranks 34th nationally and first in the BIG EAST Conference.
• The Musketeers hit nine longballs in last weekend's sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, including seven in a 22-9 win on Friday.
• 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 39th in the nation with 40 stolen bases this season and 48th nationally with 1.38 steals per game.
• Will LaRue ranks 38th nationally with 12 stolen bases.
• The Musketeers have stolen at least one base in each of the last 13 games.
• 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 29-for-86 (.337) line in his last 25 games with 20 runs, seven doubles, two triples, eight homers and 21 RBI. He's also walked 22 times against 15 strikeouts to record a team-best .486 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.
• Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Gellenbeck ranks 41st nationally with 23 walks on the young season.
• Gellenbeck's on-base percentage is second on the team at .422 and he has walked nearly as many times as he has struck out this year (23-to-25).
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a solid start to 2017, going 3-1 in 11 appearances with a 1.91 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 37.1 innings in relief, allowing just six earned runs for a 1.46 ERA.
• Xavier's Friday night starter, 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.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA through six starts. He has limited opponents to a .191 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last two starts, fanning a career-high 11 against Ohio State on March 18 and getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State.
• Through his first six starts, Lowther ranks 14th in the nation with 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings and 52nd in the NCAA with 5.91 hits allowed per nine innings. He is also 89th nationally with 46 strikeouts.
• 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 29 games this season and holds a .979 fielding percentage, a number which ranks 16th nationally.
• The Musketeers also rank 47th in the nation with 26 double plays this season.
• XU tied a school record in 2016 with a .974 fielding percentage.
• 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.
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .339 batting average, 37 hits, eight doubles and 13 multi-hit games on the season.
• He has been smoking hot over the last 13 games, helping XU to a 10-3 record with a .489 batting average (23-for-47), two homers and 10 RBI.
• 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).
• He 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.
• He 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 13.1 innings in nine appearances with a 4.73 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 17-12 start to the season, his all-time record is now 324-342 (.487).
• 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 series is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., while games two and three will both come at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
XU comes into the series at 17-12 overall and with a four-game winning streak, while Villanova enters at 4-16 on the season. The Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Rutgers on Wednesday.
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PROBABLE PITCHERS |
| Game | Xavier | Villanova |
| 1 | Zac Lowther, LHP -- 4.22 ERA, 32 IP, 46 K |
Jonathan Rosero, RHP -- 4.85 ERA, 26 IP, 22 K |
| 2 | Garrett Schilling, RHP -- 3.92 ERA, 39 IP, 28 K |
Hunter Schryver, LHP -- 2.25 ERA, 28 IP, 34 K |
| 3 | Greg Jacknewitz, LHP -- 3.93 ERA, 34.1 IP, 29 K |
Ryan Doty, RHP -- 4.91 ERA, 18.1 IP, 17 K |
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| Name | Class | Position | Hometown (HS) | Notes |
| Chris Givin | SO | 2B | 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 on Wednesday against Miami (OH)... hitting .333 (6-for-18) in five games since returning to the lineup... was 1-for-4 with a run and a two-run double in Wednesday's 9-4 win against the RedHawks... 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... |
| Mitch Gallagher | JR | SS | Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) | Has hit .308 in last 24 games, going 24-for-78 with a homer and 12 RBI since the Penn State series... named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/28) after hitting .467 (7-for-15) with six runs scored during a 3-1 week for XU... had two game-deciding RBI in Illinois State series win, including a walk-off single in Sunday's series-clinching, 3-2 win (3/25)... batted .455 (5-for-11) overall with four RBI in the Illinois State series... went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in midweek win over Wright State (3/21)... drove in three runs, including a walk-off sacrifice fly in 5-4 win over Ohio State (3/19)... hit .400 (8-for-20) in five spring break starts at Charlotte and Georgia... has played all over the infield (1B, 2B and SS), but settled into shortstop stop as regular starter Chris Givin dealt with an injury... hit .339 as a sophomore at Palomar Junior College... transferred to XU over the off-season... was one of seven Comets to sign D-I after earning First Team All-PCAC honors... began college career at Pepperdine... |
