May is championship month in college baseball, and the first weekend could go a long way towards deciding who claims the Big East regular season crown when first-place Creighton (22-15, 9-3 Big East) opens a 3-game set at Charles Schwab Field Omaha against a Xavier club that sits just one game behind the Jays in the conference standings. After starting conference play 3-3 against Villanova and Georgetown, Ed Servais’ Bluejays have reeled off seven wins in their last eight contests — including a pair of 3-game sweeps over conference foes St. John’s and Butler — to ascend to the top spot in the conference with nine games left to decide the champion.
Since getting 2-hit three times and run-ruled twice in the span of six games, Creighton’s offense has taken off. Over the last eight games, CU is slashing .342/.427/.450 as a team, averaging 9.0 runs per game with 37 walks and 51 strikeouts. Their run differential during in that span is +30. Compare that to the 8-game stretch that preceded it where they slashed .201/.320/.326, had a 29:64 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and a -20 run differential. That improvement has been dramatic, and the results have followed suit, which is why they find themselves in the catbird seat with six of their nine remaining regular season conference games at home. The catch is those games, despite their favorable location, are going to be against the other three teams at the top of the league standings with the Jays in Xavier, Seton Hall, and UConn. As the stretch run begins, those four teams are separated by just two games. The Jays can’t afford to get ahead of themselves.
That brings us to Xavier. If you’ve followed the Big East since 2014, you’re familiar with the book on the Musketeers by now — their pitchers throw strikes and their hitters tattoo them. The 2023 X-Men are no exception. On the pitching side, they are ranked 62nd in the nation and 2nd in the Big East with a 2.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Offensively, they lead the Big East and ranked 29th and 31st nationally in home runs (75) and home runs per game (1.7) through 44 contests. For context, senior left fielder Jack Grace leads Creighton with 10 home runs this season. No one else on the team has more than four. Xavier’s lineup features three players with 11 round-trippers, two more with 10, one with six, and one with five. The Jays get ’em on, get ’em over, get ’em in. Xavier gets ’em on and then hunts mistakes they can launch into orbit to hang crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
The caveat to those styles is that they are byproducts of their ballparks. Charles Schwab Field Omaha is a true outcome venue in the sense that whatever a hitter gets, they earn. The dimensions are 325 feet down the lines in left and right field, 375 feet to the power alleys, and 408 feet to the straightaway center. Hayden Field, Xavier’s home field, is far, far, FAR more inviting to fly ball hitters with its dimensions of 310-380-310. In fact, the Musketeers have hit 34 of their 75 home runs in that ballpark despite 14 fewer games at home than on the road this season. They are averaging 2.3 homers per game at home and 1.4 per game on the road. Will that extra 15-20 feet turn home runs into fly outs for Xavier’s offense? Will Creighton be able to get on base and execute with runners in scoring position to the level they have over the past week and a half? That is usually what it comes down to when these two teams collide.
Series Schedule
- Game 1: Friday, May 5, 6:00 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
- Game 2: Saturday, May 6, 6:00 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
- Game 3: Sunday, May 7, 11:00 a.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
