Xavier leads the standings with a 7-1 BIG EAST record.
#BIGEASTbase Weekend Preview – Midway Through The Season
BIG EAST Weekly Update with stats (4.26.19)
NEW YORK – BIG EAST baseball has reached the midway point of the season with Xavier and Creighton sitting at the top of the standings with one loss each. The two teams will play each other in Omaha this weekend with a three-game series starting on Friday night on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi. John Bishop and Dave Gustafson will be on the call.
Currently, the Bluejays, ranked 15
th in the RPI continue to receive votes in two national polls.
St. John’s, currently third in the league standings at 5-4, travels to Georgetown, tied for fifth at 2-4. Seton Hall hosts Butler at Jack Kaiser Stadium in Queens, N.Y.
Villanova will have the bye weekend with a non-league series at Delaware.
BIG EAST Standings to date:
Xavier, 7-1, 17-23
Creighton, 5-1, 24-8
St. John’s, 5-4, 23-14
Villanova, 3-6, 10-28
Seton Hall, 2-4, 16-21
Georgetown, 2-4, 13-27
Butler, 2-6, 20-18
In Store for the Weekend:
Xavier at Creighton
Xavier (7-1) and Creighton (5-1) lead the top of the league standings with one loss each. The clash in Omaha will be a top 60 RPI league series as Creighton is currently ranked 15th in the RPI and Xavier moving up from 77 last week to 59 this Monday. Both Xavier and Creighton are coming off series sweeps last weekend as the Bluejays took three from Seton Hall in Staten Island and Xavier won both games in a shortened series against Butler. Creighton leads the overall series over Xavier, 11-9. Last season, the Bluejays took two against the Musketeers in Cincinnati. This weekend is Xavier’s second BIG EAST series on the road. Xavier won the St. John’s series 2-1 in Queens. This will be Creighton’s first home league series. Creighton went 2-0 in non-league games this week. The Bluejays won the series against local foe Nebraska with a final 2-1 win at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Creighton also defeated Kansas 6-5. Xavier defeated Miami of Ohio 13-4. The series opener between the two teams will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
St. John’s at Georgetown
Georgetown (2-4) is coming off a non-league weekend series win over Rider (2-0), but lost 18-6 to George Washington in midweek action. St. John’s (5-4) came back from down a game in the series against Villanova to win the next two games with a run margin of 27-7. St. John’s comes into the weekend on a three-game winning streak also having defeated Stony Brook 6-3 on Tuesday. St. John’s is currently in third in the league standings, while Georgetown is tied for fifth. Like St. John’s, Georgetown also took two games from Villanova. Both the Red Storm and Hoyas were defeated by league-leader Xavier. The Musketeers swept the Hoyas and took two from the Red Storm. The series between Georgetown and St. John’s dates back to 1984. St. John’s is 64-14 overall against Georgetown and have won eight of the last nine games.
Butler at Seton Hall
The series between Butler and Seton Hall will take place at Jack Kaiser Stadium in Queens this weekend as Owen T. Carroll continues to undergo upgrades all season long. It is also a series between two two-win teams in the league as Butler is 2-6 in BIG EAST play and Seton Hall 2-4. Both the Bulldogs and Pirates have lost their respective series against Creighton. Seton Hall was swept last weekend, while Butler lost two of three at home. In midweek action, Seton Hall lost 5-2 to Penn. Butler defeated Northern Kentucky 9-5 and Indiana University Kokomo 3-2. Uniquely in 2018, Butler and Seton Hall played eachother five times. Seton Hall swept Butler in the regular season, then in the tournament, Butler defeated Seton Hall 2-1 in a first-round 13 inning affair. The Pirates responded with a 4-3 victory in the final elimination game. Seton Hall is currently tied for fifth in the standings, but is one series behind Butler. The Bulldogs have already played the top three teams in the current conference standings.
Villanova’s Non-League Weekend at Delaware
Villanova’s three-game series at Delaware has been shortened by weather as the Friday opener was cancelled due to weather. Villanova is currently fourth in the BIG EAST standings with a 3-6 record. The Wildcats have won at least one game in each of the series’ losses to Georgetown, St. John’s and Seton Hall.
Pepiot Chases Strikeout Record
Butler junior right-hander Ryan Pepiot heads into the weekend with 278 career strikeouts, two shy of the all-time Butler record of 280, which is held by major-leaguer Pat Neshek (2000-02). Pepiot recorded 13 strikeouts against Xavier last weekend in a no-decision which ended up in a 6-5 loss. Pepiot’s season total is 98 strikeouts, which is fifth in the NCAA.
Upcoming Weekend Schedule
FRIDAY, April 26
ST. JOHN’S at GEORGETOWN, 7 p.m.
XAVIER at CREIGHTON, 7:30 p.m. (BEDN)
SATURDAY, April 27
BUTLER at SETON HALL,* 12 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Delaware, 1 p.m.
BUTLER at SETON HALL,* 3 p.m. (approx.)
ST. JOHN’S at GEORGETOWN, 7 p.m.
XAVIER at CREIGHTON, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, April 28
BUTLER at SETON HALL,* 1 p.m.
ST. JOHN’S at GEORGETOWN, 1 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Delaware, 1 p.m.
XAVIER at CREIGHTON, 1:30 p.m.