Xavier Sweeps Final BIG EAST Baseball Weekly Honors
NEW YORK – Xavier, the BIG EAST Regular Season Champions, swept the final BIG EAST weekly honors of the season as Joe Gellenbeck was named Player of the Week and Zac Lowther was named Pitcher of the Week. Xavier claimed its first-ever BIG EAST regular season title on Saturday. On Thursday, head coach Scott Googins won his 300th game as Xavier’s head coach.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JOE GELLENBECK, Xavier, R-So., 1B
Hit .353 in four games for Xavier, leading the team with two home runs, seven RBI and 12 total bases. In the sweep of Villanova, Gellenbeck hit .400 (6-for-15) to help Xavier win the BIG EAST regular season title out right. On Saturday, he went went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs, accounting for six runs of Xavier’s 9-0 win over Villanova as the Musketeer clinched the No. 1 seed. Four of the runs came from a second inning grand slam. He went 1-for-4 with a walk-off single in Thursday’s series opener, a 1-0 win. On Friday, he went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
ZAC LOWTHER, Xavier, So., LHP, Brooklyn Heights, Ohio
The sophomore lefty pitched eight innings of shutout baseball, scattering just four hits over his career-best inning count. Lowther tied a career-high with eight strikeouts against Villanova and picked up his sixth win of the season. Lowther had the Wildcats bat just .138 against him. He had just two walks over the eight innings, leading to a 1-0 Musketeer win.
BIG EAST Baseball Weekly Honor Roll
Nicky Lopez, Creighton, Jr., SS
Batted .333 (6-for-18), collecting his first two home runs of his Bluejay career in a series win at St. John’s. For the weekend, he had three runs, three RBI and a stolen base. He posted a.722 slugging and a .478 on-base percentage.
Chris Chiaradio, Seton Hall, Sr., SS, Teaneck, N.J.
Batted .526 with 10 hits, three runs, four RBI, two doubles and a triple in a 4-0 week for Seton Hall. In the leadoff spot, the Pirates’ shortstop added four stolen bases with at least two hits in all four games.
Cullen Dana, Seton Hall, Fr., LHP
Allowed just two runs over eight innings in a 5-2 win at Butler on Saturday. The lefty scattered just four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Joe Poduslenko, Seton Hall, Jr., 3B
Batted .500 in a 4-0 week for SHU with eight hits and six runs scored. On Thursday at Butler, Poduslenko went 4-for-4 four three runs scored, a double, an RIBI and two stolen bases.
Trent Astle, Xavier, Jr., LHP
Pitched Xavier to the BIG EAST regular season title on Saturday with a seven-inning outing that limited Villanova to four hits, with four strikeouts.