Xavier Baseball 2025

[X-band '01]

The baseball team released their schedule for 2025 - they open the season with 4 neutral-field contests in Arizona against Oregon State (2), Indiana and UNLV. Some of the highlighted series include 4 at Stanford, 3 at Vandy, 3 at Tulane, midweek games against Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee, LSU and SE Louisiana along with a series at Penn State on the final week of the regular season.

Another aggressive schedule, but there are no real big names coming to Hayden Field/Prasco Park this year. Everyone of note that Xavier is playing will be on the road.

[GoMuskies]

I think I may need to go to that Tulane series. I won't go to any of the games, probably, but I'd happily meet the baseball parents in the Quarter in the evenings.

[paulxu]

Xavier baseball parents are amazing. They flat out travel.
When XU visits Wofford, I go and meet a lot of them.

[94GRAD]

Congrats Coach O'Conner on his contract extension.

https://x.com/XavierBASE/status/1866223438781985052

[X-band '01]

Let's not forget that Xavier was in the hunt for an at-large NCAA bid last year despite a middling overall record. Well deserved for Billy.

[paulxu]

Pro pitchers and catchers report this week.
Muskie's first game Friday in Arizona.
5 weeks on the road until 1st home game March 21st.

Let's go Muskies!

[muskiefan82]

Is being on the road so much at the beginning of the year mostly about weather?

[GoMuskies]

Is being on the road so much at the beginning of the year mostly about weather?

Yes

[bjf123]

Is being on the road so much at the beginning of the year mostly about weather?

That’s why the Reds originally always opened at home. They were the most southern team in the NL way back when.


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[xudash]

That’s why the Reds originally always opened at home. They were the most southern team in the NL way back when.


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That’s interesting. I always thought it was because the Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.

[paulxu]

That’s interesting. I always thought it was because the Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.

That was my understanding as well.

[bjf123]

That’s interesting. I always thought it was because the Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.

I think that’s the reason the tradition continues now. The Reds don’t play the first game any more, but they do always opened at home.


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[noteggs]

That’s why the Reds originally always opened at home. They were the most southern team in the NL way back when.


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Correct. The hidden secret.

[GoMuskies]

Hoping for 1 win and close games otherwise out in Surprise this weekend. And then there will be a week off, because the forecast for the Louisville game is 27 and snow.

[GoMuskies]

Xavier is only a +300 underdog in the opener vs. Oregon State this afternoon. So, winning is plausible....

[paulxu]

Hoping for 1 win and close games otherwise out in Surprise this weekend. And then there will be a week off, because the forecast for the Louisville game is 27 and snow.

Hah! Should have scheduled Wofford. Louisville is just too far North.

[Xville]

I've been wanting to go to the Xavier-Louisville game for a few years now..seems like they play every year, but it's almost always this early in the season, and the weather is typically complete trash. I did go maybe a decade ago when the weather was just slightly mediocre, but man baseball just seems harder than most sports to sit thru when it's not warm and sunny.

[GoMuskies]

Kind of ugly in Surprise through 3. 8 combined walks and one hit between the two squads. 1-0 Beavs after three.

[GoMuskies]

Xavier hitters are currently 0 for 13. Also, Xavier hitters currently have a .350 on base percentage.

[GoMuskies]

X leads 2-1 after 6 despite having zero base hits. They've received 9 free passes from Oregon State pitchers and scored a run on a wild pitch.

Oregon State only has one hit so far themselves.

Xavier got its first hit...and it was a bomb. 3-1 X top 7

Fun while it lasted. 4 Beaver runs in the 7th. All scoring with 2 outs. 5-3 Beavs, still batting.

[GoMuskies]

Wins over Indiana and UNLV and a pretty close call against Oregon State so far. Good weekend. Hopefully a strong showing in the return engagement against Oregon State tomorrow.

[GoMuskies]

I guess we know X's pitching depth. Trail Oregon State 13-2 in the 6th today.

[Xville]

I guess we know X's pitching depth. Trail Oregon State 13-2 in the 6th today.

Is Oregon state good? I know very little about college baseball outside of the sec and acc being good

[GoMuskies]

They're ranked 7th.

