#BIGEASTbase Play Continues For Week Two
BIG EAST Baseball Update - 4.12.19
NEW YORK - BIG EAST play continues into week two with Xavier at the top of the standings at 3-0 after sweeping Georgetown last week. St. John's and Seton Hall are in second with 2-1 records. The Red Storm will host Xavier, while Seton Hall is on the road with a league bye at Texas Christian. Creighton, which is receiving votes in two of the national polls, will play at Butler this weekend, the first league series for the Bluejays. Butler is tied with Villanova at 1-2 in the standings. The Wildcats will host the 0-3 Georgetown Hoyas.
BIG EAST Standings to date:
Xavier, 3-0, 12-21
St. John's, 2-1, 18-11
Seton Hall, 2-1, 14-15
Butler, 1-2, 17-13
Villanova, 1-2, 8-22
Georgetown, 0-3, 9-24
Creighton, 0-0, 17-7
In Store for the Weekend:
Georgetown at Villanova
Georgetown will play its second BIG EAST series in a row on the road this weekend, playing at regional foe Villanova. Villanova, similarly, will host for the second consecutive weekend. Both teams need a series win in the standings. The Hoyas were swept at Xavier last weekend, while the Wildcats lost two to Seton Hall. Friday's series opener will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Georgetown is coming off a midweek win over Coppin State, 4-3. Villanova is also fresh off a victory, having defeated local-rival Saint Joseph's 8-7 in 10 innings on Tuesday. Last season, Georgetown swept Villanova at home. The series win had boosted the Hoyas to fourth in the conference. The Hoyas were the No. 4 seed in last year's BIG EAST tournament.
Xavier at St. John's
St. John's has won 15 of its last 17 games, three in a row with a series-clinching win at Butler and two midweek victories over LIU-Brooklyn in 11 innings and Albany. The Red Storm's pitching rotation of Joe LaSorsa, Sean Mooney and Jeff Belge have combined for a 0.95 ERA at home. With the help of their hurlers, St. John's is 10-0 at the friendly confines of Jack Kaiser Stadium, "The Jack." Xavier comes to Queens with a record of 12-21 against one of the toughest schedules in the country and opened BIG EAST play last weekend with a series sweep of Georgetown. The series between the Musketeers and Red Storm features both weekly honors with Player of the Week Allbry Major from Xavier and Pitcher of the Week Joe Kelly from St. John's. Kelly boasted a win and two saves in relief last week for the Red Storm. Major leads XU offensively with a team-best .320 batting average with 15 extra base hits. In the overall St. John's-Xavier series, the Red Storm leads the regular season with a 12-3 record. However, in postseason play, Xavier is unbeaten against St. John's at 4-0, en route to three titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017. SJU swept Xavier in Cincinnati last year. The Red Storm posted a school record 34 runs in a 34-7 victory.
Creighton at Butler
Creighton's weekend series at Butler is the first for the Bluejays in league play this season. Butler is hosting its second BIG EAST series having lost two to St. John's last week. Creighton is coming off a 10-2 road victory over rival Nebraska, evening the series between the two teams 1-1. The rubber match will be at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on April 23. Creighton has won 10 of their last 12 games. The Bulldogs lost 12-5 in midweek action to Ball State this week. Creighton leads Butler in the all-time series, 10-3. Last season, weather shortened the series and the two teams played on neutral ground at SIUE. Butler and Creighton split the shortened series, 1-1, which ended up being played as a doubleheader. In Indianapolis, Creighton has a slight advantage, 3-2.
Seton Hall's Non-League Bye Weekend at Texas Christian
Seton Hall is coming off an emotional weekend where the Pirates took two at Villanova, then split their midweek contests 1-1, falling at Rider 11-8 and defeating Princeton 7-2. The Pirates head to Fort Worth for a first-time meeting against the Horned Frogs. TCU enters the weekend 20-11 overall. They earned a key win over then-No. 1 Vanderbilt, 10-2, to start the season. Saturday's game in the three-game series will air on FOX Sports Southwest.
BIG EAST Mourns the Loss of a Legend
After a brilliant life as both a family man and baseball legend, Mike Sheppard, Sr., a Seton Hall University student-athlete, coach and employee for more than 60 years, died on Saturday, April 6. Mike Sheppard, Sr., served as Seton Hall's head baseball coach from 1973-2003, recording 28 winning seasons, 15 BIG EAST tournament appearances and 12 NCAA tournament berths. Sheppard was the first to be named BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 1985, and received two additional honors in 1987 and 1989. He won the BIG EAST Tournament title in 1987. Prior to the formation of the BIG EAST Conference, Sheppard led Seton Hall to two College World Series appearances (1874, 75). Sheppard holds a career record of 998-540-11 and ranks in the top 75 on the list of NCAA's all-time winningest coaches by victories. In league play, he ranks second in victories with a record of 248-157-1, behind his former player and son-in-law Ed Blankmeyer, current head coach at St. John's University. Since 2003, he has been a positive voice for the Pirates as he remained part of the program as the Head Coach Emeritus. Throughout the week of April 7, teams throughout the BIG EAST held moments of silence for the great Pirate mentor.
Upcoming Weekend Schedule
FRIDAY, April 12
XAVIER at ST. JOHN'S, 3 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at VILLANOVA, 3 p.m. (BEDN)
SETON HALL at Texas Christian, 3 p.m.
CREIGHTON at BUTLER, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 13
GEORGETOWN at VILLANOVA, 1 p.m.
XAVIER at ST. JOHN'S, 1 p.m.
CREIGHTON at BUTLER, 2 p.m.
SETON HALL at Texas Christian, 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, April 14
GEORGETOWN at VILLANOVA, 12 p.m.
XAVIER at ST. JOHN'S, 12 p.m.
CREIGHTON at BUTLER, 1 p.m.
SETON HALL at Texas Christian, 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, April 16
Fairleigh Dickinson at ST. JOHN'S, 3 p.m.
SETON HALL at Monmouth, 3:30 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at Navy, 6 p.m.
XAVIER at Ohio State, 6:35 p.m.
BUTLER at Purdue, 7 p.m.