Xavier University Athletics

Baseball Heads to Georgetown for Three-Game Series
04.01.26 | Baseball
Musketeers and Hoyas get underway on Thursday at 11 AM in Virginia
CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball heads to Tysons, Va., to take on Georgetown for a three-game series at Capital One Park, set to get underway on Thursday, April 2, at 11:00 a.m. The series continues on Friday, April 3, set for a 3:00 p.m. start and concludes on Saturday, April 4, starting at 1:00 p.m.
All three games will be live streamed through MuscoVision. Access to the live streams can be purchased for $6.99 for a one-day pass, or $14.99 for a three-day pass.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 2 - 11:00 AM
Live Stats | Watch
Game 2: April 3 - 3:00 PM
Live Stats | Watch
Game 3: April 4 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats | Watch
MUSKETEER NOTABLES
- Clay Burdette leads BIG EAST with a .390 average the plate, with 16 hits for extra bases among hist team-leading 31 hits for the season. Burdette's 21 RBIs trail only Josh Stonehouse among Musketeers, and he leads Xavier with 17 runs scored. Burdette also leads the Musketeers with a .756 slugging percentage, ranked second in the BIG EAST and 32nd in NCAA DI, and he has a team-best .485 on-base percentage.
- Jorge Valdes has a .339 average at the plate, with 20 hits, 11 runs scored and seven RBIs in 16 games played since returning from injury.
- Josh Stonehouse added two home runs to his team-high total against Ball State, giving him 10 for the year, second most in the conference and 35th most in NCAA DI. He leads the Musketeers with 22 RBIs and has scored 16 runs.
- Ryan Piech has a 3.97 ERA through 34.0 innings pitched across seven starts. His WHIP of 1.09 leads Xavier's regular pitchers, and has held opposing batters to a .183 average at the plate. Piech also leads the Musketeers and ranks second in the BIG EAST with 47 strikeouts on the season, with a league-best 12.44 strikeouts per nine innings, ranking No. 42 in NCAA DI. His hits allowed per nine innings (5.82) also leads the conference and ranks No. 49 in the nation.
- Jack Nobe has made five starts, with a 4.50 ERA through a team-high 25.0 innings pitched, striking out 23 so far this season.
- Ashton Chronister has made 10 appearances, including six starts, with a 3.51 ERA through 33.1 innings pitched, striking out a career-high 21 while only issuing eight walks so far this season.
- Evan Vasiliou has made eight appearances, including three starts, with a 4.88 ERA through 24.0 innings pitched.
GEORGETOWN
- The Hoyas are 16-13 on the season, with series wins over Saint Peters (4-0), FDU (3-0), George Mason (2-1), Penn State (2-0) and Youngstown State, (2-1). This is the first BIG EAST series for the Hoyas
- Georgetown was picked seventh in the BIG EAST's Preseason Poll, and graduate RHP JT Raab was selected to the the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.
- The Hoyas went 16-40 overall and 3-18 in BIG EAST play last season, finishing eighth in the league standings.
- Xavier is 25-12 all-time against Georgetown after sweeping the three-game series last season in Cincinnati.
WEEKLY AWARDS
- Left-handed pitcher Ashton Chronister earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announce on Monday.
- Chronister, a junior from Rogers, Ark., threw 6.0 scoreless innings in Xavier's 6-1 win over UConn in the series finale on Sunday. Chronister gave up just three hits and issued two walks while collecting five strikeouts.
- For the season, Chronister has made 10 appearances, including six starts, with a 3.51 ERA through 33.1 innings pitched with a WHIP of 1.17. Chronister has a career-best 21 strikeouts to just eight walks for the season.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- The Musketeers head to Prasco Park on Tuesday, April 7, to take on Wright State as part of the Joe Nuxhall Classic, set for a 5:00 p.m. start.
- Xavier returns home to host BIG EAST foe Villanova for a three-game series, set to run from Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12 at Hayden Field.
2026 SCHEDULE
- The Musketeers are set to face teams from nine conferences outside of BIG EAST play, as well as Oregon State, which will compete as an independent in baseball this season.
- Among the 23 programs Xavier is scheduled to face this season, 10 played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with three teams taking part in the College World Series.
- Six teams on the 2026 schedule were ranked in 2026 USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 11 Louisville, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 23 Oregon. East Carolina, UConn and Cal State Fullerton also received votes in the poll.
- Xavier played 17 of the first 18 games on the road, traveling to North Carolina, Arkansas, California and Oregon for the first four weekends of the season.
- The Musketeers will travel to 10 states outside of Ohio as well as the District of Columbia.
- Xavier's non-conference strength of schedule has ranked in the top five in each of the last two seasons, finishing 2025 at No. 5 and 2024 at No. 3.
- The Musketeers overall strength of schedule also ranked in the top 40 in the last two seasons (2025 - No. 37, 2024 - No. 25).
XAVIER HOME BROADCAST INFO
- Xavier Athletics announced that 17 spring home sporting events will be broadcast live via XAVIER+. The baseball and lacrosse broadcasts will be available through a subscription on GoXavier.com.
