Big East Week 9 Recap

By Colton Watson

Georgetown—At 26-9 overall and 8-1 in conference play, the Hoyas of Georgetown look like they may be the new favorites to come out of the Big East tournament. They’re still in play for an at-large bid as well. Georgetown gutted out a huge win vs Maryland in a midweek thriller before taking Towson down 8-4 in 11 innings. In one of the only Big East series to go to script, Georgetown got a road sweep of hapless Butler, outscoring the poor Bulldogs 37-11. A huge clash between the Hoyas and the upstart UConn Huskies (BEC) will be the highlight of the week 10 of Big East baseball. Looking ahead: at UMBC 4/16, at UConn (BEC) 4/19-21

Butler—The Big East’s worst record belongs to Villanova, but the Big East’s worst team at this moment is likely the Butler Bulldogs, whose 13-21 record includes an active 7-game losing streak. spot in the Big East tournament is up for grabs between the Bulldogs, Huskies, and Musketeers. A loud sweep at the hands of Georgetown (BEC) last weekend leaves the Butler Bulldogs at 1-5 in Big East play, but with all the chaos the league has seen already, its anyone’s guess as to which four team will play for a Big East Tournament championship. Looking ahead: at Eastern Michigan 4/16, vs Miami (OH) 4/17, at St. John’s (BEC) 4/19-21

St. John’s—The Red Storm got blown out to sea a little this weekend when they headed to face a UConn team who had been scuffling most of the season. In just their second series loss of the year, St. John’s gave up 29 runs, more than they’ve allowed in a series all year and only the second time this year since they allowed 20+ (the first being Week 2 at Houston). The Red Storm falls to 23-7-1, but four home games give St. John’s a chance to right the ship this week. Looking ahead: vs Columbia 4/16, vs Butler (BEC) 4/19-21

UConn—Don’t look now, but they may have let the Huskies get hot. Last year’s regular season champions, UConn—once 9-15—now stand at 16-17 with back-to-back winning weekends in Big East play. This time, they took down potential at-large NCAAT team St. John’s, scoring 11 in both the Friday and Sunday games to take the series 2-1. This was the encore to a pair of run-rule victories in Connecticut’s two midweek matchups. The Huskies look to take the show on the road for the first time in Big East play next week, but they have a couple of stout midweek opponents before then. Looking ahead: vs Kansas St 4/16, at Boston College 4/17, vs Georgetown (BEC) 4/19-21.

Creighton—The second full week of Big East play in 2024 may be remembered as the week the conference turned on its head. The Creighton Blue Jays dropped their first series of the year on the road to Xavier (BEC) as they fell to 26-7. The Jays won a tight Friday night contest before giving up 15 runs on Friday and getting shutout until the 7th inning on Sunday. Creighton will look to get fat this upcoming weekend as they travel to last year’s last-place team in the Big East after a midweek tilt with an in-state rival. Looking ahead: @ Nebraska 4/16, @ Villanova 4/19-21 (BEC)

Villanova—If you thought the two midseason Big East favorites each dropping their series was the biggest surprise of the weekend in the Big East, you just don’t know ball…just kidding, because nobody expected Villanova to walk into Seton Hall’s home turf and leave with a series sweep. Yes, you read that right, the 11-21 Villanova Wildcats have minted a new 4-game win streak and capped it off by taking all 3 games from Seton Hall (BEC). The Big East race is murky as every heading into week 3, and even if Nova isn’t playing in the postseason, they’ll certainly have a say about who does. Looking ahead: at Lafayette College 4/16, at Monmouth 4/17, vs Creighton (BEC) 4/19-21

Xavier—Xavier made a statement this weekend when they bounced back from a Friday loss to become the first team in college baseball this year to take a series from Creighton. Luke Hoskins’s 5.0 innings of 1-hit, no-run baseball in the rubber match was the highlight of the weekend. The musketeers still are a game bellow .500 after a midweek loss to Cincinnati last week. Another big test lies ahead of Xavier as they travel to South Orange, NJ, to take on a desperate Seton Hall team Looking ahead: at Cincinnati 4/16, at Seton Hall (BEC) 4/19-21

Seton Hall—Pirates…what happened? Allowing a team with 21 losses to get their 9th, 10th, and 11th wins on the season on your own diamond is not how Seton Hall envisioned week 2 of Big East play. The Pirates destroyed any outside chance of an at-large bid to the NCAAT by getting swept by Villanova (BEC). The Pirates are the 3rd Big East team to find themselves a game below .500 overall, but they’ll get a chance to bring themselves on the plus side of that when they travel to Wagner and get another homestand versus a conference rival. Looking ahead: at Wager 4/16, vs Xavier (BEC) 4/19-21

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