Baseball Heads to Louisville for Midweek Match-Up

Wednesday, February 21

Louisville, Ky.

3:00 PM

Xavier University

Louisville

Baseball Heads to Louisville for Midweek Match-Up

02.20.24 | Baseball

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Musketeers and Cardinals face off at 3 PM on Wednesday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball travels to Louisville, Ky., on Wednesday, Feb. 21 for a midweek match-up with the Louisville Cardinals. The first pitch with UofL is set for 3:00 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra through the WatchESPN platform.

The Musketeers are 0-3 after opening the season at No. 8 Clemson last weekend, while the Cardinals enter the game at 0-2.

STARTERS

RHP Connor Bailey vs. RHP Carson Liggett

LOUISVILLE NOTABLES

Louisville opened the season last weekend in Tampa, falling to Indiana State and UConn to start the season 0-2.
The Cardinals went 31-24 last season, with a 10-20 record in ACC play.
The Musketeers are 18-39 all-time against Louisville in the Xavier record book, falling 12-8 in Louisville last season.

ON THE MOUND

Connor Bailey is set to make his first start of the season against the Cards. He made his first appearance of 2024 in Saturday's game at Clemson, allowing one run on two hits in 0.2 innings of work, striking out a pair.
In 2023, Bailey made 15 appearances, including one start, finishing with a 6.38 ERA through 18.1 innings of work, allowing 13 earned runs on 17 hits and finished with 11 strikeouts to 12 walks.

THE BULLPEN

Freshman Eli Bridenthal made his collegiate debut in in Friday's game at Clemson, coming in for the fifth inning and posting a 0.00 ERA through 2.0 innings after not allowing a hit or a run. He finished with two strikeouts to one walk.
Transfer Tyler Sausville, s sophomore lefty who played at New Haven last season, made his Xavier debut in Saturday's game against Clemson, coming in with one on and one out in the seventh and went the final 1.2 innings, not allowing a run and giving up just one hit.
Sophomore Jack Niedringhaus entered with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth in Friday's game at Clemson, getting the Musketeers out of the inning with a 6-4-3 double play. Last season, he made 11 appearances, including one start, for the Musketeers as a freshman. He posted an ERA of 3.71 through 17.0 innings pitched, allowing seven earned runs on 16 hits, striking out 10 while walking eight.
Freshman Ashton Chronister pitched the seventh inning of Friday's game with the Tigers, going 1.0 scoreless inning in his collegiate debut, not allowing a hit or a walk and picking up a strikeout.
Grad student Jonathan Kelly made his first appearance of the season on Sunday at Clemson, going the final 1.2 innings for the Musketeers, allowing one run, unearned, on three hits. Last season he tied the school single-season record with 32 appearances last season, and now has the eighth-most career appearances in Xavier's records with 75 (School Record: 101 - Trey Schramm). Kelly posted an ERA of 4.66 in 56.0 innings pitched in 2024, allowing 29 earned runs on 59 hits. He finished with 42 strikeouts to 16 walks for a WHIP of 1.34.
Logan Schmidt, a right-handed junior transfer from St. John's River, made his first appearance as Musketeer on Saturday, coming in with one on and one out in the fourth. He went 2.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Prior to his time at Xavier he has made 33 career appearances, including 31 starts, with a 4.20 ERA through 141.1 innings pitched. He had a career total of 122 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.42 during his time at SJRSC.
Graduate transfer, Alex Vera, made his Xavier debut on Sunday, entering in the sixth and going 1.1 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits with a pair of walks. Last season at Illinois, Vera went 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA through 31.1 innings pitched, making 20 relief appearances. He finished with 33 strikeouts and 10 walks issued.
Jake Hooker made his collegiate debut on Sunday at Clemson, entering for the final out of the fourth and getting the Musketeers out of the inning with a fly ball. He went 1.1 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits and two walks, picking up a strikeout.
Graduate Transfer Terry Murray made his first appearance as a Musketeer on Friday, entering in the third and going 2.0 innings, allowing five runs on four hits, walking three and striking out two.
Eric Podgorny, made his collegiate debut in Friday's game at Clemson, entering in the eight inning, allowing two runs on one hit and a pair of walks in 0.1 inning.
Righty Jared Gadd returns for the Musketeers after sitting out last season due to injury. In his last season with the Musketeers (2022), he made 23 appearances, including two starts, finishing with a record of 5-4 with three saves. He posted an ERA of 4.20 with a WHIP of 1.38 through 49.1 innings pitched, finishing with 38 strikeouts on the season while only giving up 13 walks.
Last season, Nathan Stahl made five appearances in his first season with the Musketeers in 2023, posting a 9.00 ERA through 5.0 innings pitched. Stahl allowed four earned runs on four hits, finishing with four strikeouts and four walks.

