Bosacker Throws Complete Game Shutout, Xavier Tops Eastern Illinois in NCAA Nashville Regional - Big East Conference Skip To Main Content

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Bosacker Throws Complete Game Shutout, Xavier Tops Eastern Illinois in NCAA Nashville Regional

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Ethan Bosacker threw a complete game shutout on Saturday afternoon, leading the Xavier baseball team to a 7-0 win over Eastern Illinois in the NCAA Nashville Regional at Hawkins Field.

The Musketeers (38-24) will play the winner of the Oregon/Vanderbilt (game played on June 3 at 9 p.m. ET) in Sunday's elimination game at 3 p.m. ET. 

Xavier took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jared Cushing crossed home plate on a RBI ground out to shortstop by Grant Stephenson. The Musketeers took a 4-0 advantage in the fifth inning on a three-run homer to right field by Andrew Walker.

A two-RBI single through the left side by Matt McCormick in the seventh inning pushed Xavier's advantage to 6-0. The Musketeers added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a RBI ground out by Andrew Walker.

Xavier held an 11-4 advantage in hits, the team's 30th game with 10 or more hits. Eastern Illinois left six more runners on base (9-3) than Xavier and committed the game's only error.

The Musketeers had eight stolen bases (on nine attempts), the most stolen bases in a game by a BIG EAST team this season. The eight stolen bases are the most in an NCAA Tournament game since May 29, 1988 (Clemson had 10 stolen bases in an 11-1 victory vs St. John's).
 
  • Ethan Bosacker (8-4) made his 16th start of the season and recorded his second career complete game (also had a complete game in an 8-4 win at Villanova on April 21, 2023). The complete game shutout is the second by a Musketeer pitcher this season as Brant Alazaus recorded a complete game shutout on May 5 at Creighton (W, 11-0). 
  • Ethan Bosacker recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming only the fourth player to eclipse the milestone in program history (ranks fourth in single-season history). The RHP threw six strikeouts vs the Panthers, increasing his season total to 101 strikeouts. He didn't issue a walk vs Eastern Illinois and only surrendered four hits.
  • Xavier has two pitchers with 100 or more strikeouts in the same season for the first time in program history. Teammate Brant Alazaus hit the milestone on Friday, June 2 vs Oregon in the opening game of the NCAA Nashville Regional (Alazaus has 102 strikeouts on the year).
  • The Xavier pitching staff now has three shutouts on the season. The Musketeers also had a shutout on March 3 at UC Santa Barbara (W, 2-0) and on May 5 at Creighton (W, 11-0). 
  • Andrew Walker went 2-for-4 at the plate with one stolen base, two runs and four RBI. He now has three games on the year with four RBI and 25 multi-hit games. The outfielder also hit his eighth home run of the season, his first home run since May 9 at Cincinnati.
  • Jack Housinger went 2-for-5 with two runs and one stolen base.  Garrett Schultz (2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base) and Jared Cushing (2-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases) also had multi-hit games. Schultz is 4-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI at the Nashville Regional.
  • Matt McCormick went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base, while Matthew DePrey went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Tyler DeMartino went 1-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.