Baseball Plays Midweek Games Against Coastal Carolina and UNC-Wilmington
3/10/2009 8:15:00 AM | Baseball
Scouting the Bluejays
Creighton is trying to continue its hot hitting that erupted over the weekend...On Saturday the team put up 20 runs against Albany, its most runs since CU met Albany in the NCAA Regional on June 2, 2007, when the Bluejays beat the Great Danes 20-5...The 20 runs put up by the Jays was the best output by any team in the Missouri Valley Conference this season...T.J. Roemmich has developed into a dangerous power source of late, as he has homered in each of his last three games...In those three games CU is 2-1, with its lone loss coming to No. 16 Coastal Carolina 8-7...Last weekend at the Caravelle Resort Classic, Roemmich was the Jays top hitter, going 9-20 for a .450 average...Senior preseason All-MVC selection Darin Ruf leads the team with a .444 average...Ruf leads the team with 17 RBI, and is tied for the team-lead with three home runs...Freshman CU pitcher, Otto Roberts showed why he was selected in the 23rd round by the Cleveland Indians last summer as he made his first career start, going 4.0 innings and striking out a Creighton season-high eight....Relievers Matt Patterson and Brandon Koenigstein have been lights out, combining to throw 14.0 innings of scoreless ball...Koenigstein will make his first career start on Wednesday.
Scouting Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina is coming into Tuesday's game red hot, after setting the 2009 NCAA mark for most runs scored in a game, defeating Stony Brook 36-3 on Sunday. The Chanticleers, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago, are led by preseason All-Americans David Anderson and Scott Woodward. Anderson, who has three home runs on the season, is tied with Chance Gilmore and Jose Iglesias for the team-lead in long ball. Anderson and Iglesias are tied for the team-lead in RBI with 17. Tuesday's starter Bobby Gagg is making his third start of the season after going 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in his other two appearances.
Scouting UNC-Wilmington
The Seahawks are yet another hot team coming into the midweek matchup against the Bluejays. Coming in at 10-2, the squad's most dangerous hitter thus far has been Cody Stanley who has three home runs and four doubles through the first 12 games. He is tied for the team lead in RBI with Grayson Evans as the two each have 13 runs driven in. Closer Steven Davis has been outstanding, as he has 12 strikeouts in 13.2 innings to go along with his 1.32 ERA and two saves.
Series History
The two midweek matchups will provide a rematch from the weekend and an inaugural meeting. On Saturday in Conway, S.C., Creighton was edged by Costal Carolina in the teams' first-ever meeting.
Wednesday's matchup with UNC-Wilmington will serve as the first battle of the birds betwen the Jays and Seahawks.
Stranded
Prior to Saturday's game against Albany, Creighton had struggled from a lack of run production, but it had not been from a lack of opportunities. On the season the Bluejays have had 202 total baserunners compared to their opponents having just 180 total baserunners.
Creighton has had 65 of its 202 runners score for a 32.19 %.
Its opponents have had 76 of its 180 runners score for a 42.22 %.
All Conference Performance
T.J. Roemmich was named MVC Player of the Week on Monday for his 9-20 performance during March 2-8. His .450 average was a team-high as well as his three home runs, which have all occurred in the last three games.
Lucky Day
Dan Blair's lucky day is apparently March 8. Before Sunday's game, he had not had a hit since March 8, 2008. This past Sunday against IPFW he had his first career double.
Freshmen Fire
Creighton has gotten some help in its bullpen from freshmen Brandon Koenigstein and Otto Roberts. The two have combined to strikeout 15 hitters in 11.1 innings of work.
Snap Out of It
After starting 0-22 through the first six games of the season, Vicente Cafaro is now on a six game hitting streak, a current team-high. During the streak Cafaro is 8-22 (.364)
Struggling Sixth
Saturday against Albany also gave Creighton another first on the season. Coming into the game against the Great Danes CU had scored in every inning this season except the sixth. However the Bluejays did bring across a run in the sixth in the game to make it 19-5. For the year the Creighton opposition however have had its most runs scored during the sixth owning a 15-1 advantage in the inning.
Eight Ball
Through the team's first eight games, only T.J. Roemmich had a hit in every game. During the streak he went 11-33 (.333), which was good for third on the team.
Can We Do This Annually?
On June, 2, 2007 Creighton beat Albany 21-11 in the teams' inaugural matchup at theNCAA Regional held at Fayetteville, Ark.
On Saturday in the schools' second-ever matcup, CU broke out of an early season slump, scoring 20 runs.
In the two teams' meetings, the Jays own a 41-16 advantage.
Not a Good First Impression
The Bluejays finally broke their six-game losing streak on March 1 against Notre Dame. It is the first time in Creighton's recorded history that it started 0-6.
