Baseball Heads to Wright State for Tuesday Afternoon Match-Up

Tuesday, March 12

Dayton, Ohio

3:00 PM

Xavier University

Wright State

Baseball Heads to Wright State for Tuesday Afternoon Match-Up

03.11.24 | Baseball

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Musketeers set to face Raiders at 3 PM in Dayton

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball is set to face the Wright State Raiders on Tuesday, March 11, set for a 3:00 p.m. start on ESPN+.

Xavier is 8-8 on the season after going 1-2 at No. 2 LSU over the weekend, wrapping up an eight-game spring break trip to the Southeast with a 2-1 win over the Tigers on Sunday.

WRIGHT STATE NOTABLES

Wright State is 7-7 on the season, picking up wins against Louisiana, Oklahoma, Memphis and Miami (Ohio) before sweeping a three-game series against EKU.
The Raiders went 39-23 last season with a 22-8 record in Horizon League play.
WSU won the 2023 Horizon League Tournament, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Wright State was selected to the NCAA Terre Haute Regional, falling to hosts Indiana State and North Carolina.
This is the first of at least two match-ups with the Raiders, who make the return trip to Hayden Field on March 16. The two teams could also potentially face off in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on April 9 at Prasco Park.
Xavier is 34-39 all-time against the Raiders after going 2-0 against Wright State last year, picking up a 16-8 win at WSU and a 6-2 win in the Joe Nuxhall Classic Championship.

XAVIER PITCHING STAFF

Luke Hoskins has made all four Friday starts for the Musketeers, posting an 8.14 ERA through 21.0 innings of work with 17 strikeouts to five walks. In his last outing, Hoskins went 7.0 innings, matching his career-long against Vanderbilt in the 2023 NCAA Regionals. He finished with four earned runs allowed on seven hits with five strikeouts to two walks.
Nolan Hughes started in all four Saturday outings so far, with a 10.80 ERA through 8.1 innings pitched, with 17 strikeouts for the season. Against LSU, Hughes went 1.2 innings with four runs scored, only one earned, on two hits, finishing with three strikeouts to four walks.
Sunday starter Nick Boyle has a 3.50 ERA through 18.0 innings pitched with a team-high 20 strikeouts. Boyle went 5.0 innings in Sunday's win at No. 2 LSU, with one run allowed, unearned, on four hits. He topped his career-high of six strikeouts, set last Sunday at Florida Gulf Coast, finishing with seven Ks while only walking a pair. Boyle picked up the win to move to 2-0 on the season.
Jonathan Kelly has a 2.45 ERA through six appearances this season, and is currently sixth in Xavier's all-time records for career appearances with 80. He's allowed four runs, three earned, on 10 hits through 11.0 innings of work, with seven strikeouts to two walks. In Xavier's win at LSU, Kelly came in with one on and no outs in the sixth, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out a pair.
Jake Hooker has made a team-high matching eight appearances out of the bullpen, with a 2.45 ERA through 11.0 innings pitched. He's allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits and has 10 strikeouts to four walks. In the win on Sunday at LSU, Hooker pitched the final 2.0 innings, not allowing a hit or giving up a walk to keep the Tigers scoreless, striking out three along the way. He picked up the save, his first of the season.
Connor Bailey has made seven appearances on the season, including making a pair of starts, at Louisville and in game two at LA Tech. He has 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings, allowing nine runs, six earned, on 11 hits with eight strikeouts to 12 walks. In game two at LSU, he entered for the sixth, pitching 1.0 scoreless inning, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.
Tyler Sausville has made five appearances out of the bullpen, with a 5.40 ERA through 10.0 innings. He's allowed seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits and has 10 strikeouts to nine walks. In game one at LA Tech, he entered in the second, going 3.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and finishing with three strikeouts to no walks.
Through a team-high matching eight appearances, Alex Vera has an ERA of 5.62, allowing six runs, five earned, on 10 hits with nine strikeouts to two walks in 8.0 innings of work. In Xavier's win at LSU, he entered with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh, picking up the final out of the inning with a flyball on the only batter he faced in his 0.1 inning of work.
Logan Schmidt has made six appearances as a Musketeer, including the start against UC on 2/27 and the start in game one at LA Tech. Schmidt has a 8.80 ERA through 15.1 innings of work, with 15 runs allowed on 20 hits and nine strikeouts to 10 walks. In game two at LSU, he entered for the final out of the second, going 3.1 innings with four runs allowed on six hits and two walks, finishing with three strikeouts.
Jake Lambdin made his first pitching appearance for the Musketeers in the eighth inning of game one at LSU, getting a foul out, a line out and a fly ball to go 1-2-3 and finish with a scoreless inning of work.
Eli Bridenthal has an 0.00 ERA through a pair of appearances, not allowing a run or a hit in 3.0 innings of work, with four strikeouts to just one walk.
Jimmy Starnes made his first appearance as a Musketeer in game one at LA Tech, entering for the final out of the sixth and going the final 2.1 innings with just one run scored, unearned, on four hits and three walks, finishing with a pair of strikeouts.
Sophomore Jack Niedringhaus has made three appearances, going 3.2 innings with a 12.27 ERA, allowing five runs on five hits with two strikeouts to one walk. In game one at LA Tech, Niedringhaus entered for the final out of the fifth, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk in 1.0 inning.
Ashton Chronister has made four appearances for the Musketeers, allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 12 hits. He has four strikeouts and no walks issued. He came in out of the bullpen for the seventh inning of game two at LSU, pitching the final 2.0 inning without allowing a run and giving up a pair of hits.
Terry Murray has made a pair of appearances, with eight earned runs allowed on seven hits with three strikeouts to four walks in 3.2 innings of work
Eric Podgorny made his collegiate debut in the season opener at Clemson, entering in the eighth 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.