[Xville]

They're ranked 7th.

Ah, so pretty decent then? lol. Thanks!

[X-band '01]

Back from exile just in time for the really important season. Xavier by far had the best opening weekend of anyone in the Big East, even at 2-2. Getting wins against UNLV and Indiana helped take the sting out of two Oregon State losses.

Won't get to meet Xville down in Louisville though - game postponed due to winter weather tomorrow. Not sure if that'll be rescheduled.

[GoMuskies]

X blew a 7-0 5th inning lead and lost 10-7 to the Jerry Falwell Flamers.

[X-band '01]

Now it's Liberty's turn to blow an early lead and watch their bullpen go up in flames.

Xavier now up 9-5 in the top of the 8th inning in Game 2.

[GoMuskies]

X rallies again. 3 in the 8th to go up 5-4.

[X-band '01]

Won the first 3-game series. Now they get a midweek rematch at Indiana before heading west for 4 at Stanford.

[GoMuskies]

The next 14 games (really the 13 after IU this week) is about the most brutal stretch of scheduling I've ever seen. Good luck to our Muskies between now and March 16!

[XUMIOH12]

The next 14 games (really the 13 after IU this week) is about the most brutal stretch of scheduling I've ever seen. Good luck to our Muskies between now and March 16!

Yeah, no kidding haha. Insane stretch of games, hopefully they can pick up *some* wins. Not to mention after that stretch they come home, and after the Ball St series, they get a quick game at Kentucky and jump right in to league play against Connecticut.

[GoMuskies]

X just jumped out to a 5-4 lead over IU in Bloomington. X still batting in the top of the 6th.

[X-band '01]

That was after IU tied the game in the 5th. Would love to see Xavier not let this opportunity go to waste.

[GoMuskies]

Finished off the Hoosiers 8-4 for the season sweep. Good luck to our Muskies over the next 13 games!

[xudash]

Finished off the Hoosiers 8-4 for the season sweep. Good luck to our Muskies over the next 13 games!

I take it that we can consider these guys to be pretty good? Seems like an impressive start to the season.

[GoMuskies]

I take it that we can consider these guys to be pretty good? Seems like an impressive start to the season.

Seem pretty good. We'll find out how good over the next three week stretch.

[GoMuskies]

So Xavier is 8 games in and stands at 5-3. Still very early, but teams have played enough games that Warren Nolan rankings are starting to take shape. In the RPI, Xavier is currently #22. In the ELO rankings, which are more of a power rating (an actual attempt to rank teams based on their strength), Xavier sits at #62. Both pretty good numbers for Xavier early on. I mentinoed the next 13 game stretch, and here is what Xavier faces:

@ Stanford x4 (8-0; RPI #27; ELO #51)
@ Tennessee (8-0; RPI #4; ELO #2)
@ Vandy x3 (8-1; RPI #11; ELO #9)
@ LSU (8-1; RPI #142; ELO #5)
@ Southeastern Louisiana (7-2; RPI #64; ELO #117)
@ Tulane x3 (7-1; RPI #3; ELO #41)

Should be some kind of ride for our guys.

[GoMuskies]

Xavier's opponents in these next 13 games have combined for 53 CWS appearances (all of them at least once; all of them other than SE Louisiana multiple times) and 11 national titles (2 each for Stanford and Vandy and 7 for LSU).

Oops, take it back down to 52 CWS appearancs. SELA's one appearance was in the Division II CWS.

[X-band '01]

So far, so good early in Game #1 with Connor Misch getting a 2-RBI single in the top of the 3rd to give Xavier a 2-0 lead at Stanford.

UPDATE: Naturally, Xavier walks the leadoff man in the 3rd and Stanford promptly ties the game with a home run to tie the game.

[94GRAD]

So far, so good early in Game #1 with Connor Misch getting a 2-RBI single in the top of the 3rd to give Xavier a 2-0 lead at Stanford.

UPDATE: Naturally, Xavier walks the leadoff man in the 3rd and Stanford promptly ties the game with a home run to tie the game.

Way to jinx it. :crazy:

[GoMuskies]

X up 5-4 bottom 9. Trying to avoid blowing a 5-1 lead.