| Joe Gellenbeck | SR | RF | Lebanon, Ohio (St. Xavier) | Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/6 & 3/13) twice already this season... has seven RBI in last two games... has been a sneaky threat on the bases, going 8-for-8 in steals this season... went 3-for-4 with his sixth homer and three RBI in Wednesday's win against Miami (OH)... coming off 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 last Sunday (3/19)... ranks 41st in the nation with 23 walks this season, including seven during XU's opening weekend at Troy... has reached base in 25 of 29 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 .337 (29-for-86) in last 25 games with 20 runs, seven doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI... leads team with eight homers on the season... went 4-for-9 last weekend against Fairleigh Dickinson, leading XU with three homers and six runs scored... had first career multi-HR game, connecting for two bombs last Friday in a 22-9 win over FDU... hit .500 (5-for-10) with a double, triple and two RBI in last weekend's 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 | DH | McLean, Va. (McLean) | Smoking hot over last 13 games as XU has gone 10-3... batting .489 (23-for-47) with two homers and 10 RBI during the stretch... saw a 12-game reached base streak snapped on Wednesday against Miami (OH)... leads team with 13 multi-hit games... 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 84 of last 108 games going back to 2015... went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a two-run homer in Wednesday's 9-4 win against Miami (OH)... 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 on Sunday in XU's 15-3 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (4/2)... collected hits in three of four games against PSU... 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 last two-plus weeks, hitting .333 (14-for-42) with a homer and six RBI in last 13 games... one of the top stolen base threats in the nation... leads team with 12 steals... went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win over Miami (OH) on Wednesday... 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 against Illinois State last weekend... 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) | 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 |
| Zac Lowther | JR | LHP | Brooklyn Heights, Ohio (Cuyahoga Heights) | Preseason All-BIG EAST selection... has allowed just 21 hits in 32 innings, ranking 52nd nationally with 5.91 hits allowed per nine innings... widely considered to be the top MLB Draft prospect in the BIG EAST... led prestigious Cape Cod League in strikeouts over the summer... has reached double-digits in strikeouts in each of last two starts... set a new career-high with 11 strikeouts in six innings of one-run ball in last start against Ohio State (3/18)... struck out eight and picked up the win in 2017 debut at Troy (2/17)... tough-luck loser at Charlotte (3/3) after tossing six innings of one-run ball and striking out four... shut down Southern Miss (3/10), holding the Eagles to one hit over six innings, while striking out seven in a 2-0 win... has gone at least five innings in 20 of his last 22 starts... developed into Xavier's Friday starter and one of the top pitchers in the BIG EAST during breakout sophomore season... 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection... led Xavier in wins (7), starts (16), innings pitched (102.0), strikeouts (84)... ranked 33rd in NCAA Division I with 16 starts... tied for BIG EAST lead with 84 strikeouts, 16 starts and 102 innings pitched... led BIG EAST with 30 strikeouts looking... paced the rotation and ranked second on team with a 3.09 ERA... lasted at least five innings in 15 of his 16 starts... went 2-2 with a 3.10 ERA in six BIG EAST starts, striking out 32 in 40.2 innings... |
| Garrett Schilling | JR | RHP | Clawson, Mich. (Bishop Foley) | Preseason All-BIG EAST selection... picked up second win of season last Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson (4/1), going six innings and allowing just two earned runs with three strikeouts... struck out career-high six on Sunday against Ohio State (3/19)... made first career start at Troy, throwing seven innings of one-run ball and leaving with just 72 pitches thrown (2/18)... continued his hot start with six innings without an earned run against PSU (2/25)... 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection... 2016 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team... made a team-leading 29 appearances out of the bullpen, tied for sixth in XU single season history... turned in one of the best season's in XU history by a closer... set a new Xavier single season record, while leading the BIG EAST and ranking seventh in NCAA Division I with 14 saves... led team with a 1.91 ERA, which ranks tied for eighth in XU single season history... tied for third on team with four wins... third in the league with 24 games finished... |
| Greg Jacknewitz | SR | LHP | Delaware, Ohio (Bishop Watterson) | Has lowered ERA in four straight outings... picked up first win of the season last Sunday against Fairleigh Dickinson with five innings of two-run ball (4/2)... allowed two runs in 5.1 innings last time out against Illinois State in a no-decision (3/25)... turned in six innings of one-run ball, striking out six against Ohio State (3/19)... had best start of XU career against Penn State (2/26)... tied a career-high with seven innings, allowing zero runs and striking out a career-high 13 against the Nittany Lions... struck out five in 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs in series finale at Troy... made 16 appearances and nine starts in 2016... was fifth on team with 53 innings pitched and third on the team in strikeouts with 39... helped clinch the BIG EAST regular season title with two innings of scoreless relief in a win against Villanova... made a team-high 20 appearances and ranked sixth in the nation with 5.37 hits allowed per game as a sophomore in 2015... |
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LAST TIME OUT |
• Xavier extended its winning streak to four with a 9-4 win over Miami (OH) at Hayden Field.
