Late Friday night, Xavier’s baseball team defeated Creighton to secure a place in the Big East Championship title game.

The top-seeded Musketeers (29-28) downed the second-seeded Bluejays 5-3 to advance. They’ll face Creighton or fourth-seeded St. John’s in Sunday’s noon championship at Ripken Stadium in Maryland.

Should XU lose, a finale would be played at 3:30 p.m. Sunday on the same field. 

As for Friday’s win – senior catcher Dan Rizzie’s three-run double in the fourth inning gave Xavier a 4-1 lead and the Musketeers held on. Freshman Taylor Williams tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and sophomore Garrett Schilling closed it out for his 12th save.

FROM EARLIER: Xavier’s baseball team had an inauspicious start to the season, dropping its first seven games in February and tallying an 11-22 mark through its first 33 outings.

Now look at it go.

The Musketeers (28-28) have won 14 of their last 16 games and claimed the Big East regular-season title. There’s no shortage of drama as the season continues in the Big East Championships in Maryland, where Thursday night Dan Rizzie’s walk-off single ensured a 9-8 victory over St. John’s in an opener at Ripken Stadium.

From Xavier:

It was a wild game, featuring three tie scores and a total of seven lead changes. The last lead change happened in the ninth, as Rizzie battled conference pitcher of the year Thomas Hackimer and came away the winner with a single through the left side. Hackimer had allowed just four earned runs all season. XU was able to score twice against the St. John’s senior.

The Musketeers have now won by scoring in their last at-bat in four of their past seven games. That includes three walk-offs (two by Joe Gellenbeck and one by Rizzie).

The top-seeded Musketeers face second-seeded Creighton at 7 p.m. Friday night. Creighton also advanced in thrilling fashion, coming from behind to defeat Seton Hall for the right to meet XU.

Coach Scott Googins, who recently won his 300th game at the helm of the Musketeers’ program, has been the driving force behind the Big East coaching staff of the year award. Shortstop Andre Jernigan is the Big East player of the year.

MEN’S HOOPS: As was well-documented earlier this week, Trevon Bluiett is returning for his junior season.

Bluiett tested the NBA draft waters to gain feedback on his game but was expected to withdraw and resume his collegiate career. Because he did not hire an agent, he did just that.

Said Bluiett of his decision: “The NBA pre-draft process has been a great experience for me. After sitting down with my family and coaches, I’ve decided to return to Xavier. The NBA will remain an important future goal, but for now my focus is on continuing my education and leading Xavier’s Team 95 to another special season.”

The recently graduated James Farr is training in Chicago. His agent, Zack Charles, expects him to receive a few NBA workouts toward the end of the process. It’s a bit of an interesting situation, as a lot of teams are not holding workouts because they lack picks or are focusing on specific first- and second-rounders.

Farr is garnering some interest for NBA summer league teams and even more interest to play internationally.

Last, on a scheduling note, XU has added Utah, Northern Iowa and Baylor as home-and-home opponents starting next season.

WOMEN’S HOOPS: Head coach Brian Neal hired Christian Stefanopoulos as an assistant coach after Mark Ehlen returned to his previous role as the program’s director of basketball performance.

Stefanopoulos was an assistant coach at Seton Hall (2015-16) and brings seven years of assistant coaching experience.

“Just like you need talent on the playing court, you have to have talented people on staff,” Neal said. “Christian is a respected recruiter that has many connections across the country. She’s also a gifted teacher (and) skill developer and has worked for some of the top coaches in college basketball. We are thrilled to have her back in the Cincinnati area.”

At Seton Hall, Stefanopoulos helped coach the Pirates to a 23-9 (12-6 Big East) record and an NCAA tournament appearance. She assisted in coaching three players to All-Big East honors, including Shakena Richardson – the first Seton Hall player taken in the WNBA draft.

Stefanopoulos coached at Kentucky in 2014-15, helping the Wildcats advance to the NCAA tournament for the sixth straight season. She also served as the team’s video coordinator from 2007-10.

The Florence, Ky., native also had assistant coaching stints at Bucknell (2012-14) and at Morehead State (2010-12).

Stefanopoulos played collegiately at Austin Peay (2002-04) and Thomas More (2005-06). She helped the Lady Govs capture back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference titles before wrapping up her career with a Presidents’ Athletic Conference title in 2006.