Xavier Takes on BIG EAST Tournament this Weekend

Friday, May 27

Mason, Ohio / Prasco Park

6:30 PM

Xavier University

Creighton

Xavier Takes on BIG EAST Tournament this Weekend

05.25.22 | Baseball

Their Schedule Opens on Thursday against Creighton

By: Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications

CINCINNATI, OH – Xavier baseball is the three seed in the BIG EAST Tournament this weekend, as the prepare for an opening round matchup with Creighton. Their first game begins at 2:30 pm ET on Thursday, following the conclusion of No.1 UConn and No. 4 Georgetown. The losers will play an elimination game on Friday, and the winners will play Saturday afternoon. Following one more elimination game Saturday night, the BIG EAST Champion will be crowned on Sunday.

Xavier and Creighton have played to an even 15-15 in their 30-game history. The Blue Jays won 2 of three at Hayden Field this year, but Xavier outscored them 25-22.

CREIGHTON NOTABLES

Creighton is 30-16 this season, and 15-5 in conference play. They won their first eight and last five conference games, but went through a brief 2-5 rough patch.
Key wins include a sweep of Minnesota, and wins over Wichita State and Nebraska. In the BIG EAST, they knocked off Georgetown, St. John's, Butler and Villanova in series sweeps.
Creighton was picked to finish second in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll, receiving one first place vote, and they did just that.
The Blue Jays had five selections to BIG EAST awards including likely Game One starter Dylan TeBrake, who is the BIG EAST Pitcher of the year, and Alan Roden, who is Co-BIG EAST Player of the Year with Xavier's Luke Franzoni.
Johnny Wegner (unanimous), Andrew Meggs, Tommy Steier also earned postseason honors.

XAVIER ROTATION

Trevor Olson has made eight starts for the Musketeers this season, compiling a 5.43 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. He has 48 strikeouts, and a 3-3 record. His best start came on March 19 against Indiana, when he pitched 5.0 shutout innings and only allowed one hit while striking out six.
Last season, the graduate senior appeared in 14 games and made 10 starts for Xavier last season. He finished the season with an ERA of 2.97 and 1.12 WHIP through 63.2 innings pitched, allowing 21 earned runs on 53 hits with 18 walks, striking out 50 along the way.
Luke Bell has made 24 appearances this season (nine starts), holding a 4.33 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He is 4-0 after striking out 52 batters across 56.0 innings pitched.
Lane Flamm returns for his senior year as one of the most impactful players of his class. Last year, he made 12 starts including a complete game. He pitched 65.1 innings and had 67 strikeouts en route to four wins, a 4.41 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.
This year, he has made 16 appearances and seven starts. He has a 1-4 record, a 9.79 ERA and 2.44 WHIP. However, he's picked up two saves and 29 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched. He struck out a season-high seven batters on April 9 against Seton Hall.
George Eisenhardt embarked on his freshman campaign against Oregon State. He was a four-year varsity letterman for Lakeridge High School in Portland, Oregon, and earned All-League honors his freshman and sophomore year, and All-State in his sophomore year. He struck out four of 11 batters in his collegiate debut against the Crimson Tide.
He has made eight starts this season, going 1-5. Eisenhardt holds a 12.12 ERA and 2.39 WHIP while collecting 27 strikeouts.

THE BULLPEN

All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Jack Lynch has pitched in a team-high 26 games, boasting a 2.70 ERA and team-best 1.04 WHIP. He has a 9-0 record, pitching 56.2 innings and striking out 67 batters.
Jared Gadd has made 23 appearances for the Musketeers with a 4.20 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. He has three saves as a late reliever, and a 5-4 record. He also has 38 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched.
Miles Halligan has come in for 18 games, including four starts this season. He has a 6.68 ERA and 1.79 WHIP, striking out 23 in 32.1 innings.
Transfer Bryce Barnett has 22 appearances and four starts. He is 2-3 with a 5.49 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. However, he has earned a save and 38 strikeouts in 39.1 innings pitched.
Bobby Jones has 15 appearances to start the season, holding a 4.97 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.
Junior Jonathan Kelly appeared in a team-high 16 games out of the bullpen, pitching 24.2 innings and earning three saves last season. This year, he has 20 appearances, but holds a 7.11 ERA and 1.83 WHIP. He is 3-1 in 2022 with 32 Ks in 31.2 innings pitched.
Xavier also returns relievers Connor Bailey, Ethan Bosacker, Dorsey Chatham, Xander Rojahn, Cooper Williams, Shawn Hepler, and Nick Boyle.
The Musketeers add newcomers Justin Loer, Carter Hendrickson, Jake Zicka, Hyatt Utzman, DJ Morand, Luke Hoskins, and Ryan Rumsey,

BEHIND THE PLATE

Leading the trio of catchers is Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree Jerry Huntzinger. The graduate student joined Xavier in Summer 2021 as a transfer from Seton Hall, coming off a 2021 season where he shared All-BIG EAST First Team honors with Xavier graduate catcher Natale Monastra.
Originally from Staten Island, N.Y., Huntzinger has a .276 batting average at Xavier, starting in 55 games this season. He has a 59 runs from the lead off spot, and he has hit 13 home runs and 37 RBIs. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases on 24 attempts.
Sophomore Matthew DePrey has made 40 appearances and 25 starts at catcher this year. He has a .262 batting average including two doubles, three homers, 19 runs and 14 RBIs.
Xavier also adds freshman Emmanuel Scott at catcher.