• The Musketeers improved to 10-2 in their last 12 with the result.
• After being held scoreless for just the third time this season last Wednesday at Miami (OH), Xavier's offense has churned out 54 runs on 53 hits in the last four games.
• The Musketeers cranked out two home runs in today's game, giving the team 11 in the past four games. XU has had a double in each of the last 10 games and a homer in each of the last four games.
• Xavier worked a season-high 12 walks in the game, the most free passes by an XU team since walking 14 times on May 11, 2013 against UMass.
• Joe Gellenbeck went 3-for-4 with his sixth homer of the season and three RBI. It was his second straight three-hit performance as Gellenbeck is now hitting .600 (6-for-10) with seven RBI in his last two games.
• Senior lefty Trent Astle (3-1) got the win, tossing five scoreless innings. Astle scattered five hits and struck out three.
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STREAKING |
• Joe Gellenbeck leads XU with a four-game hitting streak.
• Matt Fallon has reached base in nine straight, while Joe Gellenbeck and Will LaRue have reached in eight straight.
• XU has had a double in 10 straight games and homered in four straight games.
• As a team, Xavier has stolen at least one base in 13 straight games.
• XU has played four straight games without committing an error.
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BOMBS AWAY |
• Xavier ranks 33rd nationally and first in the BIG EAST with 29 home runs on the season. XU is also 39th nationally with an average of 1.00 homers per game.
• Rylan Bannon leads the team with eight homers on the season, which ranks 34th nationally and first in the BIG EAST Conference.
• The Musketeers hit nine longballs in last weekend's sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, including seven in a 22-9 win on Friday.
• 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 39th in the nation with 40 stolen bases this season and 48th nationally with 1.38 steals per game.
• Will LaRue ranks 38th nationally with 12 stolen bases.
• The Musketeers have stolen at least one base in each of the last 13 games.
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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 29-for-86 (.337) line in his last 25 games with 20 runs, seven doubles, two triples, eight homers and 21 RBI. He's also walked 22 times against 15 strikeouts to record a team-best .486 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 |
• Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Gellenbeck ranks 41st nationally with 23 walks on the young season.
• Gellenbeck's on-base percentage is second on the team at .422 and he has walked nearly as many times as he has struck out this year (23-to-25).
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THE OTHER INVINCIBLE KENT |
• Sophomore Matt Kent is off to a solid start to 2017, going 3-1 in 11 appearances with a 1.91 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 37.1 innings in relief, allowing just six earned runs for a 1.46 ERA.
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ZAC ATTACK |
• Xavier's Friday night starter, 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.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Lowther is 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA through six starts. He has limited opponents to a .191 batting average.
• Lowther has racked up double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last two starts, fanning a career-high 11 against Ohio State on March 18 and getting 10 batters to whiff on March 24 against Illinois State.
• Through his first six starts, Lowther ranks 14th in the nation with 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings and 52nd in the NCAA with 5.91 hits allowed per nine innings. He is also 89th nationally with 46 strikeouts.
• 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 29 games this season and holds a .979 fielding percentage, a number which ranks 16th nationally.
• The Musketeers also rank 47th 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 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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THE KID CAN PLAY |
• Freshman Conor Grammes leads XU with a .339 batting average, 37 hits, eight doubles and 13 multi-hit games on the season.
• He has been smoking hot over the last 13 games, helping XU to a 10-3 record with a .489 batting average (23-for-47), two homers and 10 RBI.
• 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).
• He 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.
• He 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 13.1 innings in nine appearances with a 4.73 ERA.
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2017 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 17-12 start to the season, his all-time record is now 324-342 (.487).
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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