Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
No. 7 North Carolina
Baseball Kicks Off 2019 Campaign with Three Game Series at UNC
02.14.19 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Xavier baseball begins its 2019 season at No. 7 Carolina, beginning a three-game weekend series at Boshamer Stadium with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday, February 15.
XU returns to the diamond on Saturday at 2 p.m. before finishing off the weekend with a Sunday game at 1 p.m.
The Musketeers return 20 letter-winners and six starters from last season's team, which went 7-11 in the BIG EAST Conference and failed to reach the postseason for just the second time in five years. Xavier returns a number of standouts, including sophomore pitcher/outfielder Allbry Major, who took home All-BIG EAST Second Team, Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors.
The Musketeers also return top hitters Conor Grammes (.330, 10 HR, 27 RBI) and Chris Givin (.342, 4 HR, 45 RBI) in addition to the power bat of Matt Warkentin, who hit 14 homers in his first season with the program last year. Incoming freshman Kody Darcy should slot into the everyday lineup at third base and could be an impact freshman, already earning Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors from D1Baseball.com and Baseball America.
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COACH O'CONNER'S COMMENTS |
"I look for us to go out and compete. We're going down there to win baseball games. When you go up on the road against the No. 7 team in the country, it's going to be a challenge. But every guy on our roster, when we go through the recruiting process with them we tell them what kind of schedule we're going to put together and that's part of why they're here. They want to accept that challenge and be on the big stage and play against the best."
"We might go down there and win three or we might go down there and win zero, but it's in our hands. We're not going down there with any other mindset than trying to win the series. They're a great program, they were incredible successful in Omaha last year. They return a lot, especially on the mound, and they're well-coached. But that's what you want. If you want to be the best, you've got to play against the best and there's no doubt that North Carolina is one of the best programs in the country."
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PITCHING MATCHUPS |
| Game | Xavier | Opponent |
| 1 | Conor Grammes, RHP | Gianluca Dalatri, RHP |
| 2 | Nick Zwack, LHP | Tyler Baum, RHP |
| 3 | Marko Boricich, LHP | TBD |
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SERIES HISTORY |
• North Carolina leads the all-time series against Xavier, 2-4. All of the meetings have come in three-game series in 2012 and 2014.
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OPPONENT NOTABLES |
• The Tar Heels are coming off a 44-20 season that saw the team go 22-8 in ACC play, reaching the ACC Tournament quarterfinals and the College World Series.
• UNC made its seventh College World Series appearance in 13 seasons last year and the 11th in program history.
• The two teams last met in a three-game series in 2014 with UNC taking two out of three. XU claimed a 2-1 win in the opening game of the series against the then-ranked No. 12 Tar Heels to open the season with a 4-0 record, its best mark since 1979.
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| 1. | Chris Givin, SS | .342 BA, 40 R, 45 RBI |
| 2. | Jake Shepski, RF | Transfer from Notre Dame |
| 3. | Conor Grammes, DH | .330 BA, 10 HR, 108 TB |
| 4. | Matt Warkentin, 1B | .252 BA, 14 HR, 40 RBI |
| 5. | Allbry Major, LF | .291 BA, 2 HR 21 RBI |
| 6. | Natale Monastra, C | .280 BA, 5 HR, 19 RBI |
| 7. | Ryan Altenberger, 2B | .226 BA, 3 HR, 12 SB |
| 8. | Kody Darcy, 3B | True Freshman |
| 9. | Andrew Sexton, CF | .429 OBP, 11 R, 5 SB |
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PROJECTED ROTATION |
| Friday | Conor Grammes | 28 IP, 45 K, 2 SV |
| Saturday | Nick Zwack | 6.31 ERA, 61.1 IP, 68 K |
| Sunday | Marko Boricich | Transfer from Penn State |
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ROTATION NOTES |
• Conor Grammes begins the season as XU's Friday night starter, inhabiting the role for the first time. Relatively new to pitching, Grammes features a high 90's fastball that has reached triple digits and developing secondary pitches.
• If he is able to harness all his offerings this spring, Grammes could take a big jump forward as a junior. He struck out 45 in 28 innings last season and was one of the hardest throwers in the Cape Cod League over the summer.
• Zwack is a lefty with swing-and-miss stuff who took some lumps early, but progressed well through his freshman season in 2018. He finished his season on a high note, notching wins against Penn State and Villanova in his final two starts. In those outings, he tossed 13 innings and allowed just two earned runs, while striking out 13. Zwack went six innings in five of his 10 starts in 2018.
• A grad transfer, Boricich begins his first season with the Musketeers after pitching in both relief and starting roles for Penn State during the first four years of his college career.
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RECORD WATCH |
• Junior Conor Grammes enters the season No. 10 all-time in career batting average with a .336 mark.
• Senior Chris Givin's nine career triples rank fifth in program history. He tied the XU single season mark with six in 2018 and could make a run at all-time leader Dan Froehle's mark of 18.
• Givin should also enter the program's all-time top 10 in both hits and doubles this season with numbers similar to his past seasons. His 175 hits trail the No. 10 spot in program history by 43 and his 32 doubles are just eight outside the program's top 10.
• Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.29 is tied for 10th in program history entering the season. The righty is 16 appearances from entering the program's top 10.
• Senior Trey Schramm's six career saves rank tied for 10th in program history entering the season.
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ROAD WARRIORS |
• Xavier plays its first 20 games on the road this spring before returning to Cincinnati to open the home schedule on March 22 against Evansville.
• XU will play a total of 39 games on the road.
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X CAN PICK IT |
• Xavier posted a .973 fielding percentage in 2018, ranking fourth in program history.