Two pitching changes later....Muskies win!

Do it again in about 20 minutes.

[X-band '01]

Looking like it's going to be a 4-game split with Xavier winning 11-3 in the final game of the series. Not bad at all considering Stanford came into the weekend undefeated at 8-0.

[GoMuskies]

Good start to the tough stretch.

[GoMuskies]

Xavier has the #2 RPI currently.

[GoMuskies]

Your #1 Xavier Musketeers travel to Knoxville to face Tennessee tonight at 5:30.

OK, it's RPI on March 5, but when has Xavier baseball evern been ranked #1 in the country by any metric?

[muskiefan82]

Your #1 Xavier Musketeers travel to Knoxville to face Tennessee tonight at 5:30.

OK, it's RPI on March 5, but when has Xavier baseball evern been ranked #1 in the country by any metric?

#1 vs. #1

[GoMuskies]

It's a real event. Bubba Wallace is throwing out the first pitch.

[GoMuskies]

X is a 4.5 run underdog. +500 on the ML. o/u 14 runs

[GoMuskies]

Don't think it's going to happen for X tonight. Loaded the bases with 0 outs in the 6th and came away with nada. Down 4-1 bottom 6.

[X-band '01]

Had a couple of notifications on the game while at Hinkle - Xavier was up 1-0 after 3 innings but quickly devolved into trailing 11-1 after 6 innings and ended up losing 13-1. Wonder how much Tennessee returned from their national championship team from last year.

Now time to buckle up with 4 more games coming against the heart of the SEC. Hopefully they can pick up at least one win at Vandy this weekend.

[GoMuskies]

This stretch of games isn't disappointing in its difficulty. Xavier is 2-6 and has been outscored by a combined 63-26. Alex Box Stadium and #2 LSU await tonight.

Xavier is #2 in RPI on the strength of its schedule and 88th in the ELO. If they can take the benefits of playing against such tough competition without having it destroy confidence, the Muskies might be set to go on a tear....starting as early as tomorrow at SE Louisiana. Tulane is good, but they're not Stanford, Tennessee, LSU or Vanday. And after that Ball State and a procession of Big East weaklings. I'm optimistic.

[GoMuskies]

18-4 at LSU. Rough.

[X-band '01]

Hey now, Xavier outscored them 4-1 after the first three innings!

In all seriousness, hopefully they got the mercy rule games out of their system. Vandy was even worse for the bats over the weekend.

[GoMuskies]

The team went a combined 3 for 32 in a 7-4 loss to SE LA.

[X-band '01]

Xavier finally starts their home schedule with a come-from-behind walk-off win against Ball State. Trailed 5-3 in the 9th before a pair of walks and 3 consecutive hits gave the Musketeers the W.

They'll play a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 11:30 AM with rain in the forecast on Sunday.

[GoMuskies]

Sweet. I was following along and saw we were behind. Hadn't seen that we won. Ball State is a pretty solid MAC squad.

[GoMuskies]

Hopefully we're starting to see the kamikaze scheduling pay off. X leads Ball State 9-2 in the 6th trying to clinch the series win.

[X-band '01]

And now hopefully they can finish off a sweep of Ball State. Something that last year's team only managed to do once last year (against a pitiful Butler team).

[X-band '01]

Today was a stress free sweep for the guys. And this was against a Ball State team picked to finish first in the MAC.

Next up will be a midweek game at Kentucky before they begin Big East play with back-to-back home series against UConn and Butler.

[GoMuskies]

Sweet

[muskiefan82]

X with a victory over UK 6-2 tonight. Big win

[X-band '01]

It's the end of 7 innings. Not a win just yet, but Logan Schmidt had a good midweek start with 6.1 IP tonight.

[muskiefan82]

X with a victory over UK 6-2 tonight. Big win

Lol. Oops. They did still win though. 9-3

[GoMuskies]

4-0 since kamikaze roadie.

[X-band '01]

Now 3-30 all time against Kentucky, yet for some reason is going to be the #2 headline on Victory Parkway tonight.