- All 27 home spring sporting events for baseball and lacrosse will be broadcast on either ESPN+ or XAVIER+ .
- Per Game: $10
- Spring Season: $120 (includes all 17 games)
- Lacrosse Season Pass: $40 (includes all five games)
- Baseball Season Pass: $100 (includes all 12 games)
- Baseball Weekend Series Pass: $25 (includes all three games in a weekend series vs. St. John's or Creighton)
- A subscription to ESPN+ is required to view the 10 baseball and lacrosse broadcasts. An ESPN+ subscription will also include a number of road baseball and lacrosse contests (determined by the host institution).
- A detailed broadcasting list of each home and away baseball and lacrosse contest is available on the sport specific schedule pages at GoXavier.com.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST
- Connor Misch (1B) was selected as the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, as voted on by the league's coaches.
- Misch also earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, joined on the preseason all-league squad by Clay Burdette and Ryan Piech.
- Connor Misch, a senior from Dyer, Ind., was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and was the league's unanimous preseason pick at first base after earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team following the 2025 season. Misch started in all 59 games last season, with a .332 average at the plate, best among Xavier's returning players. He led the team with 65 hits, and had 44 walks for the season, to lead the Musketeers with a .485 on-base percentage. Misch drove in a team-high 50 RBI, and scored 42 runs
- In conference play, Misch led the league with a .448 average at the plate through 21 games. Of his 65 hits for the season, 30 came against BIG EAST opponents, including three of his four home runs. Misch, who also led the conference with a .581 on-base percentage in BIG EAST play, drove in a team-high 25 RBI during the BIG EAST regular season.
- Misch has also earned a spot on the 2025 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team and the 2024 All-BIG EAST Second Team during his Xavier career.
- Clay Burdette, a junior outfielder, earned a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection after playing in 56 games for the Musketeers last season, making 52 starts, and posting a .292 average at the plate overall. Among his 59 hits were 23 for extra bases, including a team-leading 13 home runs, to lead Xavier with a .540 slugging percentage. Burdette's 44 RBI from last season trail only Misch among returning Musketeers, while his 46 runs scored lead the returnees for Xavier.
- In BIG EAST regular season play, Burdette started in all 21 games, finishing with a .325 average at the plate in conference play. The native of Cincinnati collected 25 hits, got aboard with 12 walks, drove in 25 RBI, and scored 18 runs against league opponents.
- Ryan Piech, a right-handed pitcher from Aurora, Ohio, earned a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection as a starting pitcher after earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors last season. Piech's all-league selection followed a 2025 season where he made team-high 14 starts, led the Musketeers with 65 strikeouts in 59.2 innings of work, and held opposing batters to a .182 average at the plate, best among Xavier's qualified pitchers.
- Piech made six starts in league play, posting a 2.60 ERA through 27.2 innings of work, the best among the Musketeers and fourth-best among qualified pitchers in the BIG EAST. He only allowed eight earned runs and collected 31 strikeouts in the conference regular season. In BIG EAST play, Piech held opposing batters to a .135 average at the plate, best among qualifying pitchers in the conference.
XAVIER VS. CREIGHTON AT GABP
- Xavier will host the series opener against Creighton on Thursday, May 14, at Great American Ball Park following the Cincinnati Reds game against the Washington Nationals.
- The Reds and the Nationals are scheduled to begin at 12:40 p.m. with the game between the Musketeers and the Bluejays starting approximately 30-45 minutes following its conclusion.
- The game at Great American Ball Park begins a three-game series with the Bluejays, with the remainder of the series running through Saturday, May 16, at Xavier's Hayden Field.
BIG (EAST) SUCCESS
- In 2025, Xavier made its ninth appearance in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament since joining the conference, including earning a spot in the event in every season it has been held since 2019.
- Xavier advanced to the conference championship series seven times in the Musketeers' nine 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 2026 BIG EAST Baseball Championship presented by Jeep will be co-hosted by Xavier baseball at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, in the week leading up to Memorial Day Weekend.
- The four-team tournament opens on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 23, 2026.
- 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 YearConnor Misch, 1B, Sr., Xavier
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Steven Svenson, RHP, So., Seton Hall
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team *
Sean Finn, RP, Jr., UConn
Tyler Minick, OF, Jr., UConn
Rob Rispoli, SS, R-So., UConn
Connor Capece, C, Jr., Creighton ^
Wilson Magers, SP, So., Creighton ^
JT Raab, SP, Gr., Georgetown ^
Jon LeGrande, OF, Jr., St. John's ^
Shaun McMillan, 2B/DH, So., St. John's
Jayder Raifstanger, 3B, Jr., St. John's ^
John Downing, RP, Sr., Seton Hall
Steven Svenson, SP, So., Seton Hall
Clay Burdette, OF, Jr., Xavier
Connor Misch, 1B, Sr., Xavier ^
Ryan Piech, SP, Jr., Xavier
^ - 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 (5) - 46
2. Creighton (3) - 43
3. Xavier - 37
4. St. John's - 32
5. Seton Hall - 26
6. Villanova - 19
7. Georgetown - 13
8. Butler - 8
Players Mentioned
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