Butler’s Pepiot, Xavier’s Givin Earn Final #BIGEASTbase Weekly Accolades For 2018
NEW YORK – The final BIG EAST Baseball weekly honors of the season were awarded to Xavier shortstop Chris Givin and Butler ace Ryan Pepiot.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Chris Givin, Xavier, Jr., SS (Castle Rock, Colo.)
Xavier junior short stop Chris Givin hit .524 (11-for-21) in four starts for the Musketeers in their last week of the season. Givin scored seven runs, pacing an offense which put up 57 over the 3-1 week. With a slugging percentage of .762, he homered, doubled twice and knocked in six runs. Givin walked three times to post a .583 on-base percentage at the leadoff spot. He tied a career-high with a five-hit game in the weekend opener against Villanova, helping XU to a 23-1 win. He scored four runs and knocked in three. The 23 runs were the most for Xavier since 2007. In Saturday’s extra-innings loss to VU, he went 2-for-6 with a pair of runs and an RBI. He scored a run and walked twice in the series closer on Saturday, helping Xavier to the series win.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Ryan Pepiot, Butler, So., RHP (Westfield, Ind.)
Butler sophomore righty Ryan Pepiot tossed eight innings of shutout baseball against then 12th-ranked St. John’s to earn the victory for the Bulldogs and secure a BIG EAST Tournament berth for the first time since joining the league in 2014. Pepiot struck out 10 and scattered just three hits, the first not until the third inning, over 113 pitches. The win ended up clinching a No. 3 seed in the upcoming tournament.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Evan Spry, Creighton, Fr., DH (Janeville, Wis.)
In non-league action against Nebraska-Omaha and California last week, Spry batted .333 (3-for-9), knocking in a run in all three games he started. In Thursday’s series opening win over Cal, 5-3, Spry hit his first career homer to key a four-run fifth inning to come-from-behind for the win.
Jake Bernstein, Georgetown, Sr., 2B (Frederick, Md.)
Bernstein hit safely in all three game for Georgetown in a 1-2 week batting .455 (5-for-11) with four RBI. He singled in each game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Seton Hall. Two of his hits were doubles.
Gavin Hollowell, St. John’s, So., RHP (Skillman, N.J.)
Hollowell had two appearances totaling 2.1 innings with just one hit in the Butler series to close out the regular season. The sophomore righty worked a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth of the series opener, clinching SJU’s ninth regular season title. In the series finale, logged a four-out save with inherited runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth. He needed just one pitch to get out of the jam.
Al Molina, Seton Hall, Sr., SS (Freehold, N.J.)
Molina was instrumental in the Georgetown doubleheader sweep on Saturday as he batted .625 (5-for-8) with four runs, two RBI, 1.000 slugging and a .667 on-base percentage. In game two, Molina erupted for three hits, including his third homer of the season. In the first game, he went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
David Gulati, Villanova, Sr., OF (Collegeville, Pa.)
Gulati finished his career by hitting safely in all fou7r games last week, including three multi-hit games. His two-run triple in the 11th inning at Xavier on Friday drove in the go-ahead runs of Villanova’s only BIG EAST win of the season. Gulati’s stat line for the week was .471 (8-for-17) with four RBI, three doubles, a triple, a stolen base and a home run.