Xavier University
No. 8 Louisville
Xavier Baseball Visits No. 8 Louisville in First Midweek Contest of 2019
02.25.19 | Baseball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Xavier baseball pays a visit to No. 8 Louisville for its first mid-week affair of 2019 at Jim Patterson Stadium on Tuesday, February 26.
The Musketeers are fitting in the game ahead of another weekend series at Lipscomb, beginning on Friday, March 1 in Nashville, Tenn.
Xavier enters the game 1-5 overall, dropping two of three at Samford over the weekend despite scoring 23 runs. XU was swept to open the season at No. 7 North Carolina.
The Cardinals are 5-2 to start and have won four straight after dropping two of three to No. 20 Connecticut to open the season.
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.
 |
PITCHING MATCHUPS |
| Game | Xavier | Opponent |
| 1 | Matt Kent, RHP | RHP, Luke Smith |
|
|
SERIES HISTORY |
• Louisville leads the all-time series 37-17.
|
|
OPPONENT NOTABLES |
• Xavier made the trip to Louisville for its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017, advancing to the regional final before falling to the host Cardinals in a wildly entertaining 8-7 game at Jim Patterson Stadium.
• The Cardinals have won 40 or more games in seven straight seasons and advanced to an NCAA Regional Final in seven straight seasons.
|
|
PROJECTED LINEUP |
| 1. | Chris Givin, SS | .280 BA, 7 H, .400 OBP |
| 2. | Jake Shepski, RF | .400 BA, 10 H, 7 RBI |
| 3. | Conor Grammes, DH | .357 BA, 1 HR, 14 TB |
| 4. | Matt Warkentin, 1B | .318 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI |
| 5. | Allbry Major, LF | .222 BA, 2 R, 1 3B |
| 6. | Natale Monastra, C | .250 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI |
| 7. | Ryan Altenberger, 2B | .316 BA, 4 R, 3 SB |
| 8. | Jack Housinger, 3B | .538 BA, 7 H, 4 RBI |
| 9. | Andrew Sexton, CF | .333 BA, 1 R, 2 RBI |
|
|
PROJECTED STARTER |
| Tuesday | Matt Kent | 5.06 ERA, 5.1 IP, 7 K |
|
|
NOTABLE |
• Freshman Jack Housinger has gotten off to a hot start in his college career and currently leads XU with a .538 batting average in five games (three starts). The infielder is 7-for-13 with three runs scored and four RBI.
• Grad transfer Jake Shepski has been a consistent threat in the two spot to start the year, ranking second on the team with a .400 batting average to go with a homer and seven RBI.
• Matt Kent makes his first start on the mound this season on Tuesday after a pair of relief appearances. Kent has been a valuable swingman option for XU his whole career, making 57 career appearances with 13 career starts.
|
|
LAST TIME OUT |
• Xavier dropped two of three at Samford over the weekend, despite an impressive offensive output that saw the Musketeers score 23 runs and blast seven homers. Xavier hit .368 as a team in the series, going 42-for-114 overall with 15 walks to post a .443 on-base percentage in the series.
• Matt Warkentin wrapped up a monster weekend, going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Warkentin finished the series 7-for-12 overall with three homers and seven runs scored. The senior started the season 0-for-10 at No. 7 North Carolina, but has rebounded to push his average to .318 (7-for-22) and he now leads XU with 16 total bases.
• Sophomore Nick Zwack had a stellar outing on the mound in Saturday's 7-1 win, going 5.1 innings and allowing just a solo homer while striking out six.
• The bullpen trio of Matt Kent, Lane Flamm and Taylor Williams also combined for 8.2 innings of scoreless relief with 10 strikeouts in the series.
|
|
RECORD WATCH |
• Junior Conor Grammes currently ranks No. 10 all-time in career batting average with a .337 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 182 hits trail the No. 10 spot in program history by 36 and his 33 doubles are just seven outside the program's top 10.
• Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.35 ranks 11th in program history. The righty is 14 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.
|
|
DOING WARK |
• After an 0-for-10 start to the season at No. 7 North Carolina, Matt Warkentin rebounded in a big way last weekend. The senior bopper went 7-for-12 (.583) with seven runs scored and three homers in the Samford series, which brought his season average all the way up to .318.
• The 6-foot-6 senior from Leamington, Ontario was one of the top power bats in the country last year, leading the BIG EAST with 14 homers in his first season with the program.
|
|
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.
|
|
X CAN PICK IT |
• XU boasts a .981 fielding percentage five games into the season and could be on track for another special season defensively.
• 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.
|
|
BOMBS AWAY |
• After going without a home run in their season-opening series at No. 7 UNC, the Musketeers exploded for seven at Samford. That included a five homer game in the Friday opener.
• 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 hit 129 homers in 2017-18 combined, 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.
|
|
2019 AWARDS |
Conference/National Awards
| Conor Grammes | BIG EAST Co-Preseason Player of the Year | Link |
| Conor Grammes | Preseason All-BIG EAST | Link |
| Chris Givin | Preseason All-BIG EAST | Link |
| Allbry Major | Preseason All-BIG EAST | Link |
Weekly Awards
| Jake Shepski | BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (2/18) | Link |
| Nick Zwack | BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week (2/25) | Link |
| Matt Warkentin | BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (2/25) | Link |
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
