Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
Arizona
Baseball Continues Spring Break Trip with Five Game Week
03.10.19 | Baseball
PHOENIX – Xavier baseball resumes its spring break trip this week with a five-game schedule against Arizona and Grand Canyon.
XU kicks off the week with a single game at Arizona, beginning at 9 p.m., before a four-game set against GCU. The first three games of the GCU series will start at 9:30 p.m. ET with the series finale set for 5 p.m. ET.
The Musketeers are 5-8 overall after dropping three to No. 23 Arizona State over the weekend. Six of Xavier's eight losses have come against top-25 competition, which has XU ranked seventh nationally in the early versions of the RPI ratings.
Arizona is off to a 10-6 start and coming off a series win against the College of Charleston. The Wildcats have five batters hitting .333 or better thus far and series wins against UMass-Lowell and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Grand Canyon (6-9) was swept in three games against Illinois last weekend, but has a series win over USC and a ranked win against then-No. 18 TCU.
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ABOUT XAVIER |
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 | Marko Boricich, LHP | TBA |
| 2 | Matt Kent, RHP | TBA |
| 3 | Nick Zwack, LHP | TBA |
| 4 | Griffin Lanoue, RHP | TBA |
| 5 | Conor Grammes, RHP | TBA |
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SERIES HISTORY |
• This week's matchups between Xavier and Arizona/Grand Canyon will be the first between the programs.
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OPPONENT NOTABLES |
• Arizona won 11 of 16 down the stretch and finished with a top-50 RPI last season, but was left out of the NCAA Tournament.
• This year, the Wildcats welcome the No. 3 rated recruiting class according to Collegiate Baseball. The class includes six players who were drafted in 2018.
• GCU set a program record for Division I wins last season with 33 and was the No. 1 seed in the WAC Championships, only to bow out of the tournament with consecutive losses to Seattle and Sacramento State. The Lopes have won the WAC regular season three times in the last four years.
• Former big leaguer Andy Stankiewicz enters his eighth season at the helm of the Grand Canyon program, helping take the team from Division II (2012-13) to Division I in 2014. His career record in seven seasons is 216-164-1.
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PROJECTED LINEUP |
| 1. | Chris Givin, SS | .264 BA, 14 H, 4 RBI |
| 2. | Ryan Altenberger, RF | .381 BA, 2 HR, 6 SB |
| 3. | Conor Grammes, DH | .291 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI |
| 4. | Matt Warkentin, 1B | .255 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI |
| 5. | Allbry Major, LF | .289 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI |
| 6. | Natale Monastra, C | .217 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI |
| 7. | Jack Housinger, 2B | .303 BA, 10 H, 6 RBI |
| 8. | Kody Darcy, 3B | .050 BA, 1 H, 1 2B |
| 9. | Andrew Sexton, CF | .219 BA, 5 BB, 2 RBI |
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LINEUP NOTES |
• Ryan Altenberger leads Xavier with a six-game hitting streak going into the week. He's also tops on the team with six multi-hit games this season and leads the BIG EAST with six stolen bases. His 12 walks are second in the league and lead XU.
• Chris Givin has reached base in all 13 games this season from the leadoff spot. Altenberger ranks second on the team with a nine-game streak of reaching base.
• Allbry Major is tied for the BIG EAST lead and ranks fifth nationally with three triples. His 28 total bases ranks fourth in the league.
• Xavier was shut out on Friday at No. 23 Arizona State, ending a streak of 49 straight games with a run. Prior to Friday's game, XU had last been held scoreless on March 10, 2018 against San Francisco.
• XU has scored at least three runs in 12 of 13 games.
• Xavier has drawn at least two walks in every game this season and has worked a free pass in 54 straight games going back to March 9, 2018 at San Francisco.
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RECORD WATCH |
• Junior Conor Grammes is currently tied for 11th all-time in career batting average at XU with a .331 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 189 hits trail the No. 10 spot in program history by 29 and his 34 doubles are just six outside the program's top 10.
• Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.44 ranks 11th in program history. The righty is 12 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 has been a reliable defensive unit so far, posting a .981 fielding percentage with nine errors in 13 games.
• As of March 11, Xavier ranks No. 17 nationally with a .981 fielding percentage and ranks No. 13 nationally with 15 double plays turned.
• 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 in their series at Samford. That included a five homer game in the Friday opener.
• The Musketeers now have 12 longballs for the 2019 season, averaging just under one per game and ranking 67th nationally.
• 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 |
| Lane Flamm | BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/4) | Link |
| Conor Grammes | BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/4) | 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.
