Xavier’s Major; St. John’s Kelly Earn #BIGEASTbase Weekly Accolades
NEW YORK – After the first weekend of BIG EAST play, Xavier is at the top of the standings with a 3-0 record and a series sweep of Georgetown. St. John’s and Seton Hall also earned series victories. The Red Storm took two on the road at Butler and the Pirates won a pair at Villanova. Creighton went 2-1 in non-league action against Kansas State.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Allbry Major, Xavier, So., OF (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Xavier sophomore Allbry Major batted .462 in the Musketeers’ BIG EAST opening series sweep of Georgetown. His six hits tied for league best last weekend as he also plated three runs and scored one of his own. Of the three games, two were multi-hit appearances. He walked twice for an on-base percentage of .533. He had a pair of doubles in the series, including the walk-off double in the finale that brought in the game-winning run.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week
Joe Kelly, St. John’s, Sr., RHP (Glendora, Calif.)
St. John’s senior righty reliever Joe Kelly had a successful week on the mound for the Red Storm. Kelly posted two saves and a victory as St. John’s went 4-1, 2-1 in league play at Butler. During his three appearances, no runs were scored. He struck out six and walked none over a stretch of 5.2 innings. In the BIG EAST opener at Butler on Friday, he threw 2.0 scoreless innings to record the save, In the final contest of the series, he threw 3.0 frames over the course of two days. He tossed the bottom of the ninth before the game was suspended due to darkness. On Sunday, he resumed to pitch two innings, striking out four batters and tallying the W. The 5-4 victory in 11 innings gave St. John’s the series win. In non-league play against Saint Peter’s, he recorded the final two outs of the contest with the game-tying run on deck.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Harrison Freed, Butler, Jr., OF
Freed went 4-for-13 in a 1-2 series against St. John’s, but played a major role in the Bulldogs series-tying win on Saturday. Freed blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the second, then followed up to break a 6-6 tie with another three-run homer to give Butler the 11-7 victory.
Mitch Ragan, Creighton, Sr., RHP
Ragan delivered a solid win for the Bluejays in non-league play against Kansas State in the series opener with 7.0 innings of scoreless ball with three hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. He needed just 98 pitches in two-hour, 21 minute game.
Casey Dana, Seton Hall, So., 3B
Dana led the Pirates in batting last week with a .438 average, recording multiple hits in three of four contests. In a 2-1 series against Villanova, he went 5-for-13 (.385) with four runs, two RBI, a home run and a double. His leadoff double off the fence in the top of the 10th inning on Sunday set the table for the Pirates to scoring the winning run.
Nick LoRusso, Villanova, Fr., 3B/RHP
LoRusso made his third start on the mound in the series finale against Seton Hall. He tallied a season high seven strikeouts and allowed just six singles. He departed the game with a 5-1 lead, but Villanova eventually lost 7-5 in 10 innings.
Conor Grammes, Xavier, Jr., DH/RHP
Grammes had a no-decision on the mound in the second game of the Georgetown series sweep as he tossed 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits in an eventual 1-0 shutout. Grammes struck out 16 batters, two away from tying a BIG EAST record.