Courtesy of GoXavier.com
CINCINNATI – After clinching a BIG EAST regular season title for the first time, Xavier baseball swept the conference’s weekly awards on Monday as Joe Gellenbeck and Zac Lowther were honored as BIG EAST Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively.
Junior Trent Astle was also recognized on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Gellenbeck, after collecting two walk-offs last week against Creighton, continued to be clutch for the Musketeers in the Villanova series. The junior first baseman hit .400 (6-for-15), leading Xavier to a sweep with two homers and seven RBI.
On Thursday, his walk-off single gave the Musketeers a 1-0 win in the series opener. On Saturday, Gellenbeck had a huge performance – going 2-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI, including a second inning grand slam. The St. Xavier grad was responsible for six of Xavier’s nine runs as the Musketeers clinched the conference title.
Lowther dominated in his lone start last week, limiting Villanova to four hits over a career-high eight innings in a 1-0 win for Xavier. The sophomore lefty tied a career-high with eight strikeouts and picked up his sixth win of the season. Villanova batted just .138 against Lowther, who has now lasted at least five innings in all 14 of his starts this season.
Astle pitched Xavier to the BIG EAST regular season title on Saturday, tying a season-high with a strong seven-inning outing. The junior lefty limited the Wildcats to four hits, while striking out four and walking two. He also won his third start in his last four outings, improving to 3-0 with a 2.82 ERA in BIG EAST play.
TEAM NOTES
· XU claimed its first-ever BIG EAST regular season title on Saturday, clinching the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament for the first time as well.
· The Musketeers have now won 13 of 15 and ripped off five straight series wins after a 1-2 start in league play.
· The sweep of Villanova was XU’s fifth weekend sweep of the year.
· Scott Googins won his 300th game as XU’s head coach on Thursday, a 1-0 win over the Wildcats.
UP NEXT
Xavier returns to action on Thursday, May 26, opening BIG EAST Tournament play against St. John’s at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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