Big East Pitcher of the Week: Brad Kirschner

Cincinnati, Ohio has been rather frigid lately, in fact Xavier closed early yesterday due to inclement weather. In spite of the cold weather, a 6-2 left handed pitcher out of Russellville, Ohio is throwing straight fire right now. Yes, please ignore my corny sense of humor, but sophomore Brad Kirschner has been pitching lights out since the start of the season. So much so that he earned this week's Big East Pitcher of the Week. Kirschner lead the Muskies to a 2-1 victory over the No. 12 ranked Louisville Cardinals. In the victory Kirschner pitched six innings with three strikeouts and zero earned runs allowed. The Cardinals would get into scoring position in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th inning, but cool, calmed, and collected Kirschner would not be rattled. Kirschner would forced two groundouts and a flyout to end all of those innings. If Xavier was in search of a shut down ace they have most certainly found it in Kirschner. He has started 3 games, pitched 19 innings, allowed a total of 14 hits, has had 10 strikeouts, and has let in only one run. Rewind back to February 13th, Kirschner pitched five innings, allowing two hits, zero earned runs, and seven strikeouts helping Xavier to a 5-4 victory against Army. Kirschner currently has a 0.47era with a record of 2-1. If Kirschner can keep this up it will be very difficult for teams to beat Xavier. If Kirschner is on the mound and the Xavier bats decide to open the flood gates Big East teams should be worried. The Musketeers will play today at Auburn.