MASON − In previewing the Big East Tournament, Xavier head coach Billy O’Conner said these high-stakes postseason games typically come down to timely hitting, defense and execution late in the game.
O’Conner must have felt like a prophet on Thursday, May 21, when No. 3 Xavier opened the tournament with clutch situational hitting, baserunning and stellar pitching in a 5-1 victory over No. 2 UConn at Prasco Park.
“We were really good situationally. We moved the baseball when we needed to, we took advantage of wild pitches,” O’Conner said. “We were really fundamentally sound. That’s how you win these games. That’s what we pride ourselves on. That’s what we talk about all the time, just catching and throwing the baseball, fundamentally sound.
“If you do that, you have a chance to win and that’s kind of what carried us today.”
Facing a UConn offense that was No. 1 in the Big East in scoring (7.3 runs per game in conference play), the Musketeers got a big-time performance from starting pitcher Ryan Piech.
The first-team All-Big East selection tossed a career-high 7 ⅔ innings, yielding just one run on four hits.
“He (Piech) competed like crazy. He’s talented as all get out and he’s had an unbelievable year and he’s carried us. Then he said, ‘everybody get on my back tonight,'” O’Conner said. “So happy for him to get the recognition and the payoff for all of the work he’s put in.”
Piech, a junior from Walsh Jesuit High School, threw 117 pitches before left-hander Garrett Helsel retired all four batters he faced out of the bullpen to seal the win.
As important as it was for Piech to post several zeros on the scoreboard, it was equally as vital for Xavier to still have plenty of fresh arms available in the bullpen going into what could be a busy weekend.
“Game 1, set us up to win the tournament. That’s what it’s all about, really,” Piech said. “You need performances to go our way. Just kind of keep fighting to live another day.”
O’Conner added: “That’s the idea. You gotta conserve pitching in this situation… For Ryan (Piech) to be able to eat innings like that, and not just eat innings but pitch well, man, incredible job by him.”
Xavier’s opportunistic offense breaks through against UConn lefty Charlie West
Nearly one year ago in the Big East Tournament, UConn starting pitcher Charlie West helped end Xavier’s season with 6⅓ innings of three-hit, two-run ball with five strikeouts.
The Big East’s strikeout leader and fellow first-team all-conference selection, West shutout the Musketeers over 6 ⅔ innings in March.
West retired the first nine Xavier hitters before Jorge Valdes singled to begin the fourth. He came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Jonathan Fritz for the game’s first run.
With the score tied 1-1 in the sixth, Valdes again led off with a base hit, followed by a Clay Burdette double. Valdes scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Josh Stonehouse.
Xavier would add three more in the inning, starting with an RBI single by Luke Hammond. Fritz and Hammond would each come into score on passed balls to make it 5-1 in a momentous frame.
“The second time through (the lineup), we started to put together some good at-bats,” O’Conner said.
Valdes finished 2-for-4 and reached base three times. Fritz also got aboard three times.
West’s five earned runs were a season-high in eight appearances against league foes.
Xavier Musketeers advance to play No. 1 St. John’s
After battling through one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules, Xavier is back to .500 (28-28) for the first time since Feb. 17 (2-2). The Musketeers have won nine of their last 12 contests.
“At the start of the year, we didn’t really have that much success against non-conference teams,” Valdes said. “We’d rather take those early and be hot later. I think all of us are coming together knowing who we are and playing as ourselves.”
Xavier advances to play No. 1 St. John’s in the second round of the Big East Tournament on Friday, May 22. It is scheduled to start no earlier than 9:02 a.m., the league announced. Xavier dropped two of three to St. John’s at Hayden Field in a high-scoring series last month.
A loss to St. John’s would send Xavier to an elimination game later in the day against either Creighton or UConn.
A victory over the top-seeded Johnnies would advance Xavier to Saturday’s championship round, needing just one win to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier baseball beats UConn to advance in Big East Tournament