OPENING WEEKEND LINEUP

Center fielder Garrett Schultz led off all three games at Clemson, finishing the weekend with a pair of hits (2-11) and two walks, scoring a team-high three runs.
Catcher Matthew DePrey hit second in the lineup against the Tigers, batting 2-of-9 (.222) and taking a team-high four walks.
Matt McCormick started all three games at first base, hitting third. He finished the weekend with a pair of hits (2-of-10) and a pair of walks, drove in two RBI and scored a run.
Right fielder Tyler DeMartino batted cleanup in the series at Clemson, going 3-of-8 (.375) at the plate and taking a pair walks, driving in an RBI.
Jared Cushing started all three games at second base, batting fifth in the lineup. He finished the weekend with a hit (1-12) an RBI and a run scored.
Donavan Canterberry made all three starts at shortstop, batting ninth. He finished the weekend with a walk and a run scored.
Connor Misch started a pair of games at DH, batting sixth in the order. For the weekend he had a walk and drove in an RBI.
Luke Hammond made a pair of starts at third base, and finished the weekend batting .375. All three of his hits went for extra bases, a double and a pair of home runs, finishing the series with a 1.250 slugging percentage.
Grant Stephenson made Friday's start at third base, going 1-5 with an RBI.
Aedan Anderson started in Sunday's game at left field, and appeared in all three games of the series. He batted .400, going 2-5 with a home run. He scored three runs and drove in an RBI.
Hayden Christiansen started Sunday's game at Clemson at DH, finishing 1-5 with a pair of RBI.
Carter Hendrickson and Isaac Wachsmann each made a start at left field.

RETURNING MUSKETEERS

The Musketeers, who received votes in the NCBWA Preseason Poll, return seven every-day players from the 2023 roster that won the program's fourth BIG EAST Championship and made the program's fifth NCAA appearance. The Musketeers took part in the 2023 Nashville Regional, advancing to the Regional Finals before wrapping up the season at 39-25, tying the school record for wins (Also set in 2009).
Matthew DePrey, the 2023 All-BIG EAST First Team selection at catcher, started all 64 games behind the plate for the Musketeers, tying the Xavier single-season record for appearances. He batted .278, primarily hitting No. 2 in the order, with 10 doubles and a team-high matching 14 home runs among his 73 hits, finishing the season with a .475 slugging percentage. DePrey, who drove in 42 RBI and scored 50 runs last season, was named to D1Baseball's Preseason Top 50 Catchers list.
Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Matt McCormick was a second-team all-conference pick last season after starting in 62 games, mostly at first base. McCormick batted primarily in the five-hole, finishing with a .309 average for the season. He had 12 doubles and team-high matching 14 home runs among his 69 hits for a .552 slugging percentage, best among Xavier's everyday players, driving in in 44 RBI and scoring 40 runs. He also had 32 walks on the season, leading Xavier's starters with a .421 on-base percentage. McCormick was named to D1Baseball's Preseason Top 50 list for first basemen.
Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Jared Cushing was the All-BIG EAST Second Team pick at second base in 2023, after starting in a school-record matching 64 games. He batted .284, finishing the season with 71 hits, including 10 doubles, a triple and a team-high matching 14 home runs for a .500 slugging percentage, driving in 50 RBI and scoring 43 runs. Cushing, who was named to D1Baseball's Preseason Top 50 list for second basemen, posted a .980 fielding percentage and helped the Musketeers turn 35 double plays.
The league's preseason pick at third base, Grant Stephenson, was a 2023 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection after batting .236 on the season, with a .313 average at the plate in BIG EAST play. He finished with 10 doubles and three home runs among his 48 hits, driving in 29 RBI and scoring 27 runs.
Outfielder Garrett Schultz, was a 2024 Preseason All-BIG EAST Selection after starting in 39 games at center field last season. Schultz, who dealt with a mid-season injury in 2023, batted .278 with 40 hits, including six doubles and three home runs. He drove in 23 RBI and scored 17 runs.
Carter Hendrickson played in 58 games last season, starting in 55, splitting time between right and center field. The junior batted .250 for the season, collecting 46 hits, including eight doubles, a triple and five home runs, and drove in 23 RBI and scored 39 runs. He finished with an on-base percentage of .398, taking 31 walks on the season. He was hit by pitches 15 times, second most in a single season in Xavier's records. During the BIG EAST Tournament, he batted .308 through four games, going 4-of-13 with two walks and scoring four runs to earn All-BIG EAST Tournament Team honors.
After dealing with an early-season injury, Tyler DeMartino started in 43 games for the Musketeers, including 41 at DH, batting .255 primarily in the cleanup spot. He finished the season with 40 hits, including five doubles, a triple and 10 home runs, driving in 32 RBI and scoring 28 runs. DeMartino was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team after batting .308 through the four games of the tournament, finishing 4-of-13 at the plate with three walks and three hit-by-pitches, driving in three RBI.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier travels to Lipscomb this weekend, with the Musketeers set to face the Bisons for three games, running Feb. 23-25 in Nashville, Tenn.
The Musketeers open the home schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 28, hosting Cincinnati at Hayden Field, set for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch.
Xavier is scheduled to face are nine programs that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including four teams that advanced to a Super Regional and a pair of teams that competed in the College World Series.

