Baseball Evens Series at Samford with 7-1 Victory in Game Two

Saturday, February 23

Birmingham, Ala.

1 PM

Xavier University

1-4

Samford

2-3

Xavier

Samford

Baseball Evens Series at Samford with 7-1 Victory in Game Two

02.23.19 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Comunications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Xavier baseball got ahead early and kept adding on, picking up its first victory of the 2019 season with a 7-1 win over Samford on Saturday at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The Musketeers improved to 1-4 to start the season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 overall.

Xavier collected 14 hits in the game as Samford managed just one solo homer against some outstanding pitching from Nick Zwack, Lane Flamm and Taylor Williams. Zwack was the winning pitcher, going 5.1 innings and allowing just one earned run to go with six strikeouts.

UP NEXT

• Xavier finishes off the series on Sunday, facing Samford at 2 p.m. ET. Grad transfer Marko Boricich will get the ball for the Musketeers.

XU AT THE PLATE

• Matt Warkentin continued his big weekend, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. The senior scored four times and is now 5-for-7 with two homers and six runs scored in the series. He has lifted his batting average to .294 after going 0-for-10 in XU's first weekend series at UNC.
• Luke Franzoni made his first collegiate start in left field and went 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run single in the second inning. The freshman also made a multiple run-saving catch in left to end the sixth.
• Freshman Jack Housinger got the start at third base and had a big afternoon, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. He also stole a base and is hitting .556 (5-for-9) after making two starts in his young college career.
• Chris Givin (1-for-4), Andrew Sexton (1-for-3) and Conor Grammes (1-for-4, R) also contributed hits for XU.
• Natale Monastra was the lone Musketeer in the starting lineup without a hit, but did contribute a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the ninth.
• The Musketeers got at least one hit from eight players, including four multi-hit performances as XU collected 14 hits in the game.

XU ON THE MOUND

• Sophomore Nick Zwack was outstanding on the mound, giving XU 5.1 innings of one-run ball. The lefty was chased in the sixth after allowing a solo shot, but struck out six and scattered six hits in his second start of the season. He now boasts an ERA of 1.93 on the young season.
• Freshman Lane Flamm came on in the sixth and turned in three solid innings of relief, striking out two and allowing three hits.
• Taylor Williams came on to close the door in the ninth, working around a hit to strike out one in 0.2 innings of relief.

HOW XU SCORED

SECOND INNING | Matt Warkentin and Ryan Altenberger led off the frame with back-to-back singles, setting the stage for a two-run single by Luke Franzoni to give XU an early 2-0 lead.
THIRD INNING | Conor Grammes singled up in the middle with one out and moved to second on a walk by Matt Warkentin. Ryan Altenberger followed with a single up the middle to score Grammes and make it 3-0.
FOURTH INNING | Jack Housinger singled to right field to lead off the inning and would eventually steal second with two outs. After a Chris Givin walk, Jake Shepski knocked a base hit to left ot score Housinger to increase the lead to 4-0.
FIFTH INNING | Matt Warkentin walked to start the inning, advancing all the way to third after a throwing error by the pitcher. Ryan Altenberger batted next and singled to right field to make it 5-0.
SEVENTH INNING | Matt Warkentin began the inning with a hit by pitch, going to second on a walk by Ryan Altenberger. A sacrifice bunt by Natale Monastra moved both runners up for Jack Housinger, who reached on a fielder's choice to score Warkentin.
NINTH INNING | Matt Warkentin singled up the middle, eventually advancing to third on a throwing error. Natale Monastra then brought him home with a long sacrifice fly to center field.