Baseball Heads to Queens, N.Y., to Face St. John's for Three Games

Friday, April 11

Queens, NY

3 PM

Xavier University

St. John's

Baseball Heads to Queens, N.Y., to Face St. John's for Three Games

04.10.25 | Baseball

Live Stats Live Stream (WatchESPN)

Musketeers and Red Storm get underway on Friday at 3 PM

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball travels to Queens, N.Y., this weekend for a three-game series with St. John's, set to begin on Friday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., and the series finale is set for noon on Sunday. All three game will be broadcast on ESPN+ through WatchESPN.

The Musketeers are 19-15 overall and 5-1 in BIG EAST play, currently in the top 20 in the RPI and ranked the No. 3 in Strength of Schedule.

ST. JOHN'S

The Red Storm are 16-13 overall and 3-0 in BIG EAST play after opening up the conference schedule against Seton Hall last weekend.
SJU, which was picked third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll, had four players selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, shortstop Luke Orbon, outfielder Jackson Tucker, and pitchers Evan Chaffee and Louis Marinaro.
The Red Storm went 38-18-1 overall last season, with a 14-7 record in BIG EAST play, finishing second in the league standings. The Red Storm went 3-0 in the BIG EAST Tournament, picking up two wins over Georgetown and a win over Xavier to clinch the league title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
SJU took part in the Charlottesville Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, falling to Mississippi State in the opening game and picking up a win over Penn before being eliminated by the Bulldogs.
Xavier moved to 18-19 all-time against the Red Storm last season after going 1-2 in the regular season series and then falling to SJU in the winner's bracket of the BIG EAST Tournament.

XAVIER NOTES

RHP Jack Nobe has made 11 appearances with a 3.52 ERA through 30.2 innings pitched, best among Xavier's qualifying pitchers, allowing 12 earned runs. He has 21 strikeouts to 19 walks and 25 hits, with a WHIP of 1.43.
RHP Ben Weber has pitched a team-high 45.2 innings through 11 appearances, with a 3.55 ERA and a WHIP of 1.27. He has 25 strikeouts to 10 walks, and a team-best matching three wins on the season.
RHP Ryan Piech has made a team-leading seven starts, allowing 18 earned runs through 32.0 innings of work and limiting opposing batters to a team-best .190 average at the plate. Piech matches for team high with 36 strikeouts.
RHP Luke Hoskins has made 10 appearances, including four starts, allowing 19 earned runs 33.0 innings of work. He's allowed 29 hits and has a team-high matching 36 strikeouts to just 12 walks, currently with a WHIP of 1.24.
2B Nolan Tucker leads the Musketeers with a .347 average at the plate, with 25 hits on the season, including a double, a triple and three home runs, for a .514 slugging percentage. Tucker enters the weekend with a team-best eight game hitting streak and has reached base in the last 12 games.
1B Connor Misch has 11 hits for extra bases among his 32 hits for the season, driving in a team high matching 25 RBI. He also has 25 walks and 14 hit-by-pitches, for a .470 on-base percentage, scoring 18 runs. Misch has reached safely in the last 14 games
OF Carter Hendrickson has 34 hits on the season to go with 26 walks and 15 hit-by-pitches, scoring a team-high 34 runs and driving in 21 RBI. Hendrickson has a team-best reached base streak of 23 games.
SS Jake Lambdin leads the Musketeers with 35 hits and 28 walks, coming around to score 26 runs.
OF Clay Burdette is batting .300 with 14 hits for extra bases on the season, including seven home runs, among his 33 hits for a .564 slugging percentage. He's driven in 23 RBI and scored 23 runs for the season.
DH Isaac Wachsmann has a team-high 16 hits for extra bases, leading the team in home runs with eight and driving in a team-high matching 25 RBI so far this season.
Xavier has 37 stolen bases on the season, led by OF Aedan Anderson who is 8-8 for the year.

UPCOMING opponents

Xavier returns to Cincinnati for its midweek game, traveling across town to face UC on Tuesday, April 15, set for a 6:00 p.m. start.
The Musketeers head out on the road next weekend, traveling to Villanova for a three-game series, running from Thursday, April 17 through Saturday, April 19.

