Baseball Hosts NIU for Three-Game Series

Friday, March 31

Cincinnati, Ohio

3:00 PM

Xavier University

Northern Illinois

03.30.23 | Baseball

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers face Huskies for three games at Hayden Field, starting Friday at 3 PM

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball returns home to host a three-game series against Northern Illinois, set to start Friday and run through Sunday. Friday's game will now be played at 3:00 p.m. at Xavier's Hayden Field, moved from Prasco Park. Saturday will feature one game, set to begin at 1:00 p.m. and the series finale is set to be played on Sunday, set for a 1:00 p.m. start. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com and @XavierBASE on Twitter for potential schedule updates throughout the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday's games will be live streamed through FloSports.

The Musketeers are 13-12 on the season after taking midweek wins over Ohio State and Wright State, and came in at No. 12 in the most recent RPI, the highest ranking among non-power five schools.

XAVIER BASEBALL ON FLOSPORTS

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OPPONENT NOTABLES

The Huskies are 5-18, splitting a four-game series against WKU and collecting wins over Maine, Miami (Ohio) and Ohio.
NIU went 14-40 overall with a 13-25 record in MAC play.
Xavier is 1-1 all-time against Northern Illinois according to the Xavier record books.
The last match-up occurred in 2005, a 7-2 win for the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
The series dates back to 1995, a 4-2 loss for the Musketeers in the Midwestern Collegiate Championships.

THE LINEUP

Left fielder Andrew Walker is batting .318 on the season, with a team-high 35 hits and 22 RBI. Among his hits are six doubles and a pair of home runs.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has a .299 average at the plate on the season. Among his 32 hits are four doubles and a team-high eight home runs. He's driven in 18 RBI and scored a 19 runs.
Shortstop Jack Housinger is batting .202 on the season, with 10 of his 20 hits going for extra bases, and has a team-high 19 walks. Housinger has 15 RBI and a team-high 21 runs scored on the season.
Matt McCormick has made 24 starts at first base, with a .300 average at the plate. Among his 27 hits are 12 for extra bases, including six doubles and six home runs.
Third baseman Grant Stephenson is batting .233 on the season, has nine RBI and nine runs scored.
Garrett Schultz has made 22 starts center field, with a .233 average at the plate with 13 walks for the season, driving in 14 RBI and scoring 12 runs. He's reached safely in all 23 games he's appeared in.
Second baseman Jared Cushing has a .265 average at the plate, with four doubles, and seven home runs on the season after hitting two in the series finale against West Virginia, including a grand slam. He has 20 RBI and 15 runs scored.
Carter Hendrickson has made 21 starts, with a .306 average at the plate. Among his 22 hits are seven for extra bases, including three home runs. Hendrickson has 11 RBI and 14 runs scored on the season and has reached safely in all 21 games he appeared in.
Hayden Christiansen has appeared in 14 games, starting at DH in nine. He's batting .436, highest among Xavier players that have appeared regularly. Among his 17 hits are two doubles and two home runs for a .641 slugging percentage.
Tyler DeMartino made his first appearance of the season against Michigan after returning from injury and has starting at DH in nine games. He's batting .257 with seven RBI and five runs scored, with three home runs on the season.

