The Musketeers move to 5-9 with a series against Evansville next weekend

By Will Pembroke, Multimedia Show Manager

In a four-game series last weekend against arch-rival University of Cincinnati (UC), Xavier baseball won two of four games, defined by a strong offensive performance.

Game one was easily the lowest-scoring of the bunch, with the Musketeers winning 2-1. Sophomore outfielder Alex Helmin’s solo home run in the second inning gave Xavier the advantage they needed, and the pitching staff did the rest. 

Senior pitcher Trevor Olson dominated on the mound, allowing only three hits and one earned run in seven innings. 

Olson also threw seven strikeouts and zero walks, earning him his first win of the season. Graduate student pitcher Trey Schramm picked up his second save of the year, sending three batters packing in a quick two innings.

The second game was one to forget for Xavier, surrendering 22 runs and ending  with a final of 22-7. 

Junior third baseman Jack Housinger and junior catcher Luke Stephenson drove in three and two runs, respectively. Junior outfielder Andrew Walker and Stephenson also  recorded two hits apiece. It was what could only be described as a rough outing for the pitching staff, surrendering 21 earned runs on 22 hits and 11 walks.

The Musketeers turned things around in game three versus UC, securing their second win with a final tally of 16-8. 

Solo home runs by Helmin, freshman catcher Matthew Deprey and junior infielder Jackson Kaplowitz combined with a grand slam by graduate student catcher Natale Monastra were nearly enough to defeat Cincinnati on their own. 

Monastra was the star of the show, tacking up three hits, three runs and seven RBI’s with just four at-bats. 

Helmin added in three RBIs of his own in the same amount of at-bats, with Stephenson also hitting in three. 

Freshman right-hander Dorsey Chatham improved to 1-1 on the season, allowing one earned run and striking out four.

The last game of the four-game series was hard fought, seeing Cincinnati score six runs in the final three and a half innings to win 7-2 over the Musketeers. 

Three Xavier errors scored two unearned runs during the ballgame, but that did not stop freshman right-handed pitcher Connor Bailey from having an impressive outing. 

In five innings pitched, the freshman allowed only three hits and two walks, striking out five and allowing only a single earned run.

Xavier baseball’s next matchup will be a four-game series taking place March 26-28 at Evansville before the Musketeers take on Dayton.