VS. CANCER

Xavier baseball has teamed up with the Vs. Cancer Foundation to help support the fight against pediatric cancer nationally, as well as at home in Cincinnati, by raising money in support of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
The Musketeers will be collecting donations through April 27 when members of the program will shave their heads in support of the cause. The head-shaving will occur following Xavier's home game against Georgetown on Sunday, April 27.
Xavier has worked with Vs. Cancer since 2014 to help support children battling cancer, raising over $80k to help accelerate the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's efforts towards a future without childhood brain cancer. The Musketeers' efforts helped the Vs. Cancer organization make a $100,000 gift to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, helping to establish its Proton Therapy Center.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After a 4-0 week for Xavier baseball, a pair of Musketeers earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, right-handed pitcher Luke Hoskins, and first baseman Connor Misch.
Hoskins, a senior from Arvada, Colo., made the start in the 14-1 win over Butler in the series finale, going 5.0 scoreless innings, only allowing two hits on the way to picking up his third win of the season. Hoskins matched his season-high in strikeouts with seven as Xavier took the sweep of the Bulldogs for their second BIG EAST series win.
Connor Misch, a junior from Dyer, Ind., batted .500/.632/.1000, driving in seven RBI, and scoring a team-high seven runs. Misch went 1-3 with a walk, driving in a pair of RBI with his first home run of the season, and scored three runs in Xavier's 11-5 win over Wright State. In Xavier's 12-6 win in the series opener with Butler, Misch finished with a hit, drove in an RBI after being hit by a pitch and scored a pair of runs.
In game two with the Bulldogs, Misch went 3-4 with a walk, driving in three RBI and scoring a run with his second home run of the season, a three-run shot in the eighth to give the Musketeers the lead for good. In the series finale with Butler, Misch went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI.

RETURNING MUSKETEERS

Xavier returns 10 players who appeared in the lineup last season, including eight who played in at least a third of Xavier's games. The returnees accounted for 307 of the Musketeers' 531 total hits last season, including over 67 percent of Xavier's home runs (62 of 92). The returning Musketeers drove in 195 RBI last season and scored nearly 60 percent of Xavier's runs (216 of 363).
Aedan Anderson, a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection in the outfield, played in 55 games last season, starting 42 in the outfield. He batted .271 overall, with 46 hits and a team-high 44 runs scored. Among his hits were 26 for extra bases, including a BIG EAST-leading 18 home runs. He posted a .641 slugging percentage for the season, trailing only teammate Isaac Wachsmann among league players. He also led the Musketeers with 35 walks on the season.
Connor Misch, the league's selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team at designated hitter, played in 46 games last season, making 40 starts and earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST second team. He batted .268 for the season overall finishing with 41 hits and 27 runs scored. He had 19 hits for extra bases, with 11 doubles and eight home runs.
Luke Hammond, the Preseason All-BIG EAST selection at third base, started at third in all 56 games he played in last season. He batted .290 overall for 2024, collecting 64 hits and scoring 43 runs, both marks ranking second on the team. Among his 64 hits were 25 for extra bases, including 14 doubles and 11 home runs, posting a .502 slugging percentage on the season. He also had 26 walks for the season.
Isaac Wachsmann played in 28 games last season, starting in 27, despite dealing with a mid-season injury. He batted .330, the best average among Xavier's everyday players, finishing with 31 hits, including 10 home runs, drove in 20 RBI, and scored 21 runs. Wachsmann also led Xavier's everyday players in slugging percentage (.691) and on-base percentage (.434). He was picked as the 2025 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by D1Baseball.com.
Carter Hendrickson started in 42 of the 49 games he played in, collecting 50 hits, including 19 for extra bases. He drove in 18 RBI and came around to score 37 runs. His .303 batting average and .407 on-base percentage ranked second among Xavier's everyday players. Hendrickson led the team in doubles with 15 and was second on the team in stolen bases with 12, the most among the returning Musketeers.
Hayden Christiansen played in 52 games in 2024, starting in 44. He totaled 53 hits, including 15 for extra bases, drove in 34 RBI, and scored 24 runs. His .288 average at the plate was fourth best among Xavier's everyday players.
Jake Lambdin played in 21 games as a position player, collecting 11 hits, including two extra-base hits, nine RBI, and nine runs scored. He finished with nine walks and went 2-2 on stolen base attempts.
Tyler Stack started at designated hitter in 12 of the 19 games he played in last season. He finished his freshman season with nine hits, including three for extra bases, drove in six RBI and scored six runs.

XAVIER BULLPEN

The Musketeers' bullpen returns nine who made an appearance last season, including five who pitched at least 15.0 innings. Xavier also returns a pair who missed all of 2024 due to injury, graduate student Jared Gadd and sophomore Ryan Piech, who will make the start on Saturday against IU.
Jake Hooker, who is set to make the start in Xavier's season opener against Oregon State, appeared in 11 games and started in one in 2024 before an injury brought his season to an end in mid-April. He posted a 2.20 ERA through 16.1 innings pitched and tallied 16 strike outs. Hooker finished his shortened freshman season with a pair of saves.
Nick Boyle, who is set to make Monday's start against Oregon State, made 19 appearances, including eight starts in 2024. In 46.1 innings of work had a 6.02 ERA and held opposing batters to a .256 batting average, the second best among Xavier's starters. Boyle finished with 58 strikeouts, the most among returning Musketeers.
Luke Hoskins made a team-high 15 starts last season, leading the team in innings pitched with 70.1. He posted an ERA of 6.78 and finished the season with 49 strikeouts to just 15 walks, the fewest bases on balls allowed among Xavier's regular starters.
Logan Schmidt made 16 appearances for the Musketeers in 2024, starting in 11 games. He had a 7.01 ERA and collected 52 strikeouts in 68.0 innings of work, second most innings pitched on the team. He finished the season with five wins, matching the team high for 2024.
Jake Lambdin made 17 appearances on the mound in 2024, compiling a 3.43 ERA in 21.0 innings of work. He finished with 26 strikeouts and 15 walks and held opposing batters to a .171 batting average. Lambdin collected three saves and had a W-L record of 2-0.

