Baseball Travels to St. John's for First BIG EAST Road Trip

Friday, April 12

Queens, N.Y.

3 PM

Xavier University

St. John's

Baseball Travels to St. John's for First BIG EAST Road Trip

04.11.19 | Baseball

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By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball returns to conference play this weekend, traveling to St. John's to face the Red Storm for a three-game series, beginning at 3:00 p.m on Friday, April 12. Saturday's game is set for 1:00 p.m. and Sunday's game will begin at noon.

Xavier is 12-21 overall and 3-0 in conference after the Musketeers opened up BIG EAST play with a three-game sweep of Georgetown in the opening series at Hayden Field.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	OVERALL	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Xavier	3-0	11-21	5-2	6-17	0-2	L2
St. John's	2-1	18-11	10-0	8-11	0-0	W3
Seton Hall	2-1	14-15	0-0	11-8	3-7	W1
Butler	1-2	17-13	5-3	4-7	8-3	L2
Villanova	1-2	8-22	5-8	0-6	3-8	W1
Creighton	0-0	17-7	5-2	11-4	1-1	W2
Georgetown	0-3	9-24	4-6	3-11	2-7	W1

OPPONENT NOTABLES

The Red Storm enter the game at 18-11 overall and 2-1 in BIG EAST play after opening conference play at Butler last weekend.
In addition to the Butler series win, SJU has series wins over Kansas, Hofstra and St. Louis.
Last season, SJU went 40-17 overall and 15-3 in the BIG EAST, winning the conference title and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament Clemson Regional
The Red Storm won their league-best ninth BIG EAST crown in 2018 and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for a 37th time, tied for the eighth-highest in the history of college baseball.
The Johnnies also recorded their 10th 40-win season and ninth in the last 14 years last season.
St. John's leads the all-time series 12-7. Xavier won the opener 7-3 last year at Hayden Field before the Red Storm rallied to win the final two games of the series.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game	Xavier	St. John's
Fri	Damien Richard, RHP	Joe LaSorsa, LHP
Sat	Griffin Lanoue, RHP	Sean Mooney, RHP
Sun	Conor Grammes, RHP	Jeff Belge, LHP

PROJECTED LINEUP

1. Conor Grammes, DH .298 BA, 39 H, 5 HR
2. Jake Shepski, RF .294 BA, 35 H, 24 BB
3. Allbry Major, LF .320 BA, 9 2B, 16 RBI
4. Matt Warkentin, 1B .288 BA, 34 H, 5 HR
5. Ryan Altenberger, 2B .277 BA, 31 H, 9 2B
6. Chris Givin, SS .309 BA, 43 H, 12 RBI
7. Jack Housinger, 3B .275 BA, 28 H, 13 RBI
8. Natale Monastra, C .225 BA, 23 H, 11 RBI
9. Andrew Sexton, CF .180 BA, 11 H, 10 BB

LINEUP NOTES

Allbry Major is hitting a team-best .320, including a .462 mark in the series sweep of Georgetown. Major's six hits against GU matches two others, including Matt Warkentin, for BIG EAST high so far in conference play. Major's eight game hitting streak currently leads the Musketeers. Major's .560 slugging percentage is team-high and sixth in the BIG EAST.
Chris Givin enters the game with a .309 batting average and has a team-best 43 hits this season which ranks second in the BIG EAST. Givin picked up his seventh double of the season against Cincinnati, and has taken 13 bases on balls on the season.
Conor Grammes has a .298 batting average with 35 total hits on the season, just behind Givin as third most in the BIG EAST overall. Grammes, who has five doubles, a triple and a team-high five home runs leads the team in total bases at 61, tied for third most in the BIG EAST. Grammes has six stolen bases in seven attempts on the season.
Jake Shepski enters the game with a .294 batting average and an on-base percentage of .405 with 35 hits and 24 walks. His bases on balls for the season match Ryan Altenberger for BIG EAST-high. His 20 RBIs on the season lead the team.
Matt Warkentin is batting .288 on the season after going 6-of-12 at the plate in the series against Georgetown to match to other for the lead in league play so far.
Ryan Altenberger comes into the week with a team-high .415 on-base percentage and hitting .277, matching Allbry Major with a team-high nine doubles. Altenberger has taken 24 walks on the season, matching Shepski for team and league high, and has scored a team-high 26 runs.
Xavier's .266 team batting average is second among BIG EAST teams this season with a league-high 307 hits and 458 total bases on the season.

X ON THE MOUND

Damien Richard makes his third start on Friday, entering the game with an ERA of 7.86 in 26.1 innings pitched through nine appearances
Griffin Lanoue makes his seventh start of the season on Saturday, with an ERA of 6.14 in 29.1 innings pitched in eight appearances.
Conor Grammes is projected to make his team-high ninth start on Sunday. Grammes enters the game with an ERA of 6.14 in 36.2 innings pitched. After his career-high 16 strikeouts last Sunday against Georgetown, Grammes has a team-high 53 pitches, second most in the league.
Lane Flamm lead the team in appearances appearing in 14 games with 34 innings pitched. He has a ERA of 3.97 with a record of 2-2 with three saves.
Sam Czabala has a team-best ERA of 1.37 for pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched. Through 19.2 innings pitched in 11 games, Czabala has struck out 16 and allowed only three runs on nine hits and four walks. His ERA ranks second in the BIG EAST among pitchers with two innings pitched.

RECORD WATCH

Junior Conor Grammes entered the season for 11th all-time in career batting average at XU with a .331 mark. Grammes stands at .327 currently with a season batting average of .298.
Senior Chris Givin's 12 career triples rank fourth in program history, moving past John McCambridge in the record book with his third of the season against Cincinnati. 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 also entered the program's all-time top 10 in both hits and doubles at Cincinnati. His 218 hits tie for the No. 10 spot in program history and his 39 doubles are tied for 10th in program history.
Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.44 entering the season ranks 11th in program history. The righty made his 63rd career appearance against Wright State, just seven appearances from entering the program's top 10.

ROAD WARRIORS

Xavier played 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. Following the St. John's series, Xavier travels to Ohio State next Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
The Musketeers' are 9-21 in non-conference play, with a strength of schedule rated No. 1 by D1Baseball.com.

X CAN PICK IT

Xavier has been a reliable defensive unit so far, posting a BIG EAST-leading .979 fielding percentage with 25 errors in 33 games. The Musketeers' fielding percentage ranks eighth nationally.
The Musketeers have 26 double plays on the season, matching St. John's the most in the conference and 48th most in NCAA DI.
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 in their series at Samford. That included a five homer game in the Friday opener. The Musketeers now have 28 longballs for the 2019 season, tied with Creighton for the most in the BIG EAST.
So far this season, 10 Musketeers have hit a home run, led by five each for Conor Grammes and Matt Warkentin.
Xavier baseball has become one of 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.

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.

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
Chris Givin	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/18)	Link
Conor Grammes	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (3/25)	Link
Jake Shepski	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (4/1)	Link
Allbry Major	BIG EAST Player of the Week (4/8)	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.
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.

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.