Baseball Travels to Creighton for Three-Game BIG EAST Series

Friday, April 26

Omaha, Neb.

7:30 PM

Xavier University

Creighton

Baseball Travels to Creighton for Three-Game BIG EAST Series

04.25.19 | Baseball

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By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball returns to the road this weekend, traveling to Omaha, Neb. for a BIG EAST road series at Creighton. The series kicks off on Friday at 7:30 p.m ET on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Play is set to continue on Saturday at 3:00 p.m ET and the series finale is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

After three BIG EAST series, including last weekend's abbreviated series with Butler, Xavier stands atop of the BIG EAST standings at 7-1. Creighton, which has played just two series so far in the BIG EAST schedule, stands just behind Xavier at 5-1 in the league standings.

The Musketeers stand at 17-23 overall after Tuesday's win at Miami, and will return to non-conference play next Tuesday with a return game from the RedHawks to kick off a five-game slate at Hayden Field next week. Following the game with Miami, Xavier will take on Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Both midweek games are set for 3:00 p.m. Xavier will then get set for its final home BIG EAST series of the season, hosting Seton Hall for a three-game series, beginning on Friday.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Xavier	7-1	0.875	17-23	0.425	W3
Creighton	5-1	0.833	23-8	0.742	W4
St. John's	5-4	0.556	23-14	0.622	W3
Villanova	3-6	0.333	10-27	0.270	L3
Seton Hall	2-4	0.333	16-20	0.444	L3
Georgetown	2-4	0.333	13-26	0.333	W2
Butler	2-6	0.250	19-18	0.514	W1

OPPONENT NOTABLES

Creighton enters the game a 24-8 overall and 5-1 in BIG EAST play, holding a league best RPI of 15 as of April 24. The Bluejays opened conference play by taking 2-of-3 from Butler, then swept Seton Hall on the road the following weekend.
The Bluejays have series wins over Arkansas-Little Rock, Saint Louis, Maryland, Illinois state and Kansas State on the season, and secured the win in the season series with Nebraska on Tuesday, taking two of three over the Cornhuskers this season.
Jake Holton lead the Bluejays at the plate on the season, collecting 48 hits and 36 RBI with a league-best .400 batting average, with 19 extra base hits, including 10 home runs. Holton is one of four Bluejays hitting over .300 with more than 10 at-bats.
The Bluejays also feature BIG EAST Preseason Co-BIG EAST Player of the Year, junior Will Robertson, who shared the honor with Xavier's Conor Grammes after earning All-BIG EAST First Team honors last season. Robertson is hitting .278 on the season with 37 hits including 13 doubles.
Creighton finished last season at 34-16 overall and 8-9 in the BIG EAST, narrowly missing the conference tournament for the first time since the league was reconfigured in 2013.
Four Bluejays were taken in the MLB Draft after the season, including junior catcher Michael Emodi. 30 Creighton players have been drafted since 2004.
Ed Servais returns for his 16th season in 2019 and is the winningest coach in CU baseball history.
Creighton leads the all-time series 11-9. The Musketeers dropped the first two games of last season's series at Hayden Field before rebounding to win the finale, 12-8.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game	Xavier	Creighton
Fri	Damien Richard, RHP	TBA
Sat	Conor Grammes, RHP	TBA
Sun	Griffin Lanoue, RHP	TBA

PROJECTED LINEUP

1. Conor Grammes, DH .316 BA, 50 H, 6 HR
2. Jake Shepski, 2B .304 BA, 45 H, 27 BB
3. Allbry Major, LF .293 BA, 11 2B, 21 RBI
4. Matt Warkentin, 1B .285 BA, 43 H, 6 HR
5. Chris Givin, SS .294 BA, 50 H, 3 3B
6. Jack Housinger, 3B .268 BA, 33 H, 8 2B
7. Luke Franzoni, RF .294 BA, 25 H, 7 HR
8. Natale Monastra, C .236 BA, 29 H, 15 RBI
9. Andrew Sexton, CF .169 BA, 11 H, 12 BB

LINEUP NOTES

Conor Grammes lead the team with a .316 batting average, collecting 50 hits so far in the season. Grammes has also taken a team-high 27 walks, including 13 in BIG EAST play, for a team-best on-base percentage of .423 and a team-high 36 runs scored. Grammes brings a team-best eight game hitting streak into the series with Creightin.
Jake Shepski is hitting .304 on the season, a team-high matching 27 walks and a team-best 29 RBIs. Shepski has a current on-base streak of eight games.
Chris Givin matches Grammes for team-high with 50 hits on the season, batting .294 overall with 74 total bases on nine doubles, three triples and three home runs. Givin lead the Musketeers with an 11-game streak of reaching safely, including a five-game hitting streak.
Luke Franzoni has turned it on at the plate in BIG EAST play, batting .294 overall and .438 in BIG EAST match-ups. Franzoni has 25 hits overall, with 14 coming in BIG EAST action, and a team-high seven home runs on the season after hitting four so far in conference play for a team-best .576 slugging percentage. Shepski has reached safely in eight straight games.
Allbry Major hit his 10th and 11th doubles of the season against Miami to add to his team-high mark. Major, with a .293 batting average, has a team-high three triples and also has four home runs for a slugging percentage of .511.
Matt Warkentin collected three hits against Miami to bring his season total to 43 hits with a batting average for .285.
Xavier leads the league with 386 total hits on the season, including the second most doubles (72) and the most home runs (37) for the second best slugging percentage (.412) in the conference.

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 .331 currently with a season batting average of .316.
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 225 hits are tied for ninth all-time at Xavier with Ben Thomas (2008-11), and his 41 doubles are tied with three others for fifth most in program history.
Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.44 entering the season ranks 11th in program history. The righty made his 66th career appearance against Miami (Ohio), just four 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. Xavier plays five games at home the closes out the BIG EAST schedule at Villanova..
The Musketeers' are 10-22 in non-conference play, with a strength of schedule rated No. 2 in the nation by D1Baseball.com.

X CAN PICK IT

Xavier has been a reliable defensive unit so far, posting a BIG EAST-leading .982 fielding percentage with 28 errors in 40 games. The Musketeers' fielding percentage ranks third nationally.
The Musketeers have 30 double plays on the season, the second most most in the conference.
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 Luke Franzoni hit his team-high seventh home run against Miami, the Musketeers now have 37 longballs for the 2019 season, the most in the BIG EAST.
So far this season, 10 Musketeers have hit a home run, led by Franzoni. Matt Warkentin and Conor Grammes each have six on the season.
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
Ryan Altenberger	BIG EAST Player of the Week (3/11)	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
Conor Grammes	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (4/15)	Link
Luke Franzoni	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (4/22)	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.