Xavier University
Lipscomb
Baseball Travels to Nashville for Three-Game Set Against Lipscomb
02.28.19 | Baseball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fresh off a top-10 upset, Xavier baseball gets back to action this weekend with a three-game series against Lipscomb at Dugan Field.
First pitch in the series is set for 5 p.m. on Friday with game two on Saturday at 3 p.m. The series wraps up on Sunday at 2 p.m.
XU stands at 2-5 overall on the young season with three of its losses coming against No. 7 North Carolina to open the season. Since that series, XU has picked up wins against Samford and No. 8 Louisville.
Four of Xavier's seven games so far have been against top-10 ranked opponents.
The Bison are 4-2 so far with a two-game split against Valparaiso and wins against Western Kentucky, Western Michigan and Toledo.
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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PITCHING MATCHUPS |
| Game | Xavier | Opponent |
| 1 | Nick Zwack, LHP | Chris Kachmar, RHP |
| 2 | TBD | Noah Thompson, LHP |
| 3 | Conor Grammes, RHP | TBD |
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SERIES HISTORY |
• Lipscomb leads the all-time series 8-1.
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OPPONENT NOTABLES |
• The Bison return a pair of ASUN All-Freshman Team selections in starting pitcher Noah Thompson (3.03 ERA, 50.1 IP) and outfielder Maddux Houghton (.255, 23 RBI).
• The two teams have not met since March 20-22, 2015. The Bison took two-of-three in the series, but XU salvaged the finale in a 5-1 win.
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| 1. | Chris Givin, SS | .276 BA, 8 H, 1 RBI |
| 2. | Jake Shepski, RF | .400 BA, 12 H, 7 RBI |
| 3. | Conor Grammes, DH | .364 BA, 1 HR, 12 H |
| 4. | Matt Warkentin, 1B | .320 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI |
| 5. | Allbry Major, LF | .227 BA, 2 2B, 5 H |
| 6. | Natale Monastra, C | .214 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI |
| 7. | Ryan Altenberger, 2B | .273 BA, 4 R, 3 SB |
| 8. | Jack Housinger, 3B | .471 BA, 3 R, 5 RBI |
| 9. | Andrew Sexton, CF | .263 BA, 5 H, 2 RBI |
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PROJECTED ROTATION |
| Friday | Nick Zwack | 1.93 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K |
| Saturday | TBD | - |
| Sunday | Conor Grammes | 18.41 ERA, 7.1 IP, 8K |
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ROTATION NOTES |
• Nick 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.
• Zwack, this week's BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball last Saturday in a 7-1 win over Samford. He struck out six in the outing and now has a 1.93 ERA in his two starts this season.
• Conor Grammes began 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.
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LINEUP NOTES |
• Junior Conor Grammes leads the team with four multi-hit games already this season.
• Junior Conor Grammes and grad transfer Jake Shepski are tied for the team lead with seven game hitting streaks.
• Senior Matt Warkentin is riding a four-game hitting streak and has put together a .533 batting average (8-for-15) with three homers and seven RBI in his last four outings.
• Grammes, Warkentin and Givin have all reached base in all seven games this season.
• Freshman Jack Housinger enters the weekend with a three-game hitting streak and leads XU with a .471 batting average (8-for-17) in six games.
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LAST TIME OUT |
• Xavier knocked off No. 8 Louisville, 5-4, in 10 innings on Tuesday.
• It was XU's first win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 8 Kentucky 3-2 on Feb. 20, 2018. That game was also won in 10 innings and was head coach Billy O'Conner's first career victory.
• Freshman Lane Flamm (1-1) earned his first career victory with 5.2 solid innings of relief, allowing just three hits and striking out four. The righty allowed just one earned run.
• Junior Conor Grammes led XU with a 2-for-5 day at the plate, scoring a run and driving in another. He already has four multi-hit games this season.
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RECORD WATCH |
• Junior Conor Grammes currently ranks No. 10 all-time in career batting average with a .338 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 183 hits trail the No. 10 spot in program history by 35 and his 33 doubles are just seven outside the program's top 10.
• Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.43 ranks 11th in program history. The righty is 13 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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DOING WARK |
• Senior slugger Matt Warkentin has been on fire over the last four games. The big bopper went 7-for-12 (.583) with seven runs scored and three homers in the Samford series and followed it up with a 1-for-3 game at No. 8 Louisvile.
• He is now 8-for-15 (.533) in his last four games with seven runs scored, three homers and seven RBI.
• 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.
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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 has been a solid defensive unit so far, posting a .984 fielding percentage with four errors in seven games.
• 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 |
• After going without a home run in their season-opening series at No. 7 UNC, the Musketeers exploded for seven last weekend 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 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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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 |
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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.
• Billy O'Conner's first career win came at No. 8 Kentucky on Feb. 20, 2018 and he picked up a second top-10 victory on Feb. 26 of this season as XU took down No. 8 Louisville, 5-4, on the road.
• 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.