• Xavier has set three of the top four program marks in fielding percentage in the last three seasons, including a program record mark of .977 in 2017.
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BOMBS AWAY |
• Xavier baseball has become one the most prolific power-hitting teams in the country in recent years, breaking the XU program record with 68 bombs in 2018.
• The previous program record was 64 hit by the 1997 Musketeers. Xavier has now hit 129 homers in the last two seasons, the most in successive seasons in the history of the program.
• Last year's total of 68 led the BIG EAST by 21 and ranked 21st in the NCAA.
• Matt Warkentin led the team and the BIG EAST with 14 homers as 13 different batters provided a longball for XU.
• Xavier returns eight players who contributed a homer in 2018, totaling 42 longballs. That number would have ranked second in the league.
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BIG (EAST) SUCCESS |
• The Musketeers had a down season in 2018, but have won three BIG EAST Championships in the last five seasons overall.
• XU won its last title in 2017, sweeping their way to a BIG EAST Championship in Omaha, Neb. XU swept the regular season and tournament titles in 2016 and also won the tournament in 2014, its first year in the league.
• Since joining the league in 2014, Xavier has won three of five BIG EAST Championships (2014, 2016, 2017) and ranks third all-time in league championships with Seton Hall, Rutgers and Connecticut. XU and Seton Hall are tied for the most BIG EAST titles amongst current league members.
• With back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017, Xavier became the first team since Louisville in 2008 and 2009 to repeat as tournament champions.
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BILLY BALL |
• After a decorated playing career and four years as an assistant on the Xavier baseball staff, Billy O'Conner enters his second season at the helm of the program in 2019.
• During his time on the staff, XU has posted three 30-win seasons, made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and had nine players selected in the MLB First Year Player Draft. That number includes three straight years with at least one selection and a program record four selections in the 2017 draft.
• Prior to his time as an assistant at XU, O'Conner spent one year as an assistant at Northern Kentucky and two years in the volunteer assistant role at Xavier.
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ARMS APLENTY |
• Xavier went through attrition and injuries with its pitching staff last season, beginning 2018 with the loss of seven seniors and 373.1 innings of total production (70% of total innings). Last season's weekend rotation featured two true freshmen and just 52.2 innings of career experience, all belonging to Damien Richard.
• This spring will be a different story as the Musketeers bring back 91 percent of their total innings from 2018. XU lost just four pitchers who logged a total of 42 innings last season.
• Fifth year righty Damien Richard is now two seasons removed from Tommy John surgery, while Taylor Williams and David Williams return from the same surgery this season.
• Xavier lost time to injury from five pitchers a year ago, including Trey Schramm, Taylor Williams, David Williams, Henry Miller and Roger Danison.
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DRAFTING MUSKETEERS |
• Xavier has had a number of players go on to play professionally in recent years, including at least one MLB Draft selection in each of the last three years.
• Lefty pitcher Zac Lowther was the highest-ever selection by a Xavier baseball player, going in the second round compensatory selections of the 2017 MLB Draft at 74th overall. XU's previous high pick was Seth Willoughby, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2012 by the Colorado Rockies.
• Xavier had a program record four players selected in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Additionally, two committed players were taken in the draft for the first time in program history.
• Xavier's four draft picks were: Zac Lowther (Comp. Round B, 74th pick, Baltimore Orioles), Rylan Bannon (8th Round, 250th pick, LA Dodgers), Garrett Schilling (18th Round, 536th pick, Colorado Rockies), Greg Jacknewitz (22nd Round, 666th pick, San Francisco Giants)
• Xavier has had at least one player drafted in 12 of the last 14 years.
• 17 total XU players have been drafted since 2005.
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PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS |
• As a team, Xavier was picked to finish fourth in the league with 25 points in the annual BIG EAST coaches poll. XU was just behind Creighton and Seton Hall, who tied for second in the poll with 25 points. Defending league champion St. John's was picked to repeat in 2019 with 36 points.
• Conor Grammes was named the BIG EAST Co-Preseason Player of the Year, marking the second time an XU player has received the honor (Joe Gellenbeck, 2017).
• Chris Givin, Conor Grammes and Allbry Major were each selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
• XU was picked to finish fourth in the league for the fourth time.
• Xavier was picked second in last season's poll and was picked to win the league ahead of the 2017 season.
First place votes in ( )
1. St. John's (6) – 36 points
T2. Creighton (1) – 25 pts.
T2. Seton Hall – 25 pts.
4. Xavier – 24 pts.
5. Butler – 17 pts.
6. Georgetown – 13 pts.
7. Villanova – 7 pts.
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LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE |
• Xavier announced a 56-game schedule in October, featuring 16 home contests, four home series and road trips to 11 different states.
• The 2018 schedule features eight NCAA Tournament participants, including two College World Series participants in North Carolina and Texas.
• 16 of Xavier's 23 opponents posted a .500 or better record a year ago.
• Overall, the Musketeers will face a challenging schedule that features opponents that combined for a 720-579-1 (.554) record in 2018.
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XU TO HOST LEAGUE TOURNEY |
• Xavier will co-host the 2019 BIG EAST Championships at Prasco Park for the second straight season. The tournament will last from May 23-26.
• There will be no charge for admission or concessions for BIG EAST Championship fans in attendance.
• The finale of the 2019 BIG EAST Championship will air on FS2. All other games will be available to stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network, a dedicated channel on the FOX Sports GO app. FOX Sports is the BIG EAST Conference's broadcast partner.
• Prasco Park is only the second ballpark to host the BIG EAST Baseball Championship not on the East Coast. TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, home of the 2014 and 2016 championships, is the other.
