Baseball Travels to Seton Hall for Three-Game Series

Baseball Travels to Seton Hall for Three-Game Series

04.18.24 | Baseball

Musketeers and Pirates get underway on Friday at 4 PM in South Orange, N.J.

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball travels to South Orange, N.J.,this weekend to continue BIG EAST play, facing Seton Hall for three games running from Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21, with game one is set to get underway on Friday at 4:00 p.m. Game two is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the series finale is scheduled for noon on Sunday, with all three games set to be streamed on the BEDN on FloSports.

The Musketeers are 18-18 overall on the season and 3-3 in BIG EAST play after taking two of three against Creighton last weekend and taking the midweek game over Cincinnati on Wednesday.

SETON HALL NOTES

The Pirates are 18-18 on the season, with non-conference series wins over Georgia State and Mercer.
SHU, which was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST, is 1-5 in BIG EAST play, going 1-2 against Georgetown and 0-3 against Villanova.
Three Pirates, Max Viera, Devin Hack and Ryan Reich, were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
Seton Hall went 31-24 overall last season, with a 13-8 BIG EAST record to finish third in the league standings and earn a spot in the conference tournament.
The Pirates fell to Xavier in the opening game of the 2024 league tournament and were eliminated by Georgetown to wrap up the season.
Xavier is 15-17 all-time against the Pirates after going 2-2 against SHU last season, including picking up a 6-5 win in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

XAVIER NOTES

Logan Schmidt made his seventh start last weekend, marking his11th appearance of the season. He has an 8.61 ERA through 38.2 innings pitched with 31 strikeouts.
Luke Hoskins has made nine start, with a a 5.37 ERA through a team-high 52.0 innings pitched, with a team-high 44 strikeouts to just six walks.
Jonathan Kelly has made 14 appearances, including one start, and is now up to 88 career appearances as a Musketeer, fifth most in program history and one away from matching Brad Kirschner (2014-17) for fourth most. Kelly has 3.41 ERA through 31.2 innings pitched, picking up three saves so far this season.
Jake Hooker made his first start of the season on Sunday at UConn, marking his 11th appearance this season. He has a 2.20 ERA through 16.1 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts on the season.
Connor Bailey made his fourth start of the season on Wednesday, with an ERA of 6.26 through 27.1 innings pitched across 15 appearances.
Nick Boyle has made 10 appearances, including eight starts this season, with a 5.86 ERA through 35.1 innings of work this season, with 43 strikeouts on the season.
Alex Vera has made a team-high 22 appearances, including one start, allowing 22 earned runs in 26.1 innings of work with two wins and three saves on the season.
Nolan Hughes has made 11 appearances, coming out of the bullpen in seven games. He has a 5.50 ERA through 18.0 innings pitched, striking out 32 so far this season.
Jake Lambdin has made 10 appearances on the mound, with a 2.81 ERA through 16.0 innings pitched, with a win (1-0) and two saves to his credit.
3B Luke Hammond has 40 hits on the season, including 18 for extra bases, including nine home runs and enters the weekend with an 11-game reached safely streak. Hammond, who has a .301 average at the plate, has driven in 23 RBI and scored 26 runs.
Outfielder Aedan Anderson has played in 35 games, making 22 starts, with .266 average at the plate. He has 10 home runs among his 25 hits, with a .638 slugging percentage, and 18 walks on the season. He's driven in 28 RBI and scored a team-high 27 runs.
1B Matt McCormick has reached base in 35 of 36 games this season, with a .287 average at the plate and a team-leading 35 RBI. He has a team-high 12 home runs among his 39 hits, has scored 17 runs, and has a team-high 23 walks.
Hayden Christiansen has an average of .302, best among Xavier's everyday players, and an 15-game reached safely streak entering the week. He has a team-high 42 hits on the season, including 13 for extra bases, driving in 29 RBI.
Catcher Matthew DePrey has 38 hits on the season, including 12 for extra bases, has 17 walks and has scored 26 runs.
2B Jared Cushing has 38 hits on the season, with 14 going for extra bases, has driven in 29 RBI and scored 26 runs.
Carter Hendrickson has a .277 ERA in 29 games played, making 23 starts in the outfield. Among his 26 hits are 12 for extra bases, and he's come around to score 19 runs.
Connor Misch, who has played in 25 games and started in 19, batting .260 on the season with eight of his 20 hits going for extra bases.
Grant Stephenson has started in 24 games, with 12 hits on the season, eight going for extra bases, and nine walks. He's driven in seven RBI and scored nine runs
Tyler Stack has played in 12 games this season, making nine starts at DH, with six hits and seven walks on the season, driving in six RBI and scoring five runs.
Xavier's 59 home runs lead the BIG EAST with two Musketeers, Matt McCormick (12) and Aedan Anderson (10) with double-digit long ball totals.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier outfielder Aedan Anderson earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after leading the Musketeers with 10 RBI in a four-game week, helping Xavier to the series win over Creighton.
Anderson, a junior from Laguna Niguel, Calif., batted .400 for the week, with four of his six hits leaving the yard to wrap up the week with a 1.200 slugging percentage. On Tuesday against Cincinnati, Anderson hit his seventh home run of the season to drive in two RBI and scored a run. In the series opener against Creighton, Anderson hit his eighth home run of the season to finish with an RBI and a run scored.
In Xavier's 15-9 win over Creighton on Saturday, he set a new career-best mark with six runs batted in after going 3-of-4, hitting a pair of home runs to give him 10 for the season. He also matched his career-best mark with three runs scored. In Sunday's 7-3 win over the Bluejays to clinch the series, Anderson finished with a hit and a pair of walks, and brought in an RBI in Xavier's five-run eighth inning.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Next week, the Musketeers will play a pair of midweek games, traveling to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, March 23, set for a 3:00 p.m. start, and then hosting Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, March 24, at 3:00 p.m.
The Musketeers remain at Hayden Field for the weekend series, hosting St. John's for three games, running from Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28.
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.

DEPREY NAMED TO POSEY WATCH LIST

Matthew DePrey was among the 63 catchers named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List, the Wichita Sports Commission announced on Thursday. The award honors the nation's top Division I collegiate catcher as voted on by head coaches and sports information directors.
DePrey, a native of Sun Prairie, Wis., has started all 36 games behind the plate for the Musketeers, with a 38 hits, including 12 for extra bases, and 17 walks on the season, driving in 11 RBI and scoring 26 runs. On defense, the senior has caught 13 runners stealing so far this season. This is DePrey's second time earning a spot on the Watch List.
DePrey is one of three BIG EAST catchers on the watch list, joined by St. John's Jimmy Keenan and Georgetown's Owen Carapellotti.
The 2024 Watch List features 63 student-athletes from NCAA Division 1 universities throughout the country. "Since 2000, the Wichita Sports Commission has acknowledged the hard work and talent of the most demanding position in baseball," said Kevin Jenks, President/CEO of the Wichita Sports Commission. "The Buster Posey Award has become one of college baseball's most coveted and prestigious awards. It's always special to have all three finalists, their families and coaches attend the event."
The 2024 winner will be announced on June 26th at the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet. Three finalists will be invited to attend the banquet hosted by the Wichita Sports Commission. Nominations from head coaches and sports information directors will continue until May 8th.

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.

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.