Baseball Hosts No. 20 UConn for Three Games at Hayden Field

Friday, April 14

Cincinnati, Ohio

3 PM

Xavier University

Connecticut

Baseball Hosts No. 20 UConn for Three Games at Hayden Field

04.13.23 | Baseball

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers and Huskies open play on Friday at 3 PM

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball faces off with the BIG EAST preseason favorite this weekend, hosting No. 20 UConn at Hayden Field for a three-game series. The Musketeers and the Huskies get underway on Friday, April 14, set for a 3:00 p.m. start. The series continues on Saturday, set for a 1:00 p.m. start, before wrapping up on Sunday, set to begin at 11:00 a.m. All three games will be available for live stream through FloSports.

The Musketeers are 21-12 on the season and extended their win streak to 11 after topping Wright State, 6-2, on Tuesday, clinching the Joe Nuxhall Classic Championship for a second-straight year. The win added to the program-best win streak, with the Musketeers currently owning the longest win streak in the nation. Xavier moved into Collegiate Baseball's Rankings for the week of April 10, coming in at No. 30, and are receiving votes in the NCBWA Poll after sweeping a three-game series with Butler in the BIG EAST opening weekend.

BIG EAST STANDINGS


SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Xavier	3-0	1.000	21-12	.636	W11
UConn	2-1	.667	24-8	.750	W2
Creighton	2-1	.667	14-12	.538	L2
Seton Hall	2-1	.667	15-15	.500	L1
Georgetown	3-3	.500	17-15	.531	L1
Villanova	2-4	.333	6-24	.200	W1
St. John's	1-2	.333	17-12	.586	W1
Butler	0-3	.000	7-24	.226	L4

VS. CANCER PLEDGE IT CAMPAIGN

Xavier baseball's "Pledge It" campaign runs through this weekend's series with UConn, as the Musketeers once again join forces with Vs. Cancer to raise money in support of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
The Musketeers collected 37 hits and 28 strikeouts during the first four games of the campaign, which runs through seven games, including the Butler series (April 6-8), Xavier's weekday game against Wright State on April 11, and the series against UConn (April 14-16).
Donors can pledge a donation per hit or per strikeout the team collects during that stretch.
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.

FLOSPORTS

Fans can sign up now to watch Xavier Baseball on FloSports! Xavier and the BIG EAST will broadcast every regularly scheduled home baseball game.
All broadcasts will be available for fans to watch on FloSports.
Sign up today via the Xavier Athletics FloSports Account for special pricing!

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OPPONENT NOTES

Connecticut is 24-8 overall with a 2-1 record in BIG EAST play after facing St. John's last weekend.
The Huskies are currently ranked No. 20 in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and D1Baseball, No. 22 in the NCBWA poll, and ranked No. 25 by Baseball America.
UConn went 50-16 last season, winning the BIG EAST regular season with a 16-5 record.
The Huskies won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship as well, earning the at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Connecticut advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals after coming out of the Maryland Regional.
Xavier is 4-8 all-time against the Huskies after going 1-2 in the regular season series and falling to UConn in the BIG EAST Championship game last season.

THE LINEUP

Left fielder Andrew Walker is batting .314 on the season, with a team-high matching 44 hits and 32 RBIs, also team high. Among his hits are eight doubles and three home runs.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has a .321 average at the plate on the season. Among his team-high matching hits are eight doubles and 10 home runs, a number that lead the BIG EAST. He's driven in 26 RBI and scored 27 runs.
Shortstop Jack Housinger has 25 hits on the season with 13 going for extra bases, and a has a BIG EAST-leading 29 walks. Housinger has 19 RBI and a team-high 28 runs scored on the season.
Tyler DeMartino returned from injury to make his first start against Michigan and has started in 17 games. He's batting .281 with 18 RBI and 14 runs scored, with seven home runs on the season.
Matt McCormick has made 32 starts, primarily at first base, with a .317 average at the plate. Among his 38 hits are 13 for extra bases, including six doubles and seven home runs.
Carter Hendrickson has made 29 starts, primarily in right field, with a .280 average at the plate. Among his 28 hits are 10 for extra bases, including four home runs. Hendrickson has 15 RBI and 20 runs scored on the season.
Second baseman Jared Cushing has a .252 average at the plate, with six doubles and eight home runs on the season after hitting two in the series finale against West Virginia, including a grand slam. He has 22 RBI and 25 runs scored.
Alex Helmin has appeared in 14 games, starting in six after starting in right field for the Butler series. Helmin has a .393 batting average, and has 12 RBI and seven runs scored.
Third baseman Grant Stephenson is batting .232 on the season, has nine RBI and 10 runs scored.
Garrett Schultz has 27 starts in center field, with a .255 average at the plate. He has 14 walks for the season, has driven in 17 RBI and scored 14 runs. He's reached base in 27 games.
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.

