- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,131,543
- Reaction score
- 59
Coming off winning a share of the Big East regular-season title (its first since 2016), Xavier baseball is after the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament this week in the conference tournament at Prasco Park.
Xavier (27-28 overall) finished 15-6 in conference play to split the regular-season title with UConn and St. John's. Billy O'Conner's Musketeers have won eight of their last 11 games and took the final two tilts of a three-game series against Creighton last week at Hayden Field to earn a share of the regular season crown.
Xavier is the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament and will face No. 2 UConn in the first round at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, in Mason.
Xavier last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023. In each of the last two years, the Musketeers were on the NCAA Tournament bubble after falling short at Prasco Park.
On both occasions, Xavier was not selected for the NCAA Tournament despite strong season-long metrics.
All signs point to the Big East being one-bid league for the NCAA Tournament. In latest college baseball bracketology, the projected conference tournament winner is the only Big East team in the field.
Baseball America picked UConn, On3Sports and D1Baseball has St. John's and USA Today predicted Xavier.
For reference, Xavier was top 40 in RPI after the Big East Tournament in each of the last two seasons. Last year, they had six Quad 1 wins and 15 combined Quad 1/2 victories. This season, Xavier has the Big East's highest RPI (66) with five Quad 1 wins (St. John's, Creighton and UConn have combined for two).
Xavier's five wins over top 50 RPI teams include two on the road against East Carolina (No. 45), at Miami (No. 37), at Georgia Tech (No. 2) and at home over the UC Bearcats (No. 22).
Moeller product Clay Burdette ranks top 5 in the Big East in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.450), home runs (17) and hits (67). His team-high 44 RBIs are eighth in the league.
Former Covington Catholic standout Jonathan Fitz is hitting .294 with 31 knocked in and Luke Hammond (Indian Hill) has started all 55 games. He's hitting .290 with 37 RBIs.
Elsewhere, freshman infielder Josh Stonehouse has gone deep 13 times and has 40 RBIs for a Xavier offense that leads the Big East in home runs.
Xavier's offense still has plenty of firepower despite the absence of Connor Misch, who missed all season after being named the Preseason Big East Player of the Year.
On the mound, Xavier's top two starters are Ryan Piech and Ashton Chronister. That duo has combined for 10 wins, and each owns a sub-4 ERA. Chronister tossed 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in a pivotal win over Creighton May 15. Senior Evan Vasiliou allowed one run over five innings in the regular-season finale one day later to help Xavier capture a league title.
Out of the bullpen, former Mason Comet Michael Murphy has 20 appearances and three wins over 50 innings and Garrett Helsel has six saves.
Xavier combined to go 4-5 against St. John's, UConn and Creighton. The Muskies beat Creighton twice last week to end the regular season. Xavier dropped two of three to the Johnnies at home last month and won once in a three-game set against the Huskies on the road.
UConn ranks first in the Big East in hitting (.284) and scoring (385 runs). They also have the best team ERA at 4.41.
In Storrs at the end of March, UConn took the first two games of the series over Xavier behind stellar pitching from Charlie West and Cayden Suchy. West leads the Big East in strikeouts (106) and Suchy leads the conference in ERA (2.61).
Xavier was limited to just one run and eight hits in those two losses before a 6-1 victory in the series finale March 29. Chronister tossed six scoreless innings in that win while the offense was anchored by homers from Burdette and Stonehouse.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier baseball aims for NCAA automatic bid at Big East Tournament
Continue reading...
Xavier (27-28 overall) finished 15-6 in conference play to split the regular-season title with UConn and St. John's. Billy O'Conner's Musketeers have won eight of their last 11 games and took the final two tilts of a three-game series against Creighton last week at Hayden Field to earn a share of the regular season crown.
Xavier is the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament and will face No. 2 UConn in the first round at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, in Mason.
You must be registered for see images attach
What does Xavier baseball need to make the NCAA Tournament?
Xavier last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023. In each of the last two years, the Musketeers were on the NCAA Tournament bubble after falling short at Prasco Park.
On both occasions, Xavier was not selected for the NCAA Tournament despite strong season-long metrics.
All signs point to the Big East being one-bid league for the NCAA Tournament. In latest college baseball bracketology, the projected conference tournament winner is the only Big East team in the field.
Baseball America picked UConn, On3Sports and D1Baseball has St. John's and USA Today predicted Xavier.
You must be registered for see images attach
For reference, Xavier was top 40 in RPI after the Big East Tournament in each of the last two seasons. Last year, they had six Quad 1 wins and 15 combined Quad 1/2 victories. This season, Xavier has the Big East's highest RPI (66) with five Quad 1 wins (St. John's, Creighton and UConn have combined for two).
Xavier's five wins over top 50 RPI teams include two on the road against East Carolina (No. 45), at Miami (No. 37), at Georgia Tech (No. 2) and at home over the UC Bearcats (No. 22).
Several local products star for Xavier baseball
Moeller product Clay Burdette ranks top 5 in the Big East in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.450), home runs (17) and hits (67). His team-high 44 RBIs are eighth in the league.
Former Covington Catholic standout Jonathan Fitz is hitting .294 with 31 knocked in and Luke Hammond (Indian Hill) has started all 55 games. He's hitting .290 with 37 RBIs.
You must be registered for see images attach
Elsewhere, freshman infielder Josh Stonehouse has gone deep 13 times and has 40 RBIs for a Xavier offense that leads the Big East in home runs.
Xavier's offense still has plenty of firepower despite the absence of Connor Misch, who missed all season after being named the Preseason Big East Player of the Year.
On the mound, Xavier's top two starters are Ryan Piech and Ashton Chronister. That duo has combined for 10 wins, and each owns a sub-4 ERA. Chronister tossed 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in a pivotal win over Creighton May 15. Senior Evan Vasiliou allowed one run over five innings in the regular-season finale one day later to help Xavier capture a league title.
Out of the bullpen, former Mason Comet Michael Murphy has 20 appearances and three wins over 50 innings and Garrett Helsel has six saves.
How did Xavier play against Big East Tournament field this season?
Xavier combined to go 4-5 against St. John's, UConn and Creighton. The Muskies beat Creighton twice last week to end the regular season. Xavier dropped two of three to the Johnnies at home last month and won once in a three-game set against the Huskies on the road.
UConn ranks first in the Big East in hitting (.284) and scoring (385 runs). They also have the best team ERA at 4.41.
You must be registered for see images attach
In Storrs at the end of March, UConn took the first two games of the series over Xavier behind stellar pitching from Charlie West and Cayden Suchy. West leads the Big East in strikeouts (106) and Suchy leads the conference in ERA (2.61).
Xavier was limited to just one run and eight hits in those two losses before a 6-1 victory in the series finale March 29. Chronister tossed six scoreless innings in that win while the offense was anchored by homers from Burdette and Stonehouse.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier baseball aims for NCAA automatic bid at Big East Tournament
Continue reading...
