Big East Week 10 recap

By Colton Watson

Georgetown—No one knows what to think of this conference anymore. The Georgetown Hoyas were looking like first place in the Big East was theirs for the taking after Creighton and St. John’s both faltered the previous week. Instead, an 0-4 week has the Hoyas down to 26-13 and 8-4 in Big East play. The got swept at home by UConn, who’s looking like the team we thought they’d be before the season started, in 3 one-run ball games. Next week’s series was looking like a huge Big East showdown, but with the kookiness of recent results, it seems like every series for every team will have a ton of weight to them. Looking ahead: vs George Washington 4/23, at Creighton (BEC) 4/26-28.

Butler—Stop me if you’ve heard this before—Butler baseball has a losing week. A 16-10 slugfest got the Bulldogs started with a win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, but three consecutive losses to Miami (OH) and St. John’s twice meant that the best Butler could do was 2-3. They did salvage the Sunday game at St. John’s (BEC), bringing their season record to 15-24 and 2-7 in conference play. Looking ahead: at Eastern Illinois 4/23, vs Seton Hall (BEC) 4/26-28.

St. John’s—a 2-2 week isn’t exactly what St John’s had in mind coming off their first losing weekend in two months, but another BEC weekend series win has them back on track (sort of) nonetheless. A midweek loss to Columbia, who gave up international geopolitics long enough to take an 9-11 game from their crosstown rivals, and a Sunday loss to Butler bookended two wins against the Bulldogs in Queens. At 25-9-1, 6-3 in Big East play, St. John’s still has a lot to play for heading into week 4 of conference action. Looking ahead: at Rutgers 4/23, at Xavier (BEC) 4/26-28.

UConn—BREAKING: They have, in fact, let the Huskies get hot. For the first time since February 17, UConn is north of .500 in their overall record, now at 20-18 and a sparkling 7-2 in Big East play. They kicked the week off with a statement win over Kansas State in Storrs before heading off to Boston College and taking an L there. Then, they hit the road to DC to take on BEC foe Georgetown, and all they did was sweep the series by a total of 3 runs. The battle-tested Huskies are likely out of contention for the at-large bid they earned a year ago, but its looking once again like the Big East crown may be theirs to lose after a tough first half of the season. Looking ahead: vs UMass St 4/23, vs Hofstra 4/24, vs Villanova (BEC) 4/26-28.

Creighton—A 28-9 overall record normally would have the Blue Jays feeling themselves at this juncture in the season. But when 5 of those losses have come in conference play, many are wondering if Creighton peaked too early. The week started off promising with a win over Nebraska (clinching the seasons series over their in-state rivals) and a 14-6 Friday thumping of Villanova, but Nova flipped the script by handing the Jays a 6-13 loss on Saturday. Creighton came back in the later innings from a 5-0 deficit to tie the rubber match at 5-5, but some Wildcat magic led to a walk-off loss for Creighton. They’re scuffling a bit, and it remains to be seen if they’ll regain their mojo from nonconference play. Looking ahead: vs Coastal Carolina 4/23-24, vs Georgetown (BEC) 4/26-28.

Villanova—The Wildcats were predicted to finish last once again in the Big East standings, but they must have missed that memo. Looking like a bottom feeder team two weeks ago with an overall record of 7-21, Nova has improved to 14-23 and 4-5 in Big East play. They dropped the first game vs Creighton 6-14. But Nova bounced back, dominating game two 13-6 and walking off the rubber match by repelling a furious comeback from Creighton to win 6-5. They split a pair of midweek games between Lafayette College and Monmouth to finish 3-2 on the week. Looking ahead: at Bucknell 4/23, at UConn (BEC) 4/26-28.

Xavier—a 3-1 week has the Musketeers one game above .500 in both the overall record and Big East play, at 20-19 and 5-4 respectively. Xavier won a road game at Cincinnati to split the season series with the rival Bearcats before winning two close games at Seton Hall on Friday and Saturday. The Pirates salvaged game 3 in dominant fashion, but Xavier had a better weekend overall. Looking ahead: at Miami (OH) 4/23, vs Northern Kentucky 4/24, vs St. John’s (BEC) 4/26-28.

Seton Hall—Big East play has not been kind to the Pirates. At 19-20 overall and 2-7 in conference, the worst conference records belong to Seton Hall and the Bulldogs of Butler. An 11-inning win vs Wagner (a game that was closer than it should have been) and a Sunday trouncing of Xavier was all Seton Hall had going for it this week as they lose another Big East series to Xavier by dropping two close contests on Friday and Saturday.  Looking ahead: vs Rider 4/23 vs Columbia 4/24, at Butler (BEC) 4/26-28.

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