2025 schedule

The Musketeers face teams from 10 conferences outside of BIG EAST play, as well as Pac-12 member Oregon State, which is competing as an independent in baseball this season.
Nine of the teams on Xavier's schedule played in last season's NCAA Tournament, including four teams that advanced to Super Regionals and two teams that took part in the College World Series, including defending National Champions Tennessee.
The Musketeers played the first 21 games of the season on the road, traveling to six different states before hosting Ball State at Hayden Field on March 21.
Six of Xavier's non-conference opponents are ranked in Preseason Polls, including four squads that earned top 15 rankings from NCBWA: No. 2 Tennessee, No. 4 LSU, No. 7 Oregon State and No. 14 Vanderbilt.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST SELECTIONS

Three Musketeers, Luke Hammond, Connor Misch and Aedan Anderson, where selected to the 2025 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team, as voted on by the coaches.
Luke Hammond, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, was picked to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team at third base. Hammond started at third in all 56 games he played in last season. He batted .290 overall for 2024, collecting 64 hits and scoring 43 runs, both marks ranking second on the team. Among his 64 hits were 25 for extra bases, including 14 doubles and 11 home runs, posting a .502 slugging percentage on the season. He also had 26 walks for the season.
In BIG EAST play, Hammond batted .292 through 21 games, finishing with 26 hits and a team-high matching 18 runs scored against league opponents. He drove in 15 of his 36 RBI in conference action. Hammond was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team following the season.
Connor Misch, a junior from Dyer, Ind., was the league's selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team at DH. He played in 46 games last season, making 40 starts. He batted .268 for the season overall finishing with 41 hits and 27 runs scored. He had 19 hits for extra bases, with 11 doubles and eight home runs.
In 19 games played in BIG EAST play, Misch had a .315 average at the plate with 23 hits and 16 runs scored. Eleven of his extra base hits came against league opponents, including six home runs, third most among league players. Of his 23 RBI on the season, 14 came in BIG EAST action. Misch was named to the 2024 All-BIG EAST Second Team following the regular season.
Aedan Anderson, a senior from Laguna Niguel, Calif., was named a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection in the outfield. Anderson played in 55 games last season, starting 42 in the outfield. He batted .271 overall, with 46 hits and a team-high 44 runs scored. Among his hits were 26 for extra bases, including a BIG EAST-leading 18 home runs. He posted a .641 slugging percentage for the season, trailing only teammate Isaac Wachsmann among league players. He also led the Musketeers with 35 walks on the season.
Anderson made 20 starts in BIG EAST play, finishing with a .267 average at the plate. Thirteen of his 20 hits in conference play went for extra bases including a team-high eight home runs against league foes. He led the Musketeers in conference play with 17 walks and matched Hammond for team-high with 18 runs scored. He also led the Musketeers with 22 runs batted in during league play, third most among BIG EAST players. His 17 walks in conference play led the league.

BIG (EAST) SUCCESS

Xavier is coming off a 2024 season where the Musketeers posted 30 wins for a third-straight year, going 30-27 overall with a 12-9 record in BIG EAST play to earn the No. 4 seed the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier opened the league tournament with a win over No. 1 seed UConn before falling to St. John's and Georgetown.
The Musketeers have made the four-team BIG EAST Tournament eight times since joining the conference in 2013, including every season the event has been held since 2019.
Xavier has advanced to the conference championship series seven times in the Musketeers' eight 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.

XU TO HOST THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

The 2025 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 21, 2025 and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 24, 2025.
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.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

Preseason Player of the Year
Maddix Dalena, 1B, Jr., UConn

Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Ian Cooke, RHP, Sr., UConn ^

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*
C – Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown
1B – Maddix Dalena, UConn
2B – Kyle Hess, Creighton
3B – Tyler Minick, UConn
3B – Luke Hammond, Xavier
SS – Bryan Padilla, UConn
SS – Luke Orbon, St. John's
DH – Connor Misch, Xavier
OF – Jack Moroknek, Butler
OF – Caleb Shpur, UConn
OF – Nolan Sailors, Creighton ^
OF – Kavi Caster, Georgetown
OF – Jackson Tucker, St. John's
OF – Aedan Anderson, Xavier
SP – Ian Cooke, UConn ^
SP – Dominic Cancellieri, Creighton
SP – Andrew Williams, Georgetown
SP – Evan Chaffee, St. John's
SP – Ryan Reich, Seton Hall ^
RP – Brady Afthim, UConn
RP – Louis Marinaro, St. John's

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

BIG EAST Baseball Preseason Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. UConn (7) – 49
2. Xavier – 38
3. St. John's (1) – 37
4. Creighton – 30
5. Georgetown – 25
6. Seton Hall – 24
7. Villanova – 12
8. Butler – 9