Tyler Sschedler-McAvoy, Seton Hall
#BIGEASTbase Weekend Preview - 4.18
BIG EAST Baseball Weekend Update - 4.17.19
NEW YORK – Week three of BIG EAST baseball starts on Thursday to accommodate for the Easter holiday. Xavier will host Butler, Seton Hall hosts Creighton and St. John’s hosts Villanova as Georgetown hosts Rider in non-conference action. The opener between Butler and Xavier will be on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi. Mike Schmaltz and Paul Fritschner have the call from Cincinnati.
All three visiting teams in last week’s league games won their respective series. Xavier took two in Queens from St. John’s to take sole place of first in the standings at 5-1. Creighton won two games in the series at Butler and Georgetown took two from Villanova in Pennsylvania.
BIG EAST Standings to date:
Xavier, 5-1, 14-23
Creighton, 2-1, 19-8
Seton Hall, 2-1, 16-17
St. John's, 3-3, 20-13
Butler, 2-4, 18-16
Georgetown, 2-4, 11-26
Villanova, 2-4, 9-24
In Store for the Weekend:
Butler at Xavier
Both Butler and Xavier are coming off road losses against powerful opponents. The Bulldogs lost 5-3 at Purdue, a game televised on FSI. The Musketeers lost 8-5 at Ohio State. Xavier currently leads the BIG EAST standings after two weekends of play with a 5-1 record. Xavier and Butler have both played St. John’s, the preseason favorite. The Musketeers won the series against the Red Storm in Queens, 2-1. The Bulldogs lost the series, 1-2 in Indianapolis. Butler is tied with three teams for fifth place currently at 2-4. Last year, Butler won the series against Xavier, taking two in Indianapolis. XU won the opener 9-6, but BU answered with victories of 8-4 and 6-4. Butler’s Connor Schultz is the reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, earning the shutout win over Creighton in last week’s series. Butler lost the series 1-2. Xavier leads the all-time series 57-33. Xavier’s strength of schedule is ranked third in the nation by D1baseball.com.
Creighton at Seton Hall
Both Creighton and Seton Hall have finished their BIG EAST byes for the season and both the Bluejays and the Pirates are 2-1 in the league standings, tied for second. Seton Hall is coming off a 1-2 non-league weekend at No. 19 Texas Christian. The Pirates downed the Horned Frogs, 7-3, in the final game of the road series. SHU also defeated Monmouth on Tuesday, 6-3. Creighton’s Jake Holton is the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, having won the award three times so far this season. Holton leads the league in batting (.392) and is second in home runs and RBI. The Bluejays won two last weekend in Indianapolis against Butler, with an extra-inning victory to start the series. Creighton is 4-0 this season in extra-inning baseball. With Owen T. Carroll Field renovations ongoing, the Pirates will host Creighton for three games at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, N.Y. In the BIG EAST preseason poll, the Bluejays and Pirates were tied at second with 25 points each. The Bluejays have won 14 of the first 20 games between the teams, but 13 of the 20 games have been decided by two runs or less. Last year however, the Pirates won their first series with Creighton in Omaha. The Hall dropped the opener, 4-2, but defeated the Bluejays, 2-1, on Saturday, and 3-0, on Sunday. Creighton is currently receiving votes in two national polls: NCBWA and USA Today.
Villanova at St. John’s
Both Villanova and St. John’s are coming off series losses last weekend. The Wildcats both games in a doubleheader on Saturday after defeating Georgetown in the series opener, 3-1. St. John’s lost the opener to Xavier, 11-8, but rallied back with a 14-inning victory to even it up. The Musketeers won the rubber match, 8-1. The series at St. John’s will be the first BIG EAST road series for Villanova this season. The Wildcats have yet to win a true road game. St. John’s is 12-2 at home. The only two losses were league losses. Villanova did not play a midweek game this week, but St. John’s is coming off a 11-4 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. Longtime BIG EAST foes, St. John’s and Villanova will meet for the 85th time in the history of the two programs on Thursday with the Red Storm holding a 56-28 advantage all-time in the series. SJU has won each of the last four sets between the two teams dating back to 2015, including a three-game sweep to open up conference play last season in Plymouth Meeting. The last time Villanova came to Jack Kaiser Stadium, the Wildcats played spoiler for the Red Storm in 2017. With St. John’s in need of a win on the final day of the regular season to clinch the top overall seed in the BIG EAST Baseball Championship, the Wildcats prevailed.
Georgetown’s Non-League Weekend At Rider
Georgetown has the league bye this weekend after taking two games at Villanova last weekend. The Hoyas are currently tied for fifth in the conference at 2-4. Georgetown lost a midweek game at Navy, 17-3. Against Villanova, Jack Cushing threw a complete game, allowing just two runs on five hits. Georgetown will host Rider for a three-game series this weekend with a single game Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
Pepiot Chases Strikeout Record
Butler junior right-hander Ryan Pepiot heads into the weekend with 265 career strikeouts. He leads the team, the BIG EAST Conference, and ranks fifth in the NCAA this year with 85 strikeouts. Pepiot ended his sophomore season with 101 K’s and tallied 79 as a rookie in 2017. The all-time strikeout leader at Butler is two-time MLB All-Star Pat Neshek. The Phillies big leaguer recorded 280 strikeouts at Butler from 2000-02.
Upcoming Weekend Schedule
THURSDAY, April 18
CREIGHTON at SETON HALL*, 1 p.m.
VILLANOVA at ST. JOHN’S, 1 p.m.
BUTLER at XAVIER, 3 p.m. (BEDN)
FRIDAY, April 19
CREIGHTON at SETON HALL*, 1 p.m.
VILLANOVA at ST. JOHN’S, 1 p.m.
BUTLER at XAVIER, 3 p.m.
Rider at GEORGETOWN, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 20
BUTLER at XAVIER , 1 p.m.
CREIGHTON at SETON HALL *, 1 p.m.
VILLANOVA at ST. JOHN’S, 1 p.m.
Rider at GEORGETOWN, 2 p.m.
Rider at GEORETOWN, 5 p.m.
* played in Staten Island, N.Y.