Baseball to Play a Pair of Midweek Games in Joe Nuxhall Classic at UC

Tuesday, April 9

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 PM

Xavier University

Cincinnati

Baseball to Play a Pair of Midweek Games in Joe Nuxhall Classic at UC

04.08.19 | Baseball

Watch Live (Tuesday)Live Stats

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball will play a pair of midweek games in the Joe Nuxhall Classic at the University of Cincinnati, getting underway on Tuesday, April 9. The Musketeers (12-19, 3-0 BIG EAST) open the Classic with the host Bearcats at 6:30 p.m.

Xavier is coming off a three-game sweep of Georgetown in the BIG EAST opening series at Hayden Field. The Musketeers return to BIG EAST play this weekend in a three-game series at St. John's, beginning Friday at 3:00 p.m.

JOE NUXHALL CLASSIC

This year's Classic, the 11th time the tournament has been held, will be played at the University of Cincinnati's Marge Schott Stadium on Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10.
Game one on Tuesday, to be played at 3:00 p.m., will be between Wright State and Miami. Xavier and Cincinnati will follow at 7:00 p.m. Xavier will play at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Joe Nuxhall Classic began in 2009 to honor its namesake, the legendary Reds player and announcer Joe Nuxhall, and to promote and celebrate amateur base ball in southwest Ohio.
Along with Xavier, Cincinnati, Miami and Wright State have participated in the classic each year, with the event switching between UC and Miami.
Xavier is 9-11 all-time in Joe Nuxhall Classic games, including claiming the inaugural title in 2009. The Musketeers were also runners-up in 2017.

OPPONENT NOTABLES

Cincinnati enters the game at 13-17 overall after going 2-1 last week against No. 22 UConn.
The Bearcats went 28-28 in 2018, including a 12-12 AAC record and finished the season in the AAC Tournament.
Former Xavier head coach Scott Googins is in his second year at the helm of the rival Bearcats.
UC had its best final record since 2011 in Googins' first year with the program, finishing sixth in the AAC before being eliminated in two games at the conference tournament.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series 66-43 and took both matchups last season.
Wright State enters the game at 21-10 overall after picking up a 2-1 series win at NKU last week.
The Musketeers played a pair of games against the Raiders earlier this season, winning 9-8 in 10 innings in Dayton, and falling 10 at Hayden Field.
Miami is 24-6 on the season, after going 2-1 at Toledo last week.
Xavier will play the RedHawks again on April 23rd in Oxford.
MU went 35-20 last season, and 17-10 in MAC play. The RedHawks reached the MAC Championship in 2018 before falling to Kent State.
Miami lost three juniors, Zach Spears, Nick Ernst and Hayden Senger, to the MLB Draft following the season.
The RedHawks have two former Musketeers on staff in head coach Danny Hayden and equipment manager Joe Forney.
Miami leads the all-time series 44-29-1, but Xavier won three of four meetings last season.

PRESS CONFERENCE

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game	Xavier	Opponent
Tues	Trevor Olson, LHP	Jerry Burke, RHP
Wed	TBD	TBD

PROJECTED LINEUP

1. Conor Grammes, DH .298 BA, 37 H, 5 HR
2. Jake Shepski, RF .300 BA, 33 H, 24 BB
3. Allbry Major, LF .326 BA, 7 2B, 16 RBI
4. Matt Warkentin, 1B .300 BA, 33 H, 5 HR
5. Ryan Altenberger, 2B .269 BA, 29 H, 8 2B
6. Chris Givin, SS .308 BA, 41 H, 11 RBI
7. Jack Housinger, 3B .281 BA, 27 H, 13 RBI
8. Natale Monastra, C .232 BA, 23 H, 11 RBI
9. Andrew Sexton, CF .183 BA, 11 H, 10 BB

LINEUP NOTES

Allbry Major is hitting a team-best .326 after collecting six hits in the series sweep of Georgetown, which ranks in the top-10 in the BIG EAST. Major leads the team with 13 multi-base hits, including the walk off double from the series finale against the Hoyas.
Conor Grammes the week with a team-best 15 game on-base streak. Grammes is hitting .298 and has 37 hits which is the third most in the BIG EAST. His five home runs match Matt Warkentin for team high.
Matt Warkentin brings a 13-game on base streak into the weekend after going 8-of-16 at the plate last week, including going 3-of-4 in the series opener with Georgetown. Warkentin is batting .300 on the season, with 33 hits, including five home runs.
Chris Givin enters the game with a .308 batting average and has reached base in 27 of 31 games this season, including the first 19 of the season. Givin has a team-best 41 hits this season which ranks second in the BIG EAST, including six doubles, and has collected 12 walks on the season.
Jake Shepski brings a batting average of .300 and an on-base percentage of .413. Shepski matches Ryan Altenberg for team-high and league-high with 24 walks.
Ryan Altenberger comes into the week with a .413 on-base percentage and hitting .269 with a team-high nine doubles. Altenberger also has a 14-game on-base streak. Altenberger has taken 24 walks on the season, matching Shepski for team and league high.

X ON THE MOUND

Trevor Olson makes the start on Tuesday, his first start of the season. Olson has made 11 appearances, with an ERA of 5.40 in 15 innings pitched.
Lane Flamm lead the team in appearances and innings pitched, 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 1.12 for pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched. Through 16 innings pitched in 10 games, Czabala has struck out 14 and allowed only two runs on seven hits and four walks. His ERA ranks second in the BIG EAST among pitchers with 10 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 11 career triples rank fourth in program history, tying John McCambridge in the record book with his second of the season at Wright State. 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 216 hits trail the No. 10 spot in program history by two and his 38 doubles are just one outside the program's top 10.
Senior Matt Kent's career ERA of 3.44 entering the season ranks 11th in program history. The righty made his 62nd career appearance last week against Wright State, just eight 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 Joe Nuxhall Classic Xavier returns to the road, traveling to St. John's for the first BIG EAST road series.
The Musketeers' are 9-19 in non-conference play, with a 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 .981 fielding percentage with 21 errors in 31 games. The Musketeers' fielding percentage ranks fifth nationally.
The Musketeers have 26 double plays on the season, the most in the conference and 36th 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. After Wednesday's night three-home run game, the Musketeers now have 27 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.