THE LINEUP

Aedan Anderson has played in 15 games this season, starting in five in the outfield. He has a .267 average at the plate, with five of his eight hits going for extra bases, and has driven in 11 RBI.
Matt McCormick has started all 16 games for the Musketeers at first, hitting second in the line-up for the last 10 games. He's batting .317 on the season with a team-high 19 hits, including a team-high matching four home runs, and he leads the team in walks (11) and RBI (13). McCormick has reached base in all 16 games this season.
Hayden Christiansen has made 14 starts for the Musketeers at designated hitter, batting in the third spot in the last seven games, and batting in the cleanup spot the previous three games. He has a .276 average at the plate, with six of his 16 hits going for extra bases, including five doubles, and has 12 RBI to his credit.
Isaac Wachsmann has played in 12 games, starting in 11 in the outfield, including the last 10 games. He's batting .410 for the season with a team-high matching four home runs among his 16 hits, with a .769 slugging percentage. He's driven in eight RBI and scored seven runs, and has reached base in his last 10 games played.
Jared Cushing has made all 16 starts at second base, with 14 hits on the season, including two doubles, a triple and a home run, driving in 12 RBI and scoring nine runs. On the season, he's 4-of-5 on stolen bases.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has made all 16 starts behind the plate this season with a .279 average at the plate. He has 17 hits, including a team-best six doubles, has a team-high 13 runs scored and 10 walks. He's reached base in the last 10 games and has a team-best five game hitting streak.
Carter Hendrickson has played in 13 games, making 11 starts in the outfield, with a .279 average at the plate, driving in four RBI and scoring 10 runs. Among his 12 hits are four doubles and a home run.
Luke Hammond has made 15 starts at third base, with 10 hits on the season, including five that have gone for extra bases, and eight walks.. He's driven in six RBI and scored nine runs.
Grant Stephenson has played in 14 games, starting in 12, including making 11 starts at shortstop. He has six hits and six walks on the season, scoring six runs and driving in a pair of RBI.
Center fielder Garrett Schultz has made 12 starts with a .277 average at the plate. He has 13 hits and four walks, driving in six RBI and scoring five runs.
Right fielder Tyler DeMartino has started in all nine games that he's played in this season. He has a .407 average at the plate with three of this 11 hits going for extra bases. He's reached base in each of the nine games he's played in.
Connor Misch has played in seven games, staring a pair at DH. For the season he's recorded a double, an RBI on a sac fly, a run scored and a pair of walks.
Joe Karpierz has played in five games this season, starting game two at LA Tech at shortstop. At the plate, he has a .200 average after hitting his first home run of the season against the Bulldogs. He's also recorded a walk.
Donavan Canterberry has played in eight games, starting in three at shortstop. He has two walks and a run scored on the season.
Jake Lambdin has played in three games for the Musketeers, starting in one, with a walk and a run scored on the season.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After going setting a new career-high for strikeouts in Xavier's win over No. 2 LSU, right-handed pitcher Nick Boyle was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon by the league office.
Boyle, a senior from Goshen, Ky., made the start on the mound in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Tigers, not giving up an earned run in 5.0 innings of work and limiting the Tigers to four hits. He topped his previous career high of six strikeouts, set against FGCU, with seven Ks against the Tigers, helping the Xavier pitching staff to a season-high matching 12 strikeouts for the day. Boyle picked up the win, his second of the season.
Xavier's pitching staff limited the Tigers to just five hits, a season-low for the Musketeers' staff. LSU's one run scored was a season low for the Tigers.

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 returns home on Friday, March 15, to start a three-game series with Indiana State at Hayden Field. The series is set to continue on Saturday and wrap up on Sunday.
The Musketeers will head to Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 19 for a midweek game at Tennessee, set for a 6:30 p.m. start.
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.