ON THE MOUND

Ethan Bosacker has made eight starts, with a 2.83 ERA through 47.2 IP. Bosacker has a .225 opposing batting average, allowing 15 earned runs on 39 hits. Bosacker leads the BIG EASt with 55 strikeouts, only allowing 15 walks. He has a WHIP of 1.13 and is 4-1 on the season.
Brant Alazaus has made eight starts, with a 4.66 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched. He's 4-3 on the season and has allowed 25 earned runs on 39 hits and has 52 strikeouts to seven walks.
Justin Loer has made 17 appearances, including one start, posting a 1.91 ERA through 33.0 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 21 hits, with 36 Ks to 13 walks. He's 4-2 on the season.
Nick Boyle has made five appearances, including three starts, with a 8.00 ERA in 9.0 innings pitched, allowing eight runs on nine hits with 10 strikeouts to 10 walks.
Luke Hoskins has made 11 appearances, including seven starts, and has a 5.09 ERA through 40.2 innings pitched. He's allowed 23 earned runs on 39 hits, with 30 Ks to 10 walks.
Luke Bell has made nine appearances, including four starts, with a 6.75 ERA in 30.2 innings pitched and 24 Ks to 13 walks.
Connor Bailey has made nine appearances including one start. Bailey has a 7.36 ERA through 11.0 innings pitched, allowing nine earned runs on 12 hits, with eight strikeouts to eight walks.
Jonathan Kelly has a 4.50 ERA in 30.0 innings pitched, making a team-high 18 appearances including one start. Kelly has 20 strikeouts to seven walks.
Clay Schwaner has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 4.24 ERA through 17.0 innings pitched, and has five saves on the season.
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 1.35 ERA through 6.2 IP in seven appearances. He's allowed just one earned run on two hits, and has seven strikeouts to 10 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.
Nathan Stahl has a 0.00 ERA through 2.0 innings of work across two appearances, not allowing a hit, with two Ks to two 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.
Carter Hendrickson made his first appearance on the mound during the NIU series, allowing two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in 1.0 inning of work.
Jack Niedringhaus made his collegiate debut against Miami (Ohio), going 1.0 scoreless inning, not allowing a hit or a walk and striking out all three batters he faced.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After helping Xavier to a 4-0 week, including a 3-0 start in BIG EAST play, Xavier outfielder Alex Helmin was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Helmin led the Musketeers' everyday players at the plate with a .500 batting average, collecting six hits and driving in a team-high matching seven RBI, including a five hits and five RBI in Xavier's BIG EAST opening sweep of Butler.
Helmin went 2-2 in the first game with the Bulldogs, driving in an RBI, then drove in a career-high four RBIs in the series finale, going 2-4 at the plate, hitting his first home run of the season.

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.

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 50 for his time as a Musketeer, third most in program history, and just 12 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 169, 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 161, 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 heads to Kentucky, which enters the weekend at 27-5, with a three-game series against No. 1 LSU set for the weekend.
The Wildcats ranked as high as No. 11 by the NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball and in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and ranked No. 12 by D1Baseball and Baseball America.
Kentucky went 33-26 overall with a 12-18 record in SEC play.
The Wildcats won the opening game of the SEC Tournament against Auburn before falling to LSU. UK advanced with back-to-back wins against Vanderbilt and LSU before being eliminated by No. 1 Tennessee.
The Musketeers are 2-29 all-time against the Wildcats.

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.