Creighton's six-game losing streak was not something the program is used to. The streak was the longest since a 2003 stretch saw the team lose six straight contests from April 18-April 25.
Good Offensive Display
On March 1 against Notre Dame Creighton knocked out 16 hits, en route to a 6-3 victory. Those 16 hits were the most by the team since March 16, 2008 against Chicago State.
Breaking the Luck of the Irish
The March 1 win against Notre Dame snapped an eight-game losing streak for Creighton against the Fighting Irish. Prior to Sunday's game, Creighton had not beaten Notre Dame since March 13, 1983.
No Rest On Sundays
Knight has been on a tear in the Bluejays' three Sunday games thus far. In the games against Sam Houston State, Notre Dame and IPFW, he has combined to go 8-12 with two doubles and an RBI.
Raging Bull
Those that have watched Bluejay closer Kirk Clark warm up in the bullpen, have most likely noticed his mannerisms of pacing back and forth just before being called in.
In the ninth inning on March 1 against Notre Dame, Clark got the chance to close the door on the Irish as he picked up his first career save. He retired the side in order, striking out two of the three hitters he faced.
In seven appearances this year, opponents are only hitting .194 against him.
That's Efficient
March 1 against Notre Dame Greg Hellhake was able to keep the Bluejays out of serious trouble through the first four innings, without having much work for himself. Hellhake needed just 33 pitches through the first four innings, as he faced just one above the minimum number of batters.
Unhittable
Through five appearances this year, CU reliever Matt Patterson has made life difficult on the opposition. He has thrown 7.2 scoreless innings, and hitters are batting just .154 against him.
In the team's first win on March 1 he threw a career-high 2.2 innings of relief to hold off a Notre Dame comeback attempt. In a key spot during the eighth inning, Patterson struck out consensus All-American A.J. Pollock, who had previously homered in the game, to keep the Creighton lead at 4-3.
This is "Hau-er" we do it
On Feb. 27 Jeremy Hauer had a very impressive start against Dayton. He threw 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just five hits while also striking out five. It was his best start since May 3, 2008 against Misouri State when he threw 7.2 scoreless innings.
His five strikeouts were his most since March 15, 2008 against Chicago State when he had eight punchouts.
Beware of the Brooms
Creighton is not used to suffering a four-game sweep. Prior to the season opening series against Sam Houston State, Feb. 20-22, the last time Creighton was swept during a four-game series was May 5-6, 2001 in back-to-back doubleheaders against Missouri State.
Extra Extra!
Through the first 12 games this year, Creighton has already played in two extra-inning games. Last season it took 28 games before CU was involved in two extra-inning games. The Bluejays were 5-1 in extra-inning affairs in 2008.
Close Call
The first five of Creighton's losses this year were by two runs or less. It is the first time since April, 11-17, 2007 that five games in a row have been decided by two runs or less.
Prior to last weekend, Creighton had not had five straight losses been decided by two runs or less since 2006,
Below is the last time Creighton had five straight losses decided by two runs or less
Date Opponent Score (Inn.)
4/14/06 at Southern Illinois 2-3 (10)
4/11/06 Kansas State 4-5
4/9/06 Illinois State 13-14
4/4/06 Nebraska 4-6
4/2/06 Wichita State 1-3 (8)
Working on Fundamentals
The opening weekend against Sam Houston State (Feb. 20-22) saw all four games decided by two runs or less, making the execution of fundamentals crucial in deciding the outcomes. On the weekend Bluejay baserunners were picked off three times. All of last season CU had just six runners picked off.
Fielding fundamentals also came into play as CU saw it's error total rise in three straight games (0-1-2-3) for the first time since a four game stretch from April 8-15, 2005, when the team also had a streak of (0-1-2-3).
Useless Fact of the Season
Creighton's 8-6 loss on Feb. 20 was somewhat of a rarity for those who have watched the team over the years. Coming into the game, the Bluejays had not lost a game by the score of 8-6 since April 29, 1995 against Bradley, a streak spanning 757 games.
The 7-5 loss on Feb. 21 was a bit more recent as the team last loss by that score on May 12, 2002 against Stetson, a streak spanning 360 games.
Career Series
Sophomore Jimmy Swift had a career series against Sam Houston State (Feb. 20-22). On Feb. 20 night he provided CU with its first two runs of the season, courtesy of a home run in the second inning. It was the first home run of his career. The next day he continued his hot hitting as he hit a double down the left field line to bring in a run. It was the first double of his career, and he finished with four RBI on the weekend, surpassing his previous career season-high of two.
