Baseball routs regional rivals
Paul Moeller
Associate Sports Editor
goxavier.com
Freshman infielder Drew Schmidt.
Sitting a mere 2.86 miles from Xavier’s campus, the University of Cincinnati’s Marge Schott Stadium is a beautiful ballpark that rivals many minor league facilities.
Given the storied rivalry between the two institutions, one could conclude that the stadium atmosphere is less than inviting. Yet the Xavier baseball team made the troublesome trek last Tuesday, running the gauntlet and emerging with a 9-5 victory.
Starting off slowly, the Musketeers trailed by a score of 3-0 after three innings. Following unsuccessful efforts in the fifth and sixth innings, Xavier came alive in the seventh to blow the game open with eight runs on seven hits. The Bearcats contributed to Xavier’s big inning by committing three costly errors.
The action began when sophomore Neil Lindgren reached first base on a UC throwing error. Senior Jordan Wolf, sophomore Sean Farrell and senior Adam Lipski each singled consecutively to get the first Xavier runs on the board.
Again with runners on second and third, junior Tyler Aholt bypassed the third baseman down the line to put the Musketeers up 6-4. Adding two more runs for a total of eight in the inning, Xavier achieved its second-best run scoring inning this season.
Senior Dan Graham earned the victory for the Musketeers, allowing four runs on eight Bearcat hits, and striking out three in the process.
Sophomore Joe Kohler relieved Graham and pitched the seventh and eighth innings.
Senior David Hartman sealed the deal in the ninth, securing the Musketeer victory and overcoming the harsh Clifton atmosphere.
The following evening, Xavier traveled to Columbus to take on the now-bitter opponent Ohio State Buckeyes. Heading into the ninth, the Musketeers trailed 3-1 and it looked as though Ohio State would triumph.
But freshman Bobby Freking and senior Jordan Wolf had other plans, each notching singles to help Xavier score three runs and steal the victory for the Musketeers by a score of 4-3.
No weekend is more important for the third-placed Xavier squad than this upcoming one. Nationally ranked Charlotte, currently first in the Atlantic 10, comes to town for a three game series beginning Thursday, May 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Tennis tandem tops team totem pole
Two Musketeer women’s golfers were honored Tuesday, April 24 as they were selected to Colonial Athletic Association All-Conference teams. Senior Kara Manis was chosen to the All-CAA First Team after leading Xavier in scoring average this season. Her scoring average of 77.41 and her round of one-under par, 70, were the lowest on the team this year. Freshman Mary Beth McKenna was named to the All-CAA Second Team. McKenna finished the season with the team’s second-best scoring average of 78.52.
Nine note-worthy times are no longer
School records were dropping like Verizon phone calls this past weekend as the Xavier men’s and women’s track teams attended two meets. The first, the Eastern Kentucky Invite, was held in Richmond, Kentucky on Friday, April 20. Sophomore Becky Clark improved her own school-record time in the 800 meters to 2:17.23. Sophomore Luke Beuerlein took ownership of the Xavier 1500-meter record, eclipsing the former record by almost three seconds, notching a time of 4:02.44. Lastly, junior Cody Ackerman also surpassed his own mark to set a new school record in the discus.
The Musketeers then traveled home to Cincinnati for the All-Ohio Outdoor Championships last Saturday and Sunday. Sophomore Clinton Womack took 10th place in the 800-meters and secured a school-record time of 1:54.00. Freshman Danielle Meiners topped her former record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, improving it to 11:30.11. The women’s track squad shined in the 10,000-meter run, placing three runners in the top eight. Senior Kelly Sraj, one of the three, surpassed junior Amanda Brown’s former school record by 12 seconds, finishing at 38:14. Next weekend, the Musketeer track teams will travel to Indianapolis for the Stan Lyons Invitational.
Notable net-missers notch top honors
Finishing the season with a 15-10 record, the Xavier men’s tennis team was honored as four Musketeers were named to Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams. Senior Jeremy Miller and sophomores Ra’ees Ismail and Doug Matthews all earned spots on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team. Not to be overlooked, freshman J.T. Torbeck was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. Ismail and Miller were also honored through mention on the conference All-Academic team. All four of these tennis standouts helped the Musketeers make their first Atlantic 10 Championship Match appearance since joining the league before the 1995-96 season.