[GoMuskies]

#2 (RPI) Xavier kicks off the Big East season at home against UConn at 3:00 today.

[GoMuskies]

X entered the 9th with an 8-1 lead, but UConn was able to get the tying run to the plate trailing 8-6 with two outs. But that's as close as they got, and X is now 13-13, 1-0 with 5 straight wins.

[X-band '01]

Xavier won the opener 8-6 after UConn's 5-run rally fell short in the 9th.

Tomorrow will be a doubleheader with bad weather forecast for Sunday.

[X-band '01]

X entered the 9th with an 8-1 lead, but UConn was able to get the tying run to the plate trailing 8-6 with two outs. But that's as close as they got, and X is now 13-13, 1-0 with 5 straight wins.

What should have been a 1-2-3 double play turned into an errant throw behind the plate; that was when UConn had the bases loaded and nobody out at that time.

[Section 200]

What should have been a 1-2-3 double play turned into an errant throw behind the plate; that was when UConn had the bases loaded and nobody out at that time.

Always fun to beat UConn! Let's get the series

[GoMuskies]

X fell from 2 to 5 in the RPI with the win. Unfair! LOL

[X-band '01]

Ended up splitting today's doubleheader and win the series. X and UConn were the only teams that played league games this weekend; everyone else gets in on the act next week.

Best moment of the day came from Billy O'Conner's young daughter during the postgame interview - she gave a Horns Down sign as they went off the air.

[Section 200]

Ended up splitting today's doubleheader and win the series. X and UConn were the only teams that played league games this weekend; everyone else gets in on the act next week.

Best moment of the day came from Billy O'Conner's young daughter during the postgame interview - she gave a Horns Down sign as they went off the air.


That's wonderful! Go baseball Muskies!

[X-band '01]

Xavier may end up getting a tougher challenge from Mother Nature than Butler this weekend. They've adjusted the schedule for a 10 AM doubleheader tomorrow and a 10 AM start on Saturday. With rain in the forecast until Sunday, good luck getting all 3 games in.

[GoMuskies]

Two out, 3 run HR for X to take a 5-4 lead in the 8th. Hopefully will avoid what would be a BAD home loss to Butler.

[bjf123]

Held on for the win to take the series.


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[X-band '01]

Getting a sweep against Mother Nature won't be easy.

[Section 200]

9-0 X over Butler after 2 including a HR that cleared Victory Parkway!

[GoMuskies]

This would make X 10-1 after "the stretch".

[bjf123]

9-0 X over Butler after 2 including a HR that cleared Victory Parkway!

So you’re telling me I need to check for batters at the plate if I’m driving by a game?


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[X-band '01]

Xavier ended up making Butler tap out 14-1 after 7 innings. That was the 9th time Butler had the mercy rule invoked on them.

Heck, they lost 31-5 at Tarleton back in February when they finally called the game in the 8th inning.

Now Xavier gets the first leg of the Joe Nuxhall Classic against Miami on Tuesday in Prasco Park. No rain in the forecast at all for a change.

[GoMuskies]

Baseball America lists Xavier as one of the first four out for an NCAA Tournament bid (along with UC).

The Muskies beat Miami 6-4 last night and will tangle with Wright State tonight in the finals of the Joe Nuxhall Classic.

[GoMuskies]

Big series between 2 of the best teams in the Big East (Creighton would be the third team in that convo) getting started in Queens. Xavier is 5-1 in the league. St. John's is 3-0.

[X-band '01]

Also hoping there's not a hangover from Wednesday night; Xavier had what looked like a comeback inning in the 9th until Wright State walked off with a home run.

But yeah, the Johnnies are coming off of a sweep of Seton Hall.

[X-band '01]

Got a gift run in the 2nd off of a balk by St. John's; hopefully X can hold the lead in the opener.

[bobbiemcgee]

Lost in 10th 😶 game 2 today

[Section 200]

Tough game in Queens - after a really tough called ball on strike 3 with the next pitch an 3 run double for St. John’s, our manager gets tossed. Appeared to get his money worth with the umpire. We rallied but ultimately lost 8-6. Awful weather in this series - too bad X wasn’t at home this weekend.

