Xavier eliminated from Big East Tournament, await possible at-large bid to NCAA Tournament
MASON − Xavier baseball will have a long weekend wait before finding out its NCAA Tournament fate after being eliminated from the Big East Tournament on Friday, May 23.
Facing No. 2-seed UConn for the second time in three days, Xavier's hard-hitting lineup ran into a left-handed nightmare on the mound on a sun-splashed afternoon at Prasco Park and the Huskies high-scoring lineup punished Xavier pitching in an 11-2 victory.
"They beat us today. They put together really good at-bats, they pitched better than us, they played better defense than us. Not that you ever want to lose by a lot, but we got beat today," Xavier head coach Billy O'Conner said. "There’s not one play you look back on and think it was the difference-maker. They played better than us.”
UConn (38-20) advances to play fellow co-Big East Regular Season champion and top-seeded Creighton in the Big East Championship on Saturday. Xavier faces an agonizing wait to see if its season will continue.
"There's gonna be a time for hugs, goodbyes and tears, but it's not now," O'Conner said. "I think we've got more season ahead of us."
Will Xavier baseball make NCAA Tournament after loss to UConn Huskies?
Friday's tilt was a battle between two NCAA Tournament bubble teams with the winner setting themselves up nicely to be picked to get shipped to a regional site, regardless of what happens against Creighton.
Xavier was ranked No. 35 in RPI (UConn was No. 40) and had won three of the previous four matchups with the Huskies, counting a series win at Hayden Field in March.
USA Today bracketology had Creighton, Xavier and UConn each grabbing No. 3 seeds in their respective regionals.
Xavier (32-27) will find out if it made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons during the selection show on Monday, May 26 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
"We're gonna need some things to break our way and hope that they look at the metrics we've compiled," O'Conner said. "Last year we were in this situation, and it was hoping that somehow they'd sneak us in. This year, I feel like we deserve to be in. I believe that we will be in when it's all said and done."
Xavier's bats silenced by UConn left-hander Charlie West
Xavier's offense racked up 19 runs and 27 hits over the first two days of the Big East Tournament.
On Friday, UConn southpaw Charlie West, who entered 5-0 with a 2.54 ERA over 14 appearances (seven starts), made quick work of the Musketeer lineup.
West permitted just two hits − doubles by Luke Hammond and Aedan Anderson − over five shutout innings. Xavier was facing a 10-0 deficit when it finally dented the scoreboard on Jake Lambdin's solo homer to lead off the sixth inning.
"He (West) has some unique traits to his fastball that allows it to carry a little bit and miss some barrels," O'Conner said. "He's had success all year. Today, he was pretty good about pounding the zone."
Xavier chased West from the contest in the seventh when he walked the bases loaded. Lambdin gave Xavier another run with a walk against UConn reliever Sean Finn, who struck out Nolan Tucker one batter later to strand the bases loaded.
UConn's Ryan Daniels does damage as UConn pulls away from Xavier
Scoreless going into the bottom of the third inning, UConn second baseman Ryan Daniels, the Big East Player of the Year, delivered the icebreaker with a two-run ground-rule double off of Xavier starter Logan Schmidt.
UConn got RBI singles by Tyler Minick and Rob Rispoli to take a 4-0 lead after four innings.
Daniels opened the fifth inning with an opposite field homer to jumpstart a momentous six-run frame. Schmidt was pulled after giving up the homer and back-to-back singles, then Xavier reliever Jake Hooker allowed three runs off a pair of hits and two walks, recording just one out.
UConn third baseman Bryan Padilla and Rispoli each ripped two-run singles to give the Huskies a 10-0 advantage.
UConn added an unearned run in the eighth inning against Xavier freshman Jack DeTienne.
For the event, Xavier pitching had a combined 9.00 ERA, allowing 33 hits and walking 26 batters while striking out 32 over 26 innings.