Baseball to Face No. 3 seed St. John's on Saturday Afternoon in BIG EAST Tournament Play

Saturday, May 25

Prasco Park

1 PM

Xavier University

St. John's

Baseball to Face No. 3 seed St. John's on Saturday Afternoon in BIG EAST Tournament Play

05.24.19 | Baseball

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By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

MASON, Ohio – Xavier baseball returns to BIG EAST Tournament action on Saturday, May 25, playing No. 3 St. John's in an elimination game at 1:00 p.m. at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. The winner of Saturday's first game will advance to play No. 1 Creighton on Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. to potentially determine the champion.

Saturday night's game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but was moved up due to weather concerns. The if-necessary game is still scheduled for Sunday, May 26 at 1:00 p.m.

Tomorrow's games will be available to stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network, through CaffeineTV or on @BIGEASTChamps on Twitter Live.

Xavier opened BIG EAST Tournament play on Thursday evening, falling to No. 4 seed St. John's, 2-0, before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over No. 3 seed Seton Hall, 2-1, in the elimination game on Friday.

BIG EAST BRACKET

OPPONENT NOTES - SJU

St. John's is 31-22 after falling in last night's 17-13 slugfest with Creighton in the winner's bracket. The Red Storm had 15 hits, including three home runs in a back-and-forth battle with the Bluejays.
The Red Storm are 2-2 against the Musketeers this season, including the 2-0 win in Xavier's BIG EAST Tournament opener to advance in the winner's bracket.
Xavier took two of three in the regular season series at St. John's, claiming the series opener, 11-8, with Matt Warkentin's eighth inning grand slam putting the Musketeers ahead. The Musketeers dropped the Saturday, 9-8, then bounced back on Sunday to claim the series with an 8-1 win.
Kody Darcy's .333 average at the plate led four Musketeers batting above .300 with at least 10 plate appearances in four games against the Red Storm this season. Darcy went 4-of-12, with two walks, and scored three runs.
Conor Grammes is 5-of-16 at the plate against Red Storm, and has taken seven bases on balls in four games against the Red Storm.
Natale Monastra and Luke Franzoni are both 4-of-13 (.308) at the plate against the Red Storm this season. Franzoni has a pair of home runs against SJU this season.

OPPONENT NOTES - CU

Creighton wil face the winner from the Xavier/St. John's game, entering the game at 37-11 after picking up the win in last night's 17-13 win over St. John's in the winner's bracket. Creighton had 18 hits, including six home runs.
The Bluejays came from behind in the opening game of the BIG EAST Tournament to top Seton Hall and move on in the winner's bracket.
Xavier went 2-1 at Creighton earlier this season, winning the series opener on Friday, 8-1, then splitting two games in a Sunday double-header, falling 5-0 in seven innings in the early game, then taking a 3-1 win in nine innings in game two.
Jake Shepski batted .333 against the Bluejays this season,, with four hits in 12 at bats and three runs scored.
Conor Grammes went 3-of-10 at the plate (.300) at CU with a walk.
Xavier collected 21 hits total, batting .223 as a team.

PROJECTED STARTERS

	Xavier	St. John's
Game 5	Griffin Lanoue, RHP	Nick Mondak, LHP

PROJECTED LINEUP

1. Conor Grammes, DH .330 BA, 72 H, 7 HR
2. Jake Shepski, RF .289 BA, 39 RBI, 35 BB
3. Allbry Major, LF .280 BA, 13 2B, 33 RBI
4. Matt Warkentin, 1B .264 BA, 56 H, 9 HR
5. Chris Givin, SS .306 BA, 71 H, 7 HR
6. Ryan Altenberger, 2B .252 BA, 10 2B, 21 RBI
7. Ryan Fournier, CF .174 BA, 9 BB, 2 HR
8. Jack Housinger, 3B .265 BA, 43 H, 36 BB
9. Natale Monastra, C .240 BA, 40 H, 19 RBI

PRASCO DEAL EXTENDED

The BIG EAST Conference announced on Wednesday that Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio will be the home of the BIG EAST Baseball Championship through 2022, extending their partnership through five years.
Xavier will remain the co-host of the annual postseason tournament which is held the week of Memorial Day Weekend each year.
Located on the campus of Prasco Laboratories, the park opened on June 19, 2008, and has become one of the premier amateur baseball destinations in America.
Prasco Park has a total seating capacity of 1,250, plus standing room space. There will be no charge for admission or concessions for BIG EAST Championship fans in attendance.
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.

