Bosacker Throws Complete Game Shutout, Xavier Tops Eastern Illinois in NCAA Nashville Regional

Saturday, June 3

Nashville, Tenn.

3 PM ET

Xavier University

38-24

Eastern Illinois

38-21

Eastern Illinois

Xavier

Bosacker Throws Complete Game Shutout, Xavier Tops Eastern Illinois in NCAA Nashville Regional

06.03.23 | Baseball

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The Musketeers defeated the Panthers, 7-0, on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Field

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Ethan Bosacker threw a complete game shutout on Saturday afternoon, leading the Xavier baseball team to a 7-0 win over Eastern Illinois in the NCAA Nashville Regional at Hawkins Field.

The Musketeers (38-24) will play No. 4 Vanderbilt (No. 1 seed) on Sunday, June 4 at 3 p.m. ET. The winner will play No. 24 Oregon (No. 2 seed) on Sunday, June 4 at 8 p.m. ET.

Xavier took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jared Cushing crossed home plate on a RBI ground out to shortstop by Grant Stephenson. The Musketeers took a 4-0 advantage in the fifth inning on a three-run homer to right field by Andrew Walker.

A two-RBI single through the left side by Matt McCormick in the seventh inning pushed Xavier's advantage to 6-0. The Musketeers added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a RBI ground out by Andrew Walker.

Xavier held an 11-4 advantage in hits, the team's 30th game with 10 or more hits. Eastern Illinois left six more runners on base (9-3) than Xavier and committed the game's only error.

The Musketeers had eight stolen bases (on nine attempts), the most stolen bases in a game by a BIG EAST team this season. The eight stolen bases are the most in an NCAA Tournament game since May 29, 1988 (Clemson had 10 stolen bases in an 11-1 victory vs St. John's).

ON THE MOUND

Ethan Bosacker (8-4) made his 16th start of the season and recorded his second career complete game (also had a complete game in an 8-4 win at Villanova on April 21, 2023). The complete game shutout is the second by a Musketeer pitcher this season as Brant Alazaus recorded a complete game shutout on May 5 at Creighton (W, 11-0).
The complete game shutout is the first in an NCAA Tournament game since June 23, 2023. Dylan DeLucia from Ole Miss threw a complete game shutout in a 2-0 win over Arkansas in the College World Series.
Ethan Bosacker recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming only the fourth player to eclipse the milestone in program history (ranks fourth in single-season history). The RHP threw six strikeouts vs the Panthers, increasing his season total to 101 strikeouts. He didn't issue a walk vs Eastern Illinois and only surrendered four hits.
Xavier has two pitchers with 100 or more strikeouts in the same season for the first time in program history. Teammate Brant Alazaus hit the milestone on Friday, June 2 vs Oregon in the opening game of the NCAA Nashville Regional (Alazaus has 102 strikeouts on the year).
The Xavier pitching staff now has three shutouts on the season. The Musketeers also had a shutout on March 3 at UC Santa Barbara (W, 2-0) and on May 5 at Creighton (W, 11-0).

AT THE PLATE

Andrew Walker went 2-for-4 at the plate with one stolen base, two runs and four RBI. He now has three games on the year with four RBI and 25 multi-hit games. The outfielder also hit his eighth home run of the season, his first home run since May 9 at Cincinnati.
Jack Housinger went 2-for-5 with two runs and one stolen base. Garrett Schultz (2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base) and Jared Cushing (2-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases) also had multi-hit games. Schultz is 4-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI at the Nashville Regional.
Matt McCormick went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base, while Matthew DePrey went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Tyler DeMartino went 1-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.