Baseball Wraps Up California Trip at St. Mary's

Thursday, March 9

Moraga, CA

5 PM ET

Xavier University

Saint Mary's

Baseball Wraps Up California Trip at St. Mary's

03.08.23 | Baseball

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Musketeers and Gaels set to play four games this weekend

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

MORAGA, Calif. – Xavier baseball wraps up its trip to California at St. Mary's this weekend, schedule to face the Gaels for four games.

The series was originally set to begin on Thursday, with a 5:00 p.m. ET start, but game one has been postponed due to weather. The Musketeers and the Gaels are set to continue with a game set for Friday and a doubleheader set for Saturday, with a potential make-up date for Thursday game to be determined, if possible.

The Musketeers are 6-7 on the season after taking a 7-1 win at Cal Poly on Tuesday.

OPPONENT NOTABLES

The Gael's are 3-8 on the season with wins over UIC, UTSA and Central Michigan.
SMC went 25-30 overall last season with a 9-18 record in WCC play.
Xavier is 0-3 all-time against St. Mary's, all three match-ups coming in a three-game series against the Gaels in 2018.

THE LINEUP

Garrett Schultz has made every start at center field, batting lead-off for the Musketeers in 12 games. Schultz has 12 hits and nine walks on the season, driving in a team-high nine RBI. He's reached safely in all 13 games this season.
Andrew Walker has made each start at left, batting second in the order in 12 games. He has a .340 average at the plate (18-53), including five doubles, and has driven in a team-high 11 RBI.
Shortstop Jack Housinger bats in the three-hole, with eight hits (8-49) and leads the team with 10 walks so far in the season. Among his hits are three doubles and two home run. Housinger has six RBI and seven runs scored on the season.
Grant Stephenson has made every start third, and has a .291 average (16-56) at the plate, and has driven in eight RBI.
First baseman Matt McCormick currently has a .347 batting average, with 17 hits (17-49), including four home runs, with a .633 slugging percentage.
Jared Cushing has made the start at second base in every game. He has a .236 average at the plate, with three home runs. Cushing has nine RBI and six runs scored to his credit and has reached safely in the last nine games.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has a .255 average, with seven of his 13 hits going for extra bases, including a team-high five home runs, the most in the BIG EAST. He's scored a team-high 11 runs and has seven RBI.
Hayden Christiansen has started eight games at DH, has a team-best .433 average at the plate (13-30), including a double and a home run (.567 slugging percentage). He's scored seven runs and driven in four RBI.
Carter Hendrickson has made nine starts in right field, batting ninth. He's batting .300 (9-30) including two doubles and a home run, hit in his first collegiate at-bat, and has come around to score seven runs. He's reached safely in all nine games he's appeared in and recorded a hit in his last six appearances.
Aedan Anderson has made five starts, one at DH and four at right field. Anderson has three hits (3-17) with three runs scored and an RBI.
Teddy Deters has also made a pair of starts at DH, batting .333 (2-6) including his first collegiate home run, driving in an RBI and scoring a pair of runs in the series.
Connor Misch and Alex Helmin have each also started a game at designated hitter.

ON THE MOUND

Ethan Bosacker has made three starts, with a 1.00 ERA through 18.0 IP. Bosacker has a .188 opposing batting average, allowing just a pair of earned runs on 12 hits. He has team-high 21 strikeouts to six walks, with a WHIP of 1.00. Bosacker is 2-0 on the season after he picked up the win on Friday against UC Santa Barbara.
Brant Alazaus has made three starts, with a 9.00 ERA in 14.0 innings pitched. He's allowed 14 earned runs on 15 hits with 17 strikeouts to three walk and is 1-2 on the season.
Justin Loer has made six appearances, including one start, posting a 2.92 ERA through 12.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits, with 11 Ks to five walks. He's 1-1 on the season.
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 five appearances, including three starts, and has a 3.38 ERA through 16.0 innings pitched. He's allowed six runs on 14 hits, with 15 Ks and four walks.
Jonathan Kelly has a 5.73 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched, making a team-high seven appearances out of the bullpen. Kelly has 11 strikeouts to just two walks.
Clay Schwaner has made five appearances out of the bullpen, with a 4.26 ERA through 6.1 innings pitched, and has two saves on the season.
Connor Bailey has made four appearances out of the bullpen with a 2.84 ERA through 6.1 IP, allowing two earned runs on seven hits.
Luke Bell has made four appearances out of the pen with a 10.12 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched, after going a career-long 5.2 innings in game three against UC Santa Barbara, not allowing a run.
Nick Kolze has made a pair of appearances with a 0.00 ERA through 3.0 innings. He hasn't allowed a hit, and has one strikeout to one walk, with a record of 1-0.
Creighton Hansen has a 0.00 ERA through 1.1 IP in two appearances. He's not allowed a hit, and has one strikeout to three walks.
Jake Zicka (1.0 IP) and Bryce Barnett (0.1 IP) both posted an ERA of 0.00 during the opening weekend.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After picking up a win at UC Santa Barbara, right-handed pitcher Ethan Bosacker earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced on Monday.
Bosacker made the start on Friday in the series against the Gauchos, going six innings to help Xavier to the combined shutout, a 2-0 win for Xavier's first shutout of the season. In Bosacker's 6.0 scoreless innings, he allowed five hits and issued just two walks while striking out a season-high nine batters.
Bosacker picked up the win to move to 2-0 on the season. His ERA currently stands at 1.00 through 18.0 innings pitched in three starts, with 21 Ks so far this season.

DEPREY NAMED TO 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 on Friday.
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 48 for his time as a Musketeer, fourth most in program history and just 14 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 147, ninth 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 138, third 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 opens up home play against the Wolverines on March 15, set for a 3:00 p.m. start.
Michigan went 34-28 overall last season with a 12-12 record in Big Ten play, earning the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan won the Big Ten Tournament Championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were eliminated in the Louisville Regional.
Xavier is 4-3 all-time against the Wolverines after taking both games last season.

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.