BIG (EAST) SUCCESS

In 2023, Xavier finished second in the BIG EAST regular season and won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship to earn a bid to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2017. Xavier, the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, beat the No. 3 seed Seton Hall in the opening game and No. 1 seed UConn in the winner's bracket to advance to the Championships series. UConn took game one of the series, forcing a deciding game seven of the tournament, where the Musketeers posted a five-run ninth inning to come from behind and take the 7-3 win and clinch the title.
The 2023 championship was the program's fourth tournament title in the nine times the league has held the event since Xavier joined the conference for the 2013-14 season.
The Musketeers have made the four-team BIG EAST Tournaments seven times since joining the conference, including every season the event has been held since 2019.
Xavier has advanced to the conference championship series in each of its seven trips to the league tournament, claiming the tournament championship four times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2023) and finishing runners up three times (2019, 2021, 2022). Xavier also won the regular season title in 2016.

PRESEASON PICKS

Xavier, coming off the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament Championship, was picked to finish second in the league, earning a pair of first place votes in the coaches' poll.
Four Musketeers earned Preseason All-BIG EAST honors, as voted on by the league's coaches, including a trio of infielders, Matt McCormick, Jared Cushing and Grant Stephenson, as well as right-handed pitcher Luke Hoskins.

Preseason Player of the Year
Jake Studley, OF, UConn

Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Stephen Quigley, SP, UConn

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*
C – Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown
1B – Matt McCormick, Xavier ^
2B – Jared Cushing, Xavier
3B – Grant Stephenson, Xavier ^
SS – Max Viera, Seton Hall
DH – Jack Grace, Creighton
OF – Joey Urban, Butler
OF – Jake Studley, UConn ^
OF – Devin Hack, Seton Hall
SP – Garrett Coe, UConn
SP – Stephen Quigley, UConn ^
SP – Dominic Cancellieri, Creighton
SP – Cody Bowker, Georgetown
SP – Luke Hoskins, Xavier
RP – Ryan Reich, Seton Hall

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

BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. UConn (6) – 48
2. Xavier (2) – 44
3. Seton Hall – 35
4. Creighton – 29
4. Georgetown – 29
6. St. John's – 17
7. Butler – 14
8. Villanova – 8

XU TO HOST THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

The 2024 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 four-team tournament opens on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 25, 2024.
The BIG EAST announced in 2023 that Prasco Park would extend the partnership, which began in 2018, with Xavier remaining the co-host of the annual postseason tournament through 2028.