ON THE MOUND

Ethan Bosacker has made six starts, with a 2.83 ERA through 35.0 IP. Bosacker has a .242 opposing batting average, allowing 11 earned runs on 31 hits. He has team high 40 strikeouts to 11 walks, with a WHIP of 1.20 and is 2-1 on the season.
Brant Alazaus has made six starts, with a 5.08 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched. He's 2-3 on the season and has allowed 19 earned runs on 31 hits and has 37 strikeouts to six walks.
Nick Boyle has made three starts, with a 10.12 ERA in 7.0 innings pitched, allowing eight runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts to nine walks.
Luke Hoskins has made nine appearances, including five starts, and has a 6.37 ERA through 29.2 innings pitched. He's allowed 21 earned runs on 33 hits, with 29 Ks to nine walks.
Justin Loer has made 13 appearances, including one start, posting a 1.75 ERA through 25.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on 14 hits, with 29 Ks to 10 walks. He's 3-2 on the season.
Connor Bailey has made eight appearances including one start. Bailey has a 9.00 ERA through 9.0 innings pitched, allowing nine earned runs on nine hits, with four strikeouts to three walk.
Jonathan Kelly has a 5.32 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched, making a team-high 15 appearances including one start. Kelly has 18 strikeouts to just five walks.
Clay Schwaner has made 10 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 4.80 ERA through 15.0 innings pitched, and has three saves on the season.
Luke Bell has made seven appearances, including two starts, with a 7.15 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched, with 20 Ks to nine walks. He went career-long 5.2 innings in relief during game three against UC Santa Barbara, not allowing a run.
Nick Kolze has made five appearances with a 1.23 ERA through 7.1 innings. He's allowed just one earned run on four hits, with six strikeouts to eight walks and has a record of 1-0.
Creighton Hansen has a 1.93 ERA through 4.2 IP in six appearances. He's allowed just one hit, and has four strikeouts to nine walks.
Jake Zicka (3.0 IP) has an ERA of 6.00 after making his third appearance of the season, allowing two runs on two hits with three strikeouts to four walks.
Ryan Rumsey made his first appearance of the season against UC, allowing three earned runs on four hits and a walk in 1.0 IP.

WEEKLY AWARDS

A pair of Musketeers, Jared Cushing and Jonathan Kelly, earned spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announced Monday.
Cushing led the Musketeers at the plate last week, batting .417 (5-12), drove in a team-high six RBI and score a team-high five runs. Among his five hits were three home runs, including a grand slam, and posted a slugging percentage of 1.167. He also had three walks and finished the week with a .533 on-base percentage, leading the Musketeers everyday player, and went 2-2 on stolen bases.
He capped off the week with a career day at the plate in Xavier's win over No. 24 West Virginia, going 3-of-4 at the plate, with two home runs, driving in a career-high five RBI and scoring three runs.
Kelly posted an ERA of 0.00 through 5.1 innings pitched in three appearances. Kelly gave up just three hits and finished with four strikeouts to one walk. Kelly went 2.1 innings in Xavier's 8-3 win over No. 24 West Virginia, not allowing a run, picking up the win.

DEPREY ON POSEY WATCH LIST

Xavier junior catcher Matthew DePrey was named to the Watch List for the 2023 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year award, released by the Wichita Sports Commission.
Sixty-five catchers were nominated for the award by their schools. Because the award is given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 8, 2023. The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, announced on May 22, 2023.
DePrey is one of three from the BIG EAST. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2023.
A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced on June 29, 2023.

VS. CANCER PLEDGE IT CAMPAIGN

Xavier Baseball is once again joining forces with Vs. Cancer to raise money in support of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, taking part in a "Pledge It" campaign though seven games during the 2023 season.
Donors can pledge a donation per hit or per strikeout the team collects during the series against Butler (April 6-8), Xavier's weekday game as part of the Joe Nuxhall Classic set for April 11, and the series against UConn (April 14-16). Those interested can visit GoXavier.com/PledgeIt.
The team will conclude the campaign with a head-shaving event after the game on April 16, to show support of kids across the country battling cancer.
Fans wishing to support the fundraising efforts can make a donation per hit or per strikeout, pledging that amount for the team's total of either hits or strikeouts through those eight games. Sponsors can also choose to make outright gift of any amount. The Musketeers last took part in a "Pledge It" campaign to support Vs. Cancer in 2021, raising over $22,000.
Xavier Baseball has worked with Vs. Cancer since 2014 to help support children battling cancer, raising over $60,000 for the cause in that time.
Those funds were, in part, used to help the Vs. Cancer organization make a $100,000 gift to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. With the donation, Cincinnati Children's Hospital was assisted in being able to establish its Proton Therapy Center, one of only two such centers in the world owned by a children's hospital.

