2011 Baseball Season Review

The Xavier baseball team began Atlantic 10 Conference play in late March with very high hopes and dreams of postseason success. The A-10 preseason coaches' poll picked the Musketeers to finish second in the league and senior first baseman Ben Thomas was picked to be the league's most valuable player. The Muskies were living up to their unusually high expectations by compiling a 14-8 non-conference record heading into the conference opener with Temple on March 25^th.  The 14-8 start had included a school-record nine game winning streak and a series win over nationally ranked Louisville.

The Muskies returned home from Louisville to post a 3-2 record on the first home stand of the season, including winning two out of three games in the A-10 opening series with Temple. The Musketeers then faced a difficult five game stretch which included a three game series with eventual league champion Charlotte and individual games at Ohio State and Kentucky. Xavier dropped all five contests and lost four of their next six games after that.

Xavier bounced back, however, with a sweep over UMass which put them back into solid footing in the A-10 conference standings. In order to receive an invitation to the A-10 conference tournament, Xavier had to finish in the top six of the league standings. Throughout the remainder of the season, XU treaded just enough water to stay in the race for a tournament spot. The extremely tight race went down to the wire, setting up a win-and-clinch scenario in Xavier's final game of the season against Fordham.

After defeating Fordham in game one of the series held in Bronx, NY on May 19^th-21st, Xavier dropped game two of the series by a score of 3-2, which would have clinched them a tournament spot. The loss set up a regular season finale with Fordham which would determine both teams' postseason fate. Fordham (12-10-1 in A-10) faced Xavier (13-10 in A-10) with both teams desperate for a win to extend their season. A win for Xavier would guarantee them a tournament berth, while a loss wouldcreate several tie breaking scenarios, dependent on other outcomes of A-10 contests.

The first pitch of the regular season finale was scheduled for 7:00 p.m; however, a rain delay pushed the start time back to approximately 7:55 p.m. The 55 minute rain delay and nine innings of baseball turned out to not be enough to determine who would move on into the tournament. The result of the game, and the postseason fate of each team, would not be determined until after midnight. With one out in the seventh inning in a 3-3 tie, Xavier head coach Scott Googins turned to sophomore right hander Seth Willoughby to take the mound.

Willoughby, the team's starting third baseman and closing pitcher, usually does not pitch more than an inning or two in normal save opportunities. This time, with the season on the line, Xavier relied on 6.1 scoreless and nearly flawless innings to keep the season alive. Willoughby struck out eight batters while surrendering just one hit and one walk in the longest outing of his career. He took Xavier into the 14^thinning in which the bats finally came alive for the Muskies, scoring five runs and taking an 8-3 lead. Fordham would only score one more run in the bottom of the 14^thinning, and Xavier held on to win 8-4.

The win clinched a fourth seed for XU in the A-10 Tournament and avoided a complicated four-way tie for the final two playoff spots. It marked the sixth straight A-10 Tournament appearance for Xavier, its fifth straight 20-win season, and its second 30-win season in three years. It also unfortunately marked the last victory of the season; as Xavier went on to lose their first two games of the double-elimination tournament. The end of the season marked the end of an era for a group of seniors that have been instrumental in turning around the Xavier program over the past four seasons.

The season began with dreams of winning the league and playing deep into this summer's NCAA Tournament. After the very strong start and series win over Louisville, those hopes appeared to be a realistic possibility at the time. The team's ultimate dream was not realized, but certain goals were—such as making the A-10 tournament. For one Xavier senior, A-10 MVP Ben Thomas, a lifelong dream was realized as he was recently selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 34^thround of the MLB Draft.

Thomas' 15 home runs in the 2011 season propelled him to first place all-time at Xavier with 44 career blasts. Fellow senior John McCambridge set the single-season record for hits with 86 and finished second all-time at Xavier with 265 hits in his four year career. Both players were selected as First-Team All-Conference honorees.

"The seniors came in when the program started turning around. They have their fingerprints all over the record books but more importantly they're the kind of guys who do it on the field and the classroom. It's always emotional at the end of the season because you're not going to have that group of guys anymore," said head coach Scott Googins.

When asked of what moments stood out in the 2011 season, Googins cited the 14-inning Fordham game at the end of the season and taking two out of three in the Louisville series.   

