BIG EAST Championship Central
 
MASON, Ohio  – An offensive explosion in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader followed a pitchers’ duel in game one as it was a tale of two very different games at the 2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by Jeep at Prasco Park.
 
Many single-game tournament records were broken in the winners’ bracket as No. 1 seed Creighton defeated No. 3 seed St. John’s 17-13 to advance to the title game. Earlier in the day No. 2 seed Xavier defeated No. 4 seed Seton Hall, 2-1.
 
Due to potential weather issues on Sunday, Saturday’s elimination game was moved up to 1 p.m. Xavier and St. John’s will have a rematch of Thursday night’s opener.
 
The championship game will also be played on Saturday. Top-seeded Creighton will play the winner of St. John’s/Xavier at 6 p.m. Should Creighton lose, there will be a winner-take-all game 7 on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Creighton (37-11) has not advanced to a title game since 2016 and has never won the tournament.
 
Xavier 2, Seton Hall 1
A pair of home runs, from Conor Grammes and Chris Givin, provided all the scoring Xavier (26-30) would need to move on in BIG EAST Tournament play as the No. 2 seed Musketeers topped Seton Hall, 2-1. In addition to Grammes’ lead off blast to right field, the junior also went 7.0 innings in the start, holding the Pirates scoreless on two hits and four walks with a pair of strikeouts. Grammes picked up the win, his fifth of the season. A combo of Trey Schramm and Lane Flamm closed out the game for the Musketeers. Schramm allowed just one hit, a lead-off homer in the ninth after entering in the eighth. Flamm finished with a pair of strikeouts in three batters faced to secure the win and his eighth save of the season. Givin provided the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth with a lead-off solo shot to left field. Casey Dana hit a solo shot for Seton Hall in the ninth inning. He finished 1-for-2 for the Pirates with two hit-by-pitches. Seton Hall junior Noah Thompson pitched an eight-inning compete game. He struck out five batters and walked three. Seton Hall was the first team eliminated from the tournament and finished the season with a 25-28 record.

 
 
Creighton 17, St. John’s 13
A BIG EAST record nine combined home runs were scored as Creighton downed St. John’s, 17-13. The combined score of 30 broke the old tournament record of 28 set by West Virginia (20) and Pittsburg (8) in 2009. Creighton’s six home runs topped the previous mark of five set by Notre Dame (2005) and Connecticut (1990).  The Bluejays also recorded 39 total bases, six more than the old record of 33 set by Rutgers in 2010.  The teams’ combined 66 total bases also eclipsed the previous record of 58 set between Rutgers and Connecticut in that aforementioned 2010 contest. Individually, St. John’s Mike Antico’s five hits tied the single-game record matched by six other players, including the Red Storm’s Greg Hopkins in 2009 against Cincinnati.  Creighton’s David Vilches tied the single-game home run record with two while setting a new conference tournament mark with seven RBIs. Friday night’s scoring came in bunches.  St. John’s (31-22) registered the game’s first three runs before Creighton responded with nine unanswered.  The Red Storm then plated eight straight to take an 11-9 lead before the Bluejays scored nine in a row to blow the game open. 


 
2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented By Jeep 
Thursday, May 23 – First Round
Game 1: No. 1 Creighton 10, No. 4 Seton Hall 9
Game 2: No. 3 St. John’s 2, No. 2 Xavier 0
 
Friday, May 24 – Second Round
Game 3: No. 2 Xavier 2, No. 4 Seton Hall 1
Game 4: No. 1 Creighton 17, No. 3 St. John’s 13
 
Saturday, May 25 – Semifinal (BEDN)
Game 5: No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 3 St. John’s, 1 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 6: No. 1 Creighton vs. Game 5 winner at 6 p.m. ET
 
Sunday, May 26 – Championship (FS2) – if necessary **
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 1 p.m. ET
**an If-necessary game will be played should the Game 4 winner lose in Game 6 **