How to Watch: Friday and Sunday – FloBaseball.tv, Saturday – Nebraska Public Media
How to Listen: 1180 The Zone
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Creighton-Xavier Matchup Breakdown
Series History: Creighton leads the all-time series 18-16
Creighton
Head Coach: Ed Servais (640-378-1 at Creighton, 124-56 vs. Big East, 16-16 vs. Xavier)
2023 Record: 22-15 (Home: 11-4, Road: 9-11, Neutral: 2-0, Big East: 9-3)
2023 RPI: 107
Projected Starting Lineup
- C Hogan Helligso (RHB, So.) – .316 AVG | .407 OBP | .439 SLG | 21 R | 1 HR | 17 RBI | 4 SB | 10.6% BB | 19.5% K
- 1B Sterling Hayes (RHB, Sr.) – .288 AVG | .407 OBP | .416 SLG | 24 R | 1 HR | 25 RBI | 3 SB | 13.3% BB | 16.0% K
- 2B Andrew Meggs (RHB, Sr.) – .227 AVG | .339 OBP | .262 SLG | 29 R | 0 HR | 22 RBI | 3 SB | 13.9% BB | 12.0% K
- 3B Ben North (RHB, R-Fr.) – .198 AVG | .347 OBP | .306 SLG | 27 R | 2 HR | 13 RBI | 1 SB | 11.4% BB | 24.2% K
- SS Nolan Clifford (LHB, Jr.) – .282 AVG | .413 OBP | .411 SLG | 27 R | 3 HR | 25 RBI | 3 SB | 17.0% BB | 19.0% K
- LF Jack Grace (RHB, Sr.) – .310 AVG | .380 OBP | .593 SLG | 16 R | 10 HR | 26 RBI | 1 SB | 9.4% BB | 30.7% K
- CF Nolan Sailors (LHB, So.) – .331 AVG | .421 OBP | .541 SLG | 39 R | 4 HR | 29 RBI | 11 SB | 10.3% BB | 19.0% K
- RF Ben Gbur (RHB, Gr.) – .132 AVG | .283 OBP | .237 SLG | 11 R | 2 HR | 10 RBI | 3 SB | 14.1% BB | 27.2% K
- DH Tyler Lozano (RHB, Sr.) – .296 AVG | .368 OBP | .465 SLG | 25 R | 4 HR | 38 RBI | 2 SB | 10.0% BB | 19.4% K
Projected Weekend Rotation
- Friday: Jr. RHP Dominic Cancellieri – 3.70 ERA | 1.34 WHIP | .253 BAA | 11.17 K/9 | 3.07 BB/9 | 0.88 HR/9
- Saturday: Sr. RHP Ryan Windham – 3.61 ERA | 1.26 WHIP | .253 BAA | 6.78 K/9 | 2.68 BB/9 | 1.10 HR/9
- Sunday: Gr. RHP Justin Kleinsorge – 5.54 ERA | 1.41 WHIP | .255 BAA | 9.23 K/9 | 3.92 BB/9 | 0.69 HR/9
Xavier
Head Coach: Billy O’Conner (140-146 at Xavier, 62-44 vs. Big East, 8-9 vs. Creighton)
2023 Record: 27-17 (Home: 9-6, Road: 16-10, Neutral: 2-1, Big East: 8-4)
2023 RPI: 56
Projected Starting Lineup
- C Matthew DePrey (RHB, Jr.) – .317 AVG | .382 OBP | .546 SLG | 37 R | 11 HR | 30 RBI | 2 SB | 6.9% BB | 17.7% K
- 1B Matt McCormick (LHB, Sr.) – .353 AVG | .460 OBP | .622 SLG | 33 R | 11 HR | 29 RBI | 0 SB | 11.2% BB | 14.4% K
- 2B Jared Cushing (RHB, Sr.) – .292 AVG | .358 OBP | .524 SLG | 32 R | 10 HR | 40 RBI | 4 SB | 8.6% BB | 16.1% K
- 3B Grant Stephenson (RHB, Sr.) – .223 AVG | .273 OBP | .331 SLG | 17 R | 3 HR | 17 RBI | 0 SB | 4.0% BB | 30.9% K
- SS Jack Housinger (LHB, Gr.) – .207 AVG | .379 OBP | .470 SLG | 40 R | 11 HR | 29 RBI | 7 SB | 19.0% BB | 23.3% K
- LF Andrew Walker (LHB, Gr.) – .314 AVG | .379 OBP | .484 SLG | 38 R | 6 HR | 37 RBI | 15 SB | 9.1% BB | 15.8% K
- CF Carter Hendrickson (RHB, So.) – .267 AVG | .401 OBP | .443 SLG | 27 R | 5 HR | 21 RBI | 2 SB | 13.7% BB | 18.0% K
- RF Alex Helmin (RHB, Sr.) – .308 AVG | .365 OBP | .492 SLG | 12 R | 2 HR | 19 RBI | 3 SB | 6.9% BB | 31.9% K
- DH Tyler DeMartino (RHB, Sr.) – .283 AVG | .361 OBP | .613 SLG | 25 R | 10 HR | 26 RBI | 1 SB | 5.0% BB | 14.3% K
Projected Weekend Rotation
- Friday: Sr. RHP Ethan Bosacker – 3.74 ERA | 1.18 WHIP | .244 BAA | 9.55 K/9 | 2.63 BB/9 | 1.38 HR/9
- Saturday: Gr. LHP Brant Alazaus – 4.74 ERA | 1.03 WHIP | .237 BAA | 9.26 K/9 | 1.16 BB/9 | 2.03 HR/9
- Sunday: So. RHP Luke Hoskins – 5.62 ERA | 1.32 WHIP | .266 BAA | 6.22 K/9 | 2.56 BB/9 | 2.38 HR/9
2023 Big East Baseball Standings
- Creighton (22-15, 9-3 Big East, RPI: 107)
- UConn (32-11, 8-3 Big East, RPI: 17)
- Xavier (27-17, 8-4 Big East, RPI: 56)
- Seton Hall (25-19, 7-5 Big East, RPI: 164)
- Georgetown (24-21, 7-7 Big East, RPI: 134)
- Villanova (11-31, 5-9 Big East, RPI: 266)
- St. John’s (22-21, 3-8 Big East, RPI: 138)
- Butler (9-35, 2-10 Big East, RPI: 240)