The Xavier baseball team began Atlantic 10 Conference play in late March with very high hopes and dreams of postseason success. The A-10 preseason coaches' poll picked the Musketeers to finish second in the league and senior first baseman Ben Thomas was picked to be the league's most valuable player. The Muskies were living up to their unusually high expectations by compiling a 14-8 non-conference record heading into the conference opener with Temple on March 25^th.  The 14-8 start had included a school-record nine game winning streak and a series win over nationally ranked Louisville.

The Muskies returned home from Louisville to post a 3-2 record on the first home stand of the season, including winning two out of three games in the A-10 opening series with Temple. The Musketeers then faced a difficult five game stretch which included a three game series with eventual league champion Charlotte and individual games at Ohio State and Kentucky. Xavier dropped all five contests and lost four of their next six games after that.

Xavier bounced back, however, with a sweep over UMass which put them back into solid footing in the A-10 conference standings. In order to receive an invitation to the A-10 conference tournament, Xavier had to finish in the top six of the league standings. Throughout the remainder of the season, XU treaded just enough water to stay in the race for a tournament spot. The extremely tight race went down to the wire, setting up a win-and-clinch scenario in Xavier's final game of the season against Fordham.

After defeating Fordham in game one of the series held in Bronx, NY on May 19^th-21st, Xavier dropped game two of the series by a score of 3-2, which would have clinched them a tournament spot. The loss set up a regular season finale with Fordham which would determine both teams' postseason fate. Fordham (12-10-1 in A-10) faced Xavier (13-10 in A-10) with both teams desperate for a win to extend their season. A win for Xavier would guarantee them a tournament berth, while a loss wouldcreate several tie breaking scenarios, dependent on other outcomes of A-10 contests.

The first pitch of the regular season finale was scheduled for 7:00 p.m; however, a rain delay pushed the start time back to approximately 7:55 p.m. The 55 minute rain delay and nine innings of baseball turned out to not be enough to determine who would move on into the tournament. The result of the game, and the postseason fate of each team, would not be determined until after midnight. With one out in the seventh inning in a 3-3 tie, Xavier head coach Scott Googins turned to sophomore right hander Seth Willoughby to take the mound.

Willoughby, the team's starting third baseman and closing pitcher, usually does not pitch more than an inning or two in normal save opportunities. This time, with the season on the line, Xavier relied on 6.1 scoreless and nearly flawless innings to keep the season alive. Willoughby struck out eight batters while surrendering just one hit and one walk in the longest outing of his career. He took Xavier into the 14^thinning in which the bats finally came alive for the Muskies, scoring five runs and taking an 8-3 lead. Fordham would only score one more run in the bottom of the 14^thinning, and Xavier held on to win 8-4.

The win clinched a fourth seed for XU in the A-10 Tournament and avoided a complicated four-way tie for the final two playoff spots. It marked the sixth straight A-10 Tournament appearance for Xavier, its fifth straight 20-win season, and its second 30-win season in three years. It also unfortunately marked the last victory of the season; as Xavier went on to lose their first two games of the double-elimination tournament. The end of the season marked the end of an era for a group of seniors that have been instrumental in turning around the Xavier program over the past four seasons.

The season began with dreams of winning the league and playing deep into this summer's NCAA Tournament. After the very strong start and series win over Louisville, those hopes appeared to be a realistic possibility at the time. The team's ultimate dream was not realized, but certain goals were—such as making the A-10 tournament. For one Xavier senior, A-10 MVP Ben Thomas, a lifelong dream was realized as he was recently selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 34^thround of the MLB Draft.

Thomas' 15 home runs in the 2011 season propelled him to first place all-time at Xavier with 44 career blasts. Fellow senior John McCambridge set the single-season record for hits with 86 and finished second all-time at Xavier with 265 hits in his four year career. Both players were selected as First-Team All-Conference honorees.

"The seniors came in when the program started turning around. They have their fingerprints all over the record books but more importantly they're the kind of guys who do it on the field and the classroom. It's always emotional at the end of the season because you're not going to have that group of guys anymore," said head coach Scott Googins.

When asked of what moments stood out in the 2011 season, Googins cited the 14-inning Fordham game at the end of the season and taking two out of three in the Louisville series.