Creighton Baseball Begins NCAA Regional Against Kansas

Fayetteville, Ark. -- Creighton Baseball opens the NCAA Regional on Friday, May 30 against Kansas at 7:00 p.m. in the Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Creighton vs. #25 Kansas
May 30 @ 7:00 p.m.

Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

Online: ESPN+

Radio: 1620 AM

Series History with Kansas (Bluejays lead 25-17)
Creighton and Kansas have met 42 times, with the Bluejays holding a slight edge.

Series History
4/22/80 at Kansas W 6-3
4/22/80 at Kansas W 4-2
3/27/88 Kansas W 14-8
4/28/88 at Kansas L 7-10
3/22/89 at Kansas W 7-5 (16)
3/22/89 at Kansas W 4-3
3/28/89 Kansas W 5-3
4/18/89 Kansas W 8-3
3/20/90 Kansas W 5-0
3/5/91 at Kansas L 11-13 (10)
4/17/91 Kansas W 12-3
3/25/92 Kansas W 5-0
4/22/92 at Kansas W 7-2
3/17/94 Kansas L 7-9
4/18/94 at Kansas L 9-10
5/10/96 at Kansas L 6-28
5/11/96 at Kansas W 10-9
3/26/97 Kansas W 15-10
3/3/98 at Kansas W 7-4
2/25/00 at Kansas W 10-9 (11)
2/26/00 at Kansas W 8-6
2/27/00 at Kansas W 5-3
2/22/04 at Kansas L 1-5
4/26/06 @ vs. #30 Kansas L 1-9
4/14/09 % Kansas L 6-7 (10)
3/23/10 at Kansas L 4-5
4/7/10 % Kansas L 4-5
2/22/11 at Kansas W 4-3
4/26/11 Kansas W 5-3
4/3/12 Kansas W 7-3
4/2/13 at Kansas W 6-4
4/16/13 Kansas W 12-4
3/26/14 Kansas L 0-11
3/22/17 at Kansas W 7-3
4/11/18 Kansas W 14-11
4/24/19 at Kansas W 6-5
3/4/20 at Kansas L 2-3
3/19/21 at Kansas L 6-7 (14)
3/20/21 at Kansas L 3-11
3/21/21 at Kansas L 3-11
3/22/21 at Kansas L 4-7
3/29/23 at Kansas L 1-3
@ - Best of the Midwest Tournament, Kansas City, Mo.
% - Played in Rosenblatt Stadium

Series History with Arkansas (Bluejays trail 10-5)
Creighton and Arkansas have met 15 times, with the Razorbacks taking the last six meetings. The Bluejays were in Fayetteville for the 2007 NCAA Regional and last defeated Arkansas in 1974.

Series History
1971 Arkansas W 6-2
1971 Arkansas L 0-2
1971 Arkansas W 2-1
1971 Arkansas W 3-1
1973 Arkansas L 1-5
1973 Arkansas L 2-11
1973 Arkansas L 1-3
1973 Arkansas W 6-2
3/6/74 at Arkansas W 12-1
3/6/74 at Arkansas L 4-12
1977 Arkansas L 0-8
2/11/03 at Arkansas L 5-9
6/3/07 & at #11 Arkansas L 0-6
5/12/15 Arkansas L 2-6
4/19/16 at Arkansas L 2-6
& - NCAA Regional (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Series History: Creighton Leads North Dakota State, 22-3
The Bluejays and Bison have faced off 25 times, including a twice this season.

Date Opponent Result
1968 North Dakota State W 7-6 (8)
1968 North Dakota State L 8-12
1981 North Dakota State L 1-3
1981 North Dakota State W 7-3
3/19/04 North Dakota State W 14-2
3/23/05 North Dakota State W 5-3 (7)
3/23/05 North Dakota State W 12-3 (7)
5/18/05 at North Dakota State W 7-4 (7)
5/19/05 at North Dakota State W 16-1 (7)
3/14/06 North Dakota State W 13-4
3/15/06 North Dakota State W 12-6
5/9/06 at North Dakota State W 3-2 (7)
5/9/06 at North Dakota State W 3-0 (7)
3/16/07 North Dakota State W 7-4
3/17/07 North Dakota State W 5-3
3/18/07 North Dakota State W 10-6
3/18/07 North Dakota State W 9-8
5/9/07 at North Dakota State W 12-2 (7)
5/9/07 at North Dakota State W 13-5 (7)
4/9/08 North Dakota State W 2-0 (7)
4/9/08 North Dakota State W 1-0 (7)
3/28/11 North Dakota State W 3-2
4/3/24 North Dakota State W 8-7
4/8/25 North Dakota State L 2-3
4/22/25 North Dakota State W 5-2

Creighton Record versus teams in 2025 NCAA Tournament
Kansas State 1-0
Nebraska 2-1
North Dakota State 1-1
Saint Mary's College 2-1
Total 6-3

Scouting #25 Kansas (2025: 43-15)
Kansas came out ablaze to start the season, winning 14 of its first 15 games. While the Jayhawks have cooled a bit, KU is 29-14 over the last 43 contests. Over the last 15 games Kansas is 10-5.

