By Robbie Dzierzanowski, Staff Writer

Xavier Men’s Baseball continues through the dog days of Big East Play as they sit at just under a .500 record for the season with 21 games left to play.

The Musketeers are 17-18 on the season with a .468 record and are 3-3 in Big East Conference play, 1-2 against UConn and 2-1 against Creighton. 

The Muskies are riding a two-game win streak to keep them within shooting distance of an at-large bid to the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament, which starts after the Big East Championship which will take place from May 22 to May 25 at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio.

The Muskies started the season off on a road trip to the south when they took on the Clemson Tigers and dropped all three games, putting them at 0-3 to start the season. They quickly bounced back to 2-3 with a two-game win streak against Louisville and Lipscomb, winning both games by a combined 13 runs. The Muskies then split the last two games of the Lipscomb slate, going for a combined 2-1 against the Bisons.

The Muskies then traveled home on Feb. 27 to take on the Bearcats from the University of Cincinnati. The team defended their home field, beating the rivals with a final score of 11-9. Next up was a three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast, which the Muskies won by a final game total of 2-1, bringing the Muskies back above .500 on the season in early March. 

The biggest series of the season, against then No. 2 LSU, kicked off in mid-March with the Muskies losing the first two, but Xavier’s pitching staff combined for 12 strikeouts as the men clutched up a win in their last game against the Tigers. The one run that the Tigers scored was a season low for the defending NCAA National Champions. Senior pitcher Nick Boyle started the game off strong with only one run allowed on four hits, as he topped his previous career high with six strikeouts, set the week prior. 

After the LSU triumph, the Muskies went on a three-game skid, going 0-3 against Wright State and dropping two games against Indiana State at home before clinching the third game 4-2 on March 17.

The Muskies returned to action in Knoxville against the University of Tennessee – Knoxville Volunteers where they lost 2-10 and returned home two days later to win a pair against VCU before dropping the third game of the set. 

As it stands now, Xavier sits at the middle of the pack in the 2024 Big East standings, within clawing reach of St. John’s and UConn who are both  4-2 in conference play. The Muskies are tied for fifth with Creighton, who is also 3-3 in conference play. Overall, Georgetown has been dominating in conference play, sitting at 25-9 on the season and 8-1 in conference play. Their record, though, is not enough to propel the Hoyas into a ranked position in the national standings.

The Musketeers are riding a two-game win streak as they travel across town to UC Baseball Stadium taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats again on Wed. Apr. 17. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.