[X-band '01]

On the bright side, Xavier did not suffer another walk-off loss. They simply got mugged in Queens.

I'd say their next series at Villanova should be easier, but the Wildcats are in 2nd place at the moment with series wins against both Georgetown and Butler.

[muskiefan82]

X defeats UC 7-6. Very nice.

[X-band '01]

Xavier has exposed Villanova like a Playboy model in the first two games of the weekend series. Had 5 double plays in today's victory.

[muskiefan82]

Sweep of Villanova with 3 runs in the 9th. Love it

[X-band '01]

Even better was Creighton sweeping St. John's to put the Musketeers back into a first-place tie with UConn.

This week Xavier gets 2 midweek games with UC visiting Hayden Field today and a trip to Wright State tomorrow.

[GoMuskies]

With Georgetown and Seton Hal coming up in the conference, Xavier looks in great shape to go to Creighton at the end of the year only playing for seeding.

[GoMuskies]

X up 14-2 bottom 5 going for the season sweep of a surprisingly decent UC team. (Surprisingly because it's surprising when UC doesn't completely suck at something). Carter Hendrickson's grand slam was the top highlight so far.

[GoMuskies]

Walkoff grand slam in the 10th to win the opener against Georgetown today. Up 1-0 in the second in game #2. 9-4 in the Big East for now.

Now up 6-2 in the 4th. Promising.

[X-band '01]

Doubleheader sweep. Didn't realize until watching today's game that Georgetown's ace from last year (Cody Bowker) transferred to Vandy and already got a win against the Musketeers earlier in the season.

Elsewhere, UConn has now won a pair of games at St. John's this weekend and Creighton won their series opener at home against Villanova. X is now tied with UConn for 1st place with the tiebreaker in hand.

[X-band '01]

NCAA Bracket Projection - Baseball America (https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-ncaa-baseball-tournament-bracket-projected-field-of-64-april-23/#google_vignette)

This was from earlier in the week - Xavier is currently projected as the Big East autobid as the #3 seed in the Chapel Hill regional with North Carolina. UC and UConn are among the first four out at the moment.

As for some of Xavier's noncon opponents: LSU was #3 overall, Tennessee was #5, Vandy was #8 and Oregon State was #9. Kentucky would be a #2 seed in the WVU Regional and both Ball State and Wright State would be #4 seeds in their respective regions as well.

[profson]

Which means if X does not win the BE tournament it projects as last four in or first four out.

[GoMuskies]

6-1 lead in the second today. Sweep would be excellent, obviously.

[muskiefan82]

I think you mean 8-1 heading into the bottom of the 4th. Lol

[muskiefan82]

And 9-2 final. Sweep!

[GoMuskies]

Tough midweek loss to a pretty good Miami team. They're 18-6 in the MAC.

[X-band '01]

Maybe it's a good thing that was the last of the midweek games. Not good if Xavier needs an at-large bid, but now their remaining games are 3 games at home against Seton Hall, 3 at Creighton to finish the Big East and a 3-game nonconference series at Penn State to close out the regular season.

Seton Hall is only a game back of St. John's for the final playoff spot in the Big East Tournament; Xavier, UConn and Creighton are all but locked in to the first three spots at the moment.

[X-band '01]

Rain has caused some headaches with scheduling, but so far this weekend Xavier and Seton Hall split their first two games in the final Hayden Field series this year.

X put on a 6-run 5th inning and currently lead 7-3 in the rubber game of the series.

[GoMuskies]

13-5 and 4th place is a real possibility.

[Xville]

Saw that x went 1-2 against creighton. Are the at large chances hanging by a thread or pretty much shot? I saw the rpi is sitting at 43? Does it all come down to the last series this weekend?

[GoMuskies]

I think we're probably out of the at-large discussion. Perhaps if we sweep Penn State and get to the championship game and lose...but pretty unlikely. Just win the Big East tournament.

[X-band '01]

Xavier lost a tough walk-off game on Saturday. What's more concerning is that Xavier is only 3-6 against teams in the Big East Tournament. They did beat UConn twice but got swept at St. John's. Xavier will likely be the 4 seed in the field unless the Johnnies somehow have a bedwetting against Butler in either one of the 3 games in that series.

