Courtesy of GoXavier.com
CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball claimed its first regular season BIG EAST title Saturday afternoon, capping Senior Day with a 9-0 win over Villanova at Hayden Field.
Trent Astle took the mound to start the game and proceeded to pitch seven shutout innings before turning it over to Greg Jacknewitz to close things out. Joe Gellenbeck continued his torried streak at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two homers and six RBI – including a grand slam that landed on top of the O’Connor Sports Center.
Xavier concludes the regular season with a 27-28 record (14-4 BIG EAST), ripping off wins in 13 of its final 15 games to hang a banner. The Musketeers also finished the year with wins in their last six weekend series.
Villanova finishes its season 20-32 overall (5-13 BIG EAST). Starter Ryan Doty’s final line was 5 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, and 2 K.
XU AT THE PLATE
· Every Musketeer that came to the plate recorded a hit and four Xavier players had multi-hit games. Dan Rizzie (2-for-5, R), Joe Gellenbeck (2-for-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Chris Givin (2-for-4), and David Morton (2-for-3, R) all had two hits.
· Rizzie’s multi-hit performance was his team-leading 20th of the season. The senior catcher has also reached base in a team-leading 17 straight games.
· Joe Gellenbeck had a pair of home runs to bring his season total to 12, tying him for the team and BIG EAST lead with Andre Jernigan. Gellenbeck’s second inning grand slam blew the game open, as Xavier stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning.
· Rylan Bannon (1-for-4, RBI), Andre Jernigan (1-for-4, R), Nate Soria (1-for-4, R), Will LaRue (1-for-3, RBI), Matt Fallon (1-for-4, RBI) also had hits for Xavier.
XU ON THE MOUND
· Trent Astle (4-4) scattered four hits across seven innings, while striking out four and walking two. He tied a season-high with the seven inning outing and lowered his season ERA to 6.08.
· In BIG EAST play, Astle improved to 3-0 with a 2.82 ERA – winning three of his last four starts.
· Greg Jacknewitz relieved Astle in the eighth and picked up right where Astle left off, allowing just one hit over the final two innings of play. The junior lefty also struck out two of the seven batters he faced and walked one.
HOW XU SCORED
SECOND INNING: Nate Soria got the inning started with a single and advanced to third on a double byWill LaRue. Matt Fallon put the Musketeers on the board with a single, and Rylan Bannon followed that up with a single of his own to score LaRue. The bases were loaded and the stage was set for Joe Gellenbeck, last weekend’s hero, who promptly deposited a fastball on top of the O’Connor Sports Center for a grand slam. After the second inning it was 6-0 Musketeers.
FIFTH INNING: Andre Jernigan doubled off the left field wall, Nate Soria was hit by a pitch, and Chris Givin singled to load the bases. Will LaRue hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Jernigan and giving Xavier a 7-0 lead.
SIXTH INNING: Dan Rizzie singled to get on base for Joe Gellenbeck hitting behind him, who launched another bomb. His opposite field homer extended the lead to 9-0 and that would be all the offense Xavier needed.
UP NEXT
· Xavier travels to Aberdeen, Maryland next week as the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST tournament. The Musketeers will face fourth-seeded St. John’s in the first game at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium on Thursday, May 26 at 3:30 p.m.
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