Career Game
Darin Ruf tied a couple of career-highs in the second game of the doubleheader on Feb. 21 against the Bearkats. He tied his previous career bests of hits in a game as well as RBI, as he went 4-4 with five RBI. He also hit the fifth triple of his career.
Good Luck Streak Snapped
Coming into the season opener on Feb. 20, Creighton had been 12-1 in games that pitcher Jeremy Hauer started, including eight straight wins to close the season in 2008. Unfortunately the streak was snapped as Hauer received the loss, going 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.
Congrats to Coach Smith
Last week it was announced that Creighton pitching coach Rob Smith was named one of two recipients for 2008 NCAA Teaching Pro Award. The other was Bob Shepherd of North Florida
Smith is one of two CU coaches to be honored for their work last season. In December head coach Ed Servais was tabbed as one of two NCAA FieldTurf Coach of the Year recipients. The other was the College World Series champion Mike Batesole of Fresno State.
No Runs For You
Since Rob Smith took over as pitching coach in 2007, Creighton has finished 14th in ERA in each of the last two seasons. Coming into 2009, the team's overall ERA since Smith took over was 3.71, good for 11th in the nation.
Team ERA
1. Wichita State 3.22
2. North Carolina 3.23
3. Virginia 3.31
4. Rice 3.391
5. Long Beach 3.392
6. San Diego 3.394
7. UC Irvine 3.51
8. Charlotte 3.63
9. Louisville 3.69
10. St. John's 3.713
11. CREIGHTON 3.715
Defense Wins Championships
Since 2007, Creighton owns the second-best fielding percentage in the NCAA. The Bluejays are one of just two schools to finish in the top-10 in fielding percentage in each of the last two years (TCU), and are one of just three schools to finish in the top-15 each of the last two years (TCU and Oregon State). Below are the top fielding percentages since 2007.
Team Fielding Pct.
1. Oregon State - .97559367
2. CREIGHTON - .9754241
3. South Carolina - .97526579
4. TCU - .97506535
Look Out!
Junior Robbie Knight has not been one to be afraid of opposing pitchers coming inside. Knight owns the school record for most hit by pitches during a career with 61. In 2007 he set the NCAA single-season record after being beaned 35 times. He is currently 14th on the NCAA all-time hit by pitch leaderboard.
NCAA Record Book, Career HBP's
Player, Team Years G HBP
Brett Lilley, Notre Dame 2005-08 231 109
Tony Hurtado, San Francico 1997-00 221 92
Cody Rizzo, Notre Dame 2003-06 233 84
Gabe Somarriba, Fla. Atlantic 1999-02 226 81
Mark Muscenti, Cincinnati 2003-06 211 76
Jeff Ontiveros, Texas 1999-02 258 74
Clay Schwartz, Milwaukee 1994-97 180 68
Jay Molina, Illinois State 2003-06 189 65
J.R. Revere, Ga. Southern 1999-02 217 62
Karl Jernigan, Florida State 1998-01 250 61
Rusty McNamara, Ok State 1995-97 194 61
Lou Donati, Santa Clara 1991-94 178 61
Jim Murphy, Wash. State 2005-08 217 61
Robbie Knight, Creighton 2007-Pr. 130 61
Immediate Impact
A member of the Bluejay pitching staff took home MVC Newcomer of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2008. Jeremy Hauer earned the honor last year after going 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA. Andy Masten (4-3, 2.02 ERA, 16 saves) was honored following the 2007 season.
Getting Drafted
The conclusion of the 2008 season saw Creighton lose its go-to guy out of the bullpen. Pat Venditte the only known ambidexterous pitcher in the NCAA last year, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round in June.
Venditte ranked among the top pitchers in the nation in 2008 in a number of categories. He was 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings with just 6.78 allowed, 24th with 10.53 strikeouts per nine innings, and 30th with nine victories.
Venditte had a great season his first year with the Staten Island Yankees. He was 1-0 with a 0.83 ERA in 32.2 innings. He amassed 23 saves in 30 games pitched. This past fall he won Minor League Short Season Reliever of the Year and was third in voting for Minor League Reliever of the Year.
The Bluejays currently have two players on their roster that have been drafted by Major League teams. This past summer freshman Otto Roberts was drafted in the 23rd round by the Cleveland Indians. In 2007, Elliot Soto was drafted in the 13th round by the Minnesota Twins
Team Sacrifice
Creighton showed team play frequently in 2008, as the squad led the nation in sacrifice bunts with 95. That mark set a new school and MVC record, previously set by CU in 2007, when the team had 93.
Shutout Stars
A big part of the reason Creighton was able to rank among the national leaders in ERA in 2008 was its ability to shutout the opponent. In 2008 the team had eight shutouts, just one shy of the national leader, UC Irvine.