[GoMuskies]

On3 has Xavier as one of the first four out. So perhaps I've been underestimating X's chances to make the field after all. I think it's clear that they HAVE to win the series at Penn State to have a shot, though. Penn State is 29-20, 15-15 in the Big East and #80 RPI. Won't be easy, but it's definitely a winnable series.

https://www.on3.com/news/field-of-64-projections-two-new-hosts-spark-changes-through-ncaa-tournament-college-baseball-final-week/

[X-band '01]

And by Big East, we know you meant B1G. That league certainly got better with the 4 West Coast teams.

[GoMuskies]

Ah yes, sorry, they're .500 in the Big Ten.

[X-band '01]

On3 has Xavier as one of the first four out. So perhaps I've been underestimating X's chances to make the field after all. I think it's clear that they HAVE to win the series at Penn State to have a shot, though. Penn State is 29-20, 15-15 in the Big East and #80 RPI. Won't be easy, but it's definitely a winnable series.

https://www.on3.com/news/field-of-64-projections-two-new-hosts-spark-changes-through-ncaa-tournament-college-baseball-final-week/

I also noticed there's a bit of an odd setup this weekend. The Thursday and Saturday games will be at Penn State but the Friday night game will be in Harrisburg at the AA Harrisburg Senators' home park.

[X-band '01]

Not the best way to go into the Big East Tournament, but Xavier did manage to avoid a sweep against Penn State with an 8-6 win today.

As for the Big East Tournament, Creighton and UConn tied for the regular season title and Creighton will be the #1 seed by virtue of their 2-1 record against UConn. Xavier will be the #3 seed and will play UConn at 6:30 Wednesday night, weather permitting. Creighton will play #4 seed St. John's at 2:30 PM Wednesday afternoon.

[GoMuskies]

We need a rally! Down 8-5 bottom 7.

[GoMuskies]

Boom tied!

[paulxu]

On to Creighton! Go Muskies!!

[bjf123]

On to Creighton! Go Muskies!!

Sweet! Let’s Go X!


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[GoMuskies]

6.1 scoreless from the bullpen yesterday. They're certainly taxed coming into today, but if we can get the W today we get tomorrow off to rest up for the championship on Saturday.

[X-band '01]

Every team taxed their bullpen yesterday - it wasn't unique to Xavier. Even Creighton's pitcher of the year and their bullpen had a hard time throwing strikes. Not surprised at a pair of high-scoring games with the wind blowing out (just like a night at Wrigley when the wind blows out).

Should be a good matchup tonight with a pair of star freshmen (Piech for X, Magers for Creighton) on the mound. Xavier does have a knack for torturing Creighton when it comes to postseason play.

[GoMuskies]

Just checking out Piech's season stats...and really the only question is whether he throws strikes. If he throws strikes, Xavier should win tonight. But his relationship with the strike zone is complicated. Batters hit just .174 against him, but he's walked 45 in 56.2 innings of work. That's not ideal.

[GoMuskies]

By the way, D1 Baseball has X listed as the second team out in its latest projections, so there is still SOME hope if X gets to the championship game and loses. But it's a pretty dim hope.

[X-band '01]

First game with UConn/St. John's has been pushed back to 3:30 because of rain; Xavier-Creighton won't start until 7:30 PM at the earliest. There has to be a 60-minute window in between games.

[GoMuskies]

Glad I didn't bet on that game, because I would NOT have bet on UConn coming off what happened to them last night.

[GoMuskies]

Not one of the good days with the strike zone.

[GoMuskies]

Well, it was a nice season.

[GoMuskies]

If Murray State can go into Oxford and win a regional, there's hope for Xavier.

If UALR wins a regional at LSU, there's hope for EVERYONE!

[Xville]

3 what you would call mid majors in the super regionals: UTSA, Murray State and Coastal Carolina. Although, Coastal Carolina has had a legit program for a while now and even won the whole damn thing a few years ago.

[X-band '01]

They didn't win their regional, but Wright State did knock out #1 seeded Vandy to at least make it to the regional final. They ended up losing to Louisville.