Baseball Continues Homestand with Wright State on Tuesday

Tuesday, March 26

Cincinnati, Ohio

3:00 PM

Xavier University

Wright State

Tickets

Baseball Continues Homestand with Wright State on Tuesday

03.25.24 | Baseball

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Musketeers and Raiders get underway at 3 PM

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball continues its seven-game homestand on Tuesday, March 26, hosting Wright State at Hayden Field, set for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.

The Musketeers head into this game with a 11-13 record after taking two of three against VCU last weekend.

WRIGHT STATE NOTABLES

Wright State is 13-10 on the season, and is coming off a three-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne, going 2-1 over the weekend.
This is the second match-up with the Raiders, with Wright State taking the 7-6 win in the first game on March 12 in Dayton.
The two teams could also potentially face off in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on April 9 at Prasco Park.
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.

XAVIER NOTES

Matthew Aukerman is making his first start as a Musketeer on Tuesday. He went 1.0 inning in his first appearance, allowing two earned runs, not allowing a hit and striking out three.
Alex Vera has made 13 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen. He's gone 15.2 innings, allowing 17 earned runs, and has 17 strikeouts to just four walks.
Connor Bailey mas made 11 appearances, including a pair of starts, with a 5.03 ERA through 19.2 innings pitched, striking out 17 so far this season.
1B Matt McCormick has reached base in all 24 games this season, leading the Musketeers with 25 RBI after driving in seven last week, with a team-best 27 hits on the season. He added three home runs to this total over the weekend, now bringing his team-leading total to nine, has scored a team-high 17 runs and has a team-high 15 walks.
Hayden Christiansen has made 22 starts, including 21 at designated hitter, with 26 hits on the season, including 10 for extra bases, driving in 21 RBI.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has 24 hits on the season, including 11 for extra bases, and 13 walks.
3B Luke Hammond moved up to the top of the of the lineup for the last five games. He's got 23 hits and 12 walks on the season, scoring 15 runs and driving in 12 RBI.
2B Jared Cushing has reached base in the last nine games, with 22 hits on the season. He's driven in 15 RBI and scored 15 runs.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier baseball first baseman Matt McCormick picked up BIG EAST Player of the Week honors after leading Xavier with seven RBI and helping the Musketeers to the series win against VCU, the league office announced on Monday.
McCormick, a senior from Chicago, finished with seven RBI through four games last week, with three of his four hits leaving the yard for a .929 slugging percentage. In game one against VCU, he added to his team-high home run total, hitting two solo shots to finish 2-4 at the plate, with two RBI and two runs scored in Xavier's 7-6 win.
In Saturday's win over VCU, McCormick finished with a career-high five RBI, going 2-of-4 with a walk. Among his hits was his team-leading ninth home run of the season, and third of the weekend, a grand slam in the sixth inning to put the Musketeers in front for good in the 9-5 win to clinch the series victory.

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

XU hosts Bowling Green for three-game series the following weekend, starting Thursday, March 28 and running through Saturday, March 30.
Following the series with BGSU, Xavier will travel up the road to Prasco Park to face Cincinnati in the first game of the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Tuesday, April 2, set for a 6:00 p.m. start.
The Musketeers head out on the road the following weekend to open BIG EAST play at UConn, with the three-game series runnning April 5-7.
Xavier is scheduled to face 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.