GRAMMES NAMED FIRST TEAM

Junior Conor Grammes was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team as both a right-handed pitcher, as well as the leagues' top designated hitter.
Grammes enters BIG EAST Tournament play with 54 appearances, primarily as designated hitter with a team-high 13 starts on the mound.
At the plate, the junior leads the Musketeers with a .333 average overall and a .387 mark in BIG EAST play. Grammes has collected a team-high matching 70 hits in 54 games, including a team-leading 24 in conference action.
Among those hits are a team-best 13 doubles to go with three triples and six home runs for the team-best slugging percentage of .510. Grammes also has 33 walks on the season, with 15 coming in BIG EAST play, for a team-best on-base percentage of .433 overall and .513 in BIG EAST play.
On the mound, Grammes has a 4.40 ERA, the best mark among Xavier's starters, allowing 30 earned runs on 46 hits in 46.1 innings of work. In BIG EAST play, Grammes as an ERA of 1.55 in 29.0 innings pitched in three appearances.
Grammes has a team-leading 77 strikeouts, including 38 Ks of BIG EAST opponents, including a career-best 16-strikeout performance in a 1-0 walk-off win over Georgetown.
Grammes, who has earned four nominations to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season, entered 2019 as the Preseason BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year. Grammes has also previously collected the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player and BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors as a freshman in 2017.

GIVIN NAMED FIRST TEAM

Senior Chris Givin earned the honor as the top shortstop in the league, earning the First Team All-BIG EAST honor unanimously.
Givin has collected a team-high matching 70 hits in 54 games going into the BIG EAST Tournament, batting .308 overall and .309 in BIG EAST play. In BIG EAST play, Givin has 21 hit and 32 total bases, both second most on the team in league play.
Givin has 106 total bases on the season one off the team high, including 10 doubles, a team-high four triples and six home runs for a slugging percentage of .467.
At shortstop, Givin has a fielding percentage of .988 on the season, with 82 put outs and 159 assists to just three errors, helping the Musketeers post a .982 fielding percentage as a team, a top-10 mark in NCAA Division I.
Givin was Preseason All-BIG EAST entering the 2019 season, marking his third-straight preseason honor. Givin earned All-BIG EAST Second Team Honors following his sophomore season and was selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team as a sophomore as well.

FOUR NAMED TO SECOND TEAM

Four Musketeers also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors, senior Matt Warkentin at first base, junior Natale Monastra as catcher, freshman Jack Housinger at third and freshman Lane Flamm as a right-handed relief pitcher.
Matt Warkentin has been the Musketeers' primary first baseman, appearing in 51 games in 2019. Warkentin is batting .272 on the season with 56 hits, including six doubles and a team-high nine home runs for a .432 slugging percentage.
Warkentin has collected 37 runs batted in on the season, two off the team high, with 13 coming in conference play. The senior has scored 33 times, also second most on the team.
Warkentin posted a .993 fielding percentage at first base in BIG EAST play, committing just one error in 128 putouts with eight assists.
Natale Monastra has been reliable behind the plate for the Musketeers, with a season fielding percentage of .997, the highest among Xavier's regular players. Monastra has just one error in 47 appearances, and has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 13 starts in BIG EAST play.
At the plate, Monastra has a .313 average in BIG EAST play and a .247 mark overall. The junior has 40 total hits, with 15 in conference action, including five doubles, three triples and four home runs. All three of Monastra's triples have come against conference opponents.
Jack Housinger has made 51 appearances for the Musketeers, including 46 starts, primarily at third base. The freshman is batting .276 on the season, with 43 hits and a team-high 36 walks for an on-base percentage of .418. Housinger has 11 doubles on the season, with five coming in BIG EAST play.
Housinger has a fielding percentage of .978 with only three errors in his rookie season, with just one of those coming during conference play.
Lane Flamm has emerged as the Musketeers' go-to closer in his freshman season, appearing in 23 games as a reliever. Flamm has an ERA of 2.96 overall and 1.80 in BIG EAST action. Flamm has collected seven saves in 48.2 innings of work this season, with four coming in against conference opponents, and has three wins to his credit.
Flamm has allowed just 16 earned runs to 41 strikeouts overall, with only three runs allowed in 15.0 innings of work in BIG EAST play. Flamm's 15 strikeouts in BIG EAST play are the most among Xavier's relief pitchers.