Baseball Hosts Butler to Kick Off BIG EAST Play

Thursday, April 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

3 PM

Xavier University

Butler

Baseball Hosts Butler to Kick Off BIG EAST Play

04.05.23 | Baseball

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Musketeers and Bulldogs will play three, starting Thursday and running through Saturday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI –Xavier opens up BIG EAST play this weekend, hosting Butler for a three-games series at Hayden Field. Game one is set for Thursday, April 6, starting at 3:00 p.m., continues on Friday with a 1:00 p.m. start and wraps up on Saturday, set to start at 1:00 p.m. All three games will be streamed on FloSports.

The Musketeers are 16-12 on the season after sweeping a three-game series with Northern Illinois, entering the game with Miami on a six-game win streak.

VS. CANCER PLEDGE IT CAMPAIGN

Xavier Baseball kicks off its "Pledge It" campaign this weekend against Butler, as the Musketeers once again join forces with Vs. Cancer to raise money in support of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
The campaign runs through seven games, including the Butler series (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).
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.

XAVIER BASEBALL ON FLOSPORTS

Fans can sign up now to watch Xavier Baseball on FloSports! Xavier will broadcast every home baseball game that isn't produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network.
All broadcasts will be available for fans to watch on FloSports.
Sign up today via the Xavier Athletics FloSports Account for special pricing!

PRICING

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$12.50 per month via the Xavier Athletics Link (fans without a .edu email address)

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OPPONENT NOTES

Butler is 7-20 on the season, taking two of three with Eastern Illinois last weekend, splitting a four-game series with Fairleigh Dickinson, and taking wins over Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati.
Butler went 20-35-1 overall and 4-16-1 in BIG EAST play.
Xavier is 65-34 against the Bulldogs all-time after sweeping the three-game series last season.

THE LINEUP

Left fielder Andrew Walker is batting .320 on the season, with a team-high 40 hits and 28 RBI. Among his hits are seven doubles and a pair of home runs. He enters the Butler series with a seven-game hitting streak, longest among the Musketeers currently.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has a .319 average at the plate on the season. Among his 38 hits are seven doubles and a team-high eight home runs. He's driven in 22 RBI and scored 23 runs.
Shortstop Jack Housinger has 21 hits on the season with 11 going for extra bases, and a has a BIG EAST-leading 24 walks. Housinger has 17 RBI and a team-high 24 runs scored on the season.
Tyler DeMartino made his first appearance of the season against Michigan after returning from injury and has started in 12 games. He's batting .300 with 13 RBI and 10 runs scored, with six home runs on the season.
Matt McCormick has made 28 starts at first base, with a .317 average at the plate. Among his 33 hits are 12 for extra bases, including six doubles and six home runs.
Third baseman Grant Stephenson is batting .240 on the season, has nine RBI and 10 runs scored.
Carter Hendrickson has made 25 starts, primarily in right field, with a .295 average at the plate. Among his 26 hits are nine for extra bases, including four home runs. Hendrickson has 15 RBI and 18 runs scored on the season and has reached safely in all 25 games he appeared in.
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.
Second baseman Jared Cushing has a .256 average at the plate, with five 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 19 runs scored.
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.
Alex Helmin has appeared in 11 games, starting in three, with a .316 batting average, collecting seven RBI and six runs scored.

ON THE MOUND

Ethan Bosacker has made seven starts, with a 2.70 ERA through 40.0 IP. Bosacker has a .233 opposing batting average, allowing 12 earned runs on 34 hits. He has team high 48 strikeouts to 13 walks, with a WHIP of 1.18 and is 3-1 on the season.
Brant Alazaus has made seven starts, with a 5.13 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched. He's 3-3 on the season and has allowed 23 earned runs on 37 hits and has 43 strikeouts to seven walks.
Justin Loer has made 14 appearances, including one start, posting a 1.57 ERA through 28.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on 15 hits, with 31 Ks to 12 walks. He's 4-2 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 10 appearances, including six starts, and has a 5.45 ERA through 24.2 innings pitched. He's allowed 21 earned runs on 36 hits, with 29 Ks to nine walks.
Luke Bell has made eight appearances, including three starts, with a 6.51 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched, with 23 Ks to 12 walks. He went career-long 5.2 innings in relief during game three against UC Santa Barbara, not allowing a run.
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 4.85 ERA in 26.0 innings pitched, making a team-high 16 appearances including one start. Kelly has 19 strikeouts to just six walks.
Clay Schwaner has made 11 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 4.50 ERA through 16.0 innings pitched, and has four 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

Following a 5-0 week for Xavier Baseball to extend its win streak to six, a pair of Musketeers earned accolades from the BIG EAST office, with Justin Loer earning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, while catcher Matthew DePrey was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Loer, a sophomore lefty from Lakeville, Minn., posted a 0.00 ERA through 6.1 innings pitched in two appearances last week, finishing the week with a pair of wins and seven strikeouts.
Against Wright State, Loer pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief, not allowing a hit or a walk, striking out five along the way. In the Sunday finale against Northern Illinois, Loer went 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, and striking out a pair.
DePrey earned his second nomination to the Weekly Honor Roll this season after leading the Musketeers at the plate as they won five straight last week, batting .455 with 10 hits, driving in eight RBI and scoring five.
DePrey, a junior from Sun Prairie, Wis., also had three walks, leading the Musketeers' everyday players with a .500 on-base percentage. He had four multi-hit games during the week, including going 3-6 in the 8-1 win over Ohio State, and going 3-6 at the plate, driving in a career-high five RBI and scoring a pair of runs in Xavier's 16-8 win over Wright State.

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 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 165, 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 156, 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 with face Wright State in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Tuesday, April 11 at UC.
The Raiders topped Cincinnati 7-6 at Miami in the first round.
The Musketeers took a 16-8 win over the Raiders on March 29 in Dayton. Ohio.
Wright State is 16-12 on the 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.