Billy Layne Jr., Seton Hall
Seton Hall’s Layne Named #BIGEASTbase Pitcher Of The Week; Georgetown’s Bernauer Earns Player Accolades
NEW YORK – Seton Hall righty Billy Layne Jr., was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week after helping the Pirates clinch the series at Creighton and a BIG EAST Championship berth. Georgetown’s Alex Bernauer was named BIG EAST Player of the Week after a .700 average helped the Hoyas sweep Villanova and move up to third place in the standings with two weekends left.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Alex Bernauer, Georgetown, Sr., 1B (Sunnyvale, Calif.)
Georgetown senior first baseman Alex Bernauer went 11-for-14 in a 4-0 week for the Hoyas, 7-for-10 in league action in a series sweep at home against Villanova. Bernauer had multi-hit performances in all four contests. In the Friday opener against the Wildcats, he went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. In the second game of the Friday doubleheader, he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBI with a double and a home run. He capped the weekend with two hits and a walk in the 4-1 win for the Hoyas. It was Georgetown’s first BIG EAST series sweep since 2011. In midweek action against Mount St. Mary’s, the senior went 2-for-4 and added another five RBI, two runs on a double and a triple to make his weekly slugging percentage 1.143 and on-base percentage .667. He had 11 total RBI for the week.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Billy Layne, Jr., Seton Hall, Jr, RHP (Cliffwood Beach, N.J.)
Seton Hall junior righty Billy Layne Jr., turned in the best start of his career at Creighton on Sunday to clinch the series victory for the Pirates and a BIG EAST Championship berth. Layne Jr., pitched a career-best 8.1 scoreless innings, scattering just two hits, while striking out a career-high 11 batters and walking only two. The senior’s 11 strikeouts and 8.1 innings were highs for any Pirate pitcher this season.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Gehrig Parker, Butler, Sr., OF (Park Ridge, Ill.)
Parker helped Butler to a series win over Xavier by batting .417 (5-for-12) in the series, .312 for the week (5-for-16). Against Xavier, he had three runs, four RBI, a double and a home run for two wins. In the only loss of the weekend, Parker went 2-for-5 with two runs. On Saturday’s game to tie the series, he iced the game with a three-run home run.
Jamie Galazin, St. John’s, Sr., OF (Langhorne, Pa.)
In a 4-0 week for the Red Storm, Galazin batted a team high .438 (7-for-16) with a team best eight RBI. He recorded two extra-base hits, including a double in the ninth inning of Saturday’s contest to set up the game-winning hit. He finished that game 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Turner French, St. John’s, Jr., LHP (Wallingford, Conn.)
French appeared in three of St. John’s four outings last week, earning a win in the series finale against Liberty. French allowed no runs in 4.2 innings of work with just two hits and 64 pitches, striking out two. He walked none and limited opponents to a .133 batting average.
Ricky DeVito, Seton Hall, So., RHP (Staten Island, N.Y.)
DeVito earned the win in his Saturday start against Creighton as he allowed just one run over 6.2 innings. He struck out six batters and walked just two in the Pirates’ 2-1 victory over the Bluejays to tie the series. DeVito allowed five hits. He improved to 4-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.61.
Chris Givin, Xavier, Jr., SS (Castle Rock, Colo.)
Despite the series loss to Butler, Givin batted .429 (6-for-14) with four runs scored, a double, a triple and two RBI. Givin went a career high 5-for-5 with a double and a triple on Saturday, despite the 8-4 loss. His slugging percentage for the weekend was .643 and he had a .467 on-base percentage.