X IN THE OUTFIELD

Andrew Walker was picked as a Preseason All-BIG EAST outfielder. He's coming off a season where he was named All-BIG EAST Second Team. He appeared in 47 games, starting in 39, and led Xavier's every-day players at the plate with a .316 batting average, which ranked eighth in the conference. Walker collected 30 RBI last season, the most among Xavier's returners, and scored 32 runs, trailing just Housinger among Musketeers in 2021.
Walker is second on the team with a .319 batting average. He has started in 52 games this season accruing 20 extra base hits including a team-high three triples. He also has 46 runs scored and 33 RBIs to his credit.
Tyler DeMartino is fourth on the Musketeers with a .305 average including 10 homers, 13 doubles, and 43 RBIs. He has made 53 appearances this season and 51 have been starts.
Junior Garrett Schultz's batting average is .310. In 54 games (52 starts) he has 13 doubles and one home run. He has a respectable 30 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
Alex Helmin has 38 appearances to his name including 16 starts. He is batting .247 with 18 hits, 13 runs and nine RBIs.
Xavier adds freshmen Aedan Anderson and Teddy Deters to their loaded outfield this season.

MUSKETEER INFIELD

BIG EAST Player of the Year Luke Franzoni is the fourth Musketeer named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, and he represents first baseman. He started in all 41 games last year and held a .279 batting average including 36 hits, six doubles, and team-highs with two triples and nine home runs. He added 28 RBIs and 28 runs, drew 22 walks and was hit by four pitches. He finished with a team-high .566 SLG% and third-best .392 OBP.
Franzoni has 24 home runs this season, a Xavier single-season record.. In addition, he boasts a team-best .355 batting average, 57 runs, and a team-high 62 RBIs.
Jack Housinger was named Preseason All-BIG EAST for a third-straight season prior to his senior campaign, and he was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Last season, he appeared in 50 games, and started in 49. His accolades were plentiful: .297 batting average (third on team), 52 hits (team-high), 17 doubles (team-high), five home runs. He scored 37 runs (team-high) and 28 RBIs (third on team), a team-high .437 OBP and third-best .480 SLG%. He drew a team-best 37 walks as well.
This season, Housinger is batting an impressive .289 with 26 extra base hits including 12 doubles and 13 homers. He leads the team with 59 runs and is second with 52 RBIs. The shortstop has been an Ironman, starting in all of Xavier's 56 games.
Jared Cushing was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, and has 54 appearances and 50 starts under his belt, batting .293 for Xavier. His accolades include nine homers, seven doubles and two triples. Cushing has contributed 30 RBIs and 29 runs.
Xavier also returns Grant Stephenson, Eddie Rivero, Jackson Kaplowitz, Jeff Holtz and pitcher Jonathan Kelly who will take at-bats as an infielder on occasion. The Musketeers will also add incoming freshmen Ethan Hodge and Luke Hammond to their infield

ROAD WARRIORS

Xavier opened the season on the road, playing 22 away games before opening the home portion of the schedule on Saturday, March 23 against Michigan.
Overall, Xavier played 40 road games, including trips to seven Power Five opponents: Alabama, Louisville, Oregon State, South Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, and Michigan.
Xavier also faced BIG EAST opponents Seton Hall, Georgetown, Butler, and UConn on the road.
Xavier played home and away with local rivals Cincinnati with a game at each home ball park, one at Prasco Park, and one as part of the Joe Nuxhall Classic: and they won all of them.
The Musketeers hosted BIG EAST opponents Villanova, Creighton, and St. John's.

BIG (EAST) SUCCESS

The Musketeers have now made six of eight of the four-team BIG EAST Tournaments since joining the conference, and claiming the tournament championship three times (2014, 2016, 2017), as well as winning the regular season title in 2016.
The Musketeers went 15-11 in a 2021 conference schedule and advanced to the BIG EAST Championship series against UConn.

PRESEASON PICKS

Ahead of the 2021, Xavier was picked the finish third in BIG EAST in the preseason coaches poll.
Additionally, four Musketeers, Jerry Huntzinger, Luke Franzoni, Jack Housinger, and Andrew Walker, were named to the the BIG EAST Preseason All-Conference list, as voted on by the coaches.

Preseason Coaches Poll

Connecticut (7)	49
Creighton (1)	41
Xavier	36
St. John's	30
Seton Hall	29
Butler	16
Georgetown	13
Villanova	10

First-place votes denoted in ( )

Preseason Co-Players of the Year
Alan Roden, So., OF, Creighton

Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Dylan Tebrake, Jr., RHP, Creighton

Preseason All-BIG EAST

C – Jerry Huntzinger, Gr., Xavier
1B – Luke Franzoni, Sr., Xavier
2B – Andrew Meggs, Jr., Creighton
3B – Marty Higgins, RSo., St. John's *
SS – Jack Housinger, Sr., Xavier
DH – Alan Roden, So., Creighton
OF – Erik Stock, Sr., UConn *
OF – Will Gale, RSo., Seton Hall *
OF – Chris Rotondo, Sr., Villanova
OF – Andrew Walker, Sr., Xavier
SP – Austin Peterson, Sr., UConn
SP – Ian Murphy, RJr., St. John's
SP – Dylan Tebrake, Jr., Creighton
SP – Tyler Roche, So., St. John's
RP – Paul Bergstrom, Jr., Creighton

*Unanimous Selection

MUSKETEERS IN THE DRAFT

Xavier had pair of selections in the 2019 MLB Draft, with Conor Grammes going in the fifth round to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chris Givin selected in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres. The pair's selection marked the third time in four years multiple Musketeers were taken.
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.
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 has had at least one player drafted in 12 of the last 15 years.
19 total XU players have been drafted since 1999.

XU TO HOST LEAGUE TOURNEY

The 2022 BIG EAST Baseball Championship presented by Jeep will be co-hosted by Xavier baseball at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio during Memorial Day Weekend.
The BIG EAST announced in 2019 that Prasco Park would serve as host through 2022, extending the partnership, which began in 2018, through five years. Xavier will remain the co-host of the annual postseason tournament.