Xavier advances with 6-5 win over Seton Hall in BIG EAST Championship tournament
MASON, Ohio (WKRC) - No. 2 seed Xavier baseball advanced in the winner's bracket of the 2023 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, taking a 6-5 win over No. 3 seed Seton Hall on Wednesday night at Prasco Park. The Musketeers moved to 35-22 overall, the second most wins in a season in program history, with the 2009 team's 39-21 standing as the school record.
Seton Hall struck first, taking a 1-0 lead on a solo home run in the first. Xavier responded in the bottom of the frame, with Jack Housinger leading off with a double, and coming home on an RBI single from Andrew Walker to tie it up at 1-1.
The tie held into the third, where Housinger again led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from Andrew Walker to give Xavier its first lead of the game at 2-1. The Pirates tied it up again with a run in the fourth, with the 2-2 tie holding into the bottom of the fifth where Xavier moved in front.
Jack Housinger got aboard with his third double of the day, then moved to third on an error. Andrew Walker put the ball into play, reaching on a fielder's choice and picking up the RBI as Housinger scored. Walker stole second and scored on a single from Tyler DeMartino to make it a 4-2 Xavier lead.
Seton Hall picked up a run in the sixth, with the Musketeers taking the one-run lead into the eighth where Xavier added a pair of runs on two hits. Carter Hendrickson singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a sac bunt from Grant Stephenson and moved to third on a fly ball from Matthew DePrey. Hendrickson made it 5-3 Xavier lead, scoring on a wild pitch, and then Jack Housinger, who got aboard with an intentional walk, made it 6-3 Xavier, scoring on a single from Andrew Walker.
Brant Alazaus made the start, going into the ninth inning, with six strikeouts. After Seton Hall scored pair of runs to make it a 6-5 ballgame, Justin Loer entered to pick up the final two outs.
Xavier returns to Prasco Park on Thursday, playing No. 1 seed UConn in the winner's bracket, set for a 6:30 p.m. start. UConn advanced with a 5-4 win over Georgetown in the opening game of the tournament.
Courtesy: Xavier University Athletics