FOR THE RECORD

After helping Xavier rewrite several records last season, BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, shortstop Jack Housinger is positioned to make moves in the Xavier career records.
Housinger moved into Xavier's top five for career doubles, with 49 for his time as a Musketeer, tied for third most in program history and just 13 shy of matching the school record of 62.
After setting the single season school record of 68 runs scored last season, Housinger now has a career total of 162, sixth most in program history, with the current school record standing at 211.
He also had 47 walks on the season for 2022, the sixth most in a single season in program history, with his current total standing at 151, second most career walks for a Musketeer. The current school record is 188.

ROAD WARRIORS

Xavier opens the season on the road, playing 18 away games before opening the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, March 15 against Michigan.
Overall, Xavier will play 36 games on the road, facing opponents from 12 different conferences, including the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
Among Xavier's 24 scheduled opponents are six teams that competed in last season's NCAA Tournament.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier will travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (Ohio) as part of the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Tuesday, April 4, set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Miami went 23-33 overall and 18-22 in MAC play last season.
The next game will be on April 11 at UC, against Cincinnati or Wright State depending on results on April 4.
Xavier won the 2022 Joe Nuxhall Classic with wins over Cincinnati, 10-6, and Miami (Ohio), 17-2.

XAVIER BULLPEN - 2022

The Musketeers return a strong core from last season's bullpen which posted a new school record of 482 strikeouts.
RHP Ethan Bosacker made the start in the season opener last Friday, returning to the rotation after sitting out last season due to injury. Prior to Friday, Bosacker was last in action in 2021, making 12 appearance, including 10 starts, with an ERA of 3.34 through 62.0 innings pitched and 53 strikeouts.
Lefty Brant Alazaus started game one of the Saturday doubleheader, his first appearance for the Musketeers after transferring from Walsh University. Alazaus started in 12 games last season at Walsh, pitching a total of 78.1 innings in 15 appearances. He finished had 2.88 ERA, had 100 strikeouts and only seven walks, and finished with a 6-1 record.
Justin Loer (LHP) made start in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. Last season he made 15 appearances, including three starts, finishing with an ERA of 3.55 through 25.1 innings pitched and a record of 2-0, with 18 strikeouts.
RHP Nick Boyle made the start for the Musketeers in the series finale on Sunday, his first career appearance for Xavier.
Among the returners, Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Luke Bell's 59 strikeouts from last season leads the way. Bell made 25 appearances for the Musketeers, including a team-high 10 starts, posting a 4-0 record. He had a 4.31 ERA through 56.1 innings pitched.
Bryce Barnett (40), Jared Gadd (38) and Jonathan Kelly (32), key contributors to last season's strikeout record, also return for Xavier.
Xavier also returns contributors from last season Conner Bailey and Luke Hoskins, as well as letterwinners Ryan Rumsey and Jake Zicka.
Off the transfer portal, Xavier added righties Clay Schwaner (Wofford), Creighton Hansen (Wichita State) and Nathan Stahl (Indiana).
The Musketeers also added freshmen Nick Kolze (RHP) Jack Niedringhaus (LHP) to the bullpen.

THE MUSKETEERS - 2022

The Musketeers bring back seven every-day position players and eight contributors from last season's school-record breaking offensive lineup. Xavier is coming off a season where they drove in a school record 425 RBI, score a program-best 450 runs, and had 100 home run season, crushing the previous school record of 68.
Among the returners, Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and the league's Preseason All-BIG EAST selection at shortstop, Jack Housinger, led the way with 16 home runs last season. The mark tied the previous school record and trails only Luke Franzoni's 29 home run season in 2022 in Xavier's single season records. last season, Housinger started at shortstop in all 60 games, batting .311 for the season, with 30 of his 71 hits going for extra bases for a .588 slugging percentage.
Garrett Schultz joined Housinger on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad. Last season he played in 58 games, starting in 56, primarily in center field, batting .322, with 66 hits, including 14 for extra bases, and took 23 walks. Schultz drove in 33 RBI and came around to score 28 times.
Andrew Walker played in 57 games in 2022, starting in 56, all in left field. Walker batted .309 for the season, with hits 23 going for extra bases for a .505 slugging percentage. Among the extra base hits, he had 15 doubles and five home runs. He took 35 bases on balls, and finished with a career-best .437 on-base percentage.
Tyler DeMartino appeared in 57 games last season, making 55 starts, including 44 at center field and 11 at DH. DeMartino batted .309 for the season, driving in 47 RBI and scoring 40 runs on 63 hits. He had a .564 slugging percentage, collecting 27 hits for extra bases, including 14 doubles and 12 home runs.
Jared Cushing appeared in 58 games, starting in 54, making 34 starts at third base and 20 starts at second base. He Batted .290 for the season knocking in 31 RBI and scoring 33 runs on 60 hits. Of those hits, 20 went for extra bases including 10 home runs.
Matthew DePrey appeared in 42 games, starting in 26 last season, making 20 starts at catcher and six at DH. DePrey batted .266 with 29 hits, scoring 20 runs and driving in 16 RBI.
Alex Helmin appeared in 39 games in 2022, making 16 starts, primarily in right and center field. He finished with a .253 average at the plate, with 19 hits, including three doubles, and seven walks.
Grant Stephenson appeared in 27 games last season, starting in 26, all at third base, batting .310 for the season, with 27 hits, driving in 19 RBI and coming around to score 14 runs.

BIG (EAST) SUCCESS

The Musketeers have made the four-team BIG EAST Tournaments six times since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season.
Xavier has advanced to the conference championship series in each of it's six trips to the league tournament, claiming the tournament championship three times (2014, 2016, 2017), as well as winning the regular season title in 2016.
The Musketeers have advanced to the championship series and finished runners-up in each of the last three tournaments held (2019, 2021, 2022).

X IN THE PROS

A pair of Musketeers were selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft, with junior Jack Lynch going to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round, and senior Luke Franzoni selected in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Angels.
The two selections in 2022 makes it 20 total Musketeers selected in the MLB Draft since 2005.
At least one Xavier player has been selected in seven of the last nine years, and the 2022 draft marked the fourth time in that period that multiple Musketeers were picked.

PRESEASON PICKS

Ahead of the 2023 season, Xavier was picked the finish third in BIG EAST by the league coaches
Graduate student Jack Housinger was named the Preseason Player of the Year, and was the coaches' preseason All-League pick at shortstop.
Senior outfielder Garrett Schultz and Senior RHP Luke Bell were also selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

2023 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Jack Housinger, Gr., SS, Xavier

Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Ian Cooke, So., RHP, UConn

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*
C – Owen Carapellotti, So.., Georgetown
1B – Ben Huber, Gr., UConn
2B – Andrew Meggs, Sr., Creighton
3B – Kevin Michaels, RJr., St. John's
SS – Jack Housinger, Gr., Xavier
DH – Jack Grace, Sr., Creighton
OF – Korey Morton, Jr., UConn
OF – David Glancy, RJr., St. John's
OF – Will Gale, RJr., Seton Hall
OF – Garrett Schultz, Sr., Xavier
SP – Ian Cooke, So., UConn ^
SP – Cade Lommel, Jr., Creighton
SP – Dominic Cancellieri, Jr., Creighton
SP – Luke Bell, Sr., Xavier
RP – Tommy Steier, Gr., Creighton

^ - denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there is an extra member on the preseason all-conference team.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. UConn (7) – 49
2. Creighton (1) – 43
3. Xavier – 36
4. Georgetown – 30
5. Seton Hall – 23
6. St. John's – 21
7. Villanova – 15
8. Butler – 7

XU TO HOST LEAGUE TOURNEY

The 2023 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 Tournament will open on Wednesday, May 24 and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 27. The opening day of the tournament has been moved up a day from previous years.
The BIG EAST announced in 2019 that Prasco Park would extend the partnership, which began in 2018, with Xavier remaining the co-host of the annual postseason tournament.