On the mound the Jayhawks have a team ERA of 5.00, notching 474 strikeouts in 513.0 innings. Closer Alex Breckheimer has seven saves this season with a 3.80 ERA. Former Bluejay Malakai Vetock has appeared in 20 games with a 3-1 record and a 5.79 ERA.

At the plate the Jayhawks are hitting .290 as a team, led by Brady Ballinger (.363) and Dariel Osoria (.330).

Scouting #6 Arkansas (2025: 43-13)
Arkansas enters the NCAA Tournament as the overall No. 3 seed. The Razorbacks are 6-4 in their last 10 games, including a series sweep over then No. 1 Texas. Arkansas is 32-4 at home this season.

Hitting .313 as a team, the Razorbacks boast seven regulars with an average over .300. Aloy Wehiwa (.353) led the way, while Charles Davalan (.352) is just one points back. The following trio were Logan Maxwell (.347), Kuhio Aloy (.340) an Cam Kozeal (.335).

On the mound Arkansas has a 4.06 ERA with 587 strikeouts in 477 innings. Seven different pitchers have at least one save.

Scouting North Dakota State (2025: 20-32)
The Bison opened the season 1-13 and went just 7-17 in non-conference action. North Dakota State, however, boasts a win over Creighton (April 8) and enter the NCAA Tournament with four wins over the last five games.

The Bison have a 6.05 ERA this season, led by closer Danny Lachenmayer with eight saves and a 2.60 ERA.

At the dish NDSU has a team average of .255. The top three hitters for North Dakota State are Jake Schaffner (.384), Davis Hamilton (.314) and Dante Smith (.303).

Scouting the Bluejays (2025: 41-14, 17-4 BIG EAST)
Creighton enters the NCAA Tournament riding a seven-game win streak, that including a three games at the BIG EAST Tournament. Over the final two weeks of the season, the Bluejays have scored 72 runs over seven contests.

As a team the Bluejays are hitting .285, led by the duo of
Nolan Sailors (.392) and Connor Capece (.369). Two other bats that have been hot during the season are Matt Scherrman (.304) and Ben North (.303).

On the mound, Creighton has a team ERA of 4.00. The guiding forces are starter Dominic Cancellieri (1.94 ERA) as well as relievers
Matt Aukerman (2.53 ERA, 8-0) as well as closer Garrett Langrell (2.77 ERA with 13 saves).

Bluejay Bird Seeds (NCAA Edition)

Creighton is 18-22 all-time in 11 previous NCAA Tournaments, including a 9-10 record in five trips under Ed Servais. The Bluejays have won at least one game in all but three previous trips to the postseason (1973, 1999, 2000), and multiple games on five occasions (1990, 1991, 2005, 2012, 2019).
Creighton is 5-6 in NCAA Tournament openers, and 2-3 under Ed Servais.
Creighton is 8-10 in NCAA Tournament elimination games all-time, including a 7-5 mark under Ed Servais.
Creighton won the 1991 Regional Final and lost in the Regional Final in 2005, 2012 and 2019. Creighton has never played in the Super Regional Round, as its 1991 Regional victory advanced the Bluejays directly to the College World Series.
CU's last NCAA Tournament win when trailing after eight innings came on June 2, 2019, when CU used a seven-run ninth inning to defeat Michigan, 11-7.
Creighton has never had a walk-off win in the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton went 17-6 this season at home this season, where it plays its home games inside Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
CU is 218-99 (.688) all-time at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, and 7-5 (.583) in conference tournament games there. The Bluejays have not played an NCAA Tournament game at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

Family Ties
Ed Servais' son, Joe Servais, played in 36 games at Kansas in 2007 before transferring to Creighton, where he played in 54 contests under his father and hit .298 for the Bluejays in his final year of eligibility.

Kansas reliever Malakai Vetock is from the Omaha suburb of Elkhorn and pitched for Creighton from 2022-24. Vetock made 45 appearances (five starts) for Creighton, owning a 9-2 record with a 5.87 ERA.

Kingston Brings Experience
Creighton associate head coach Mark Kingston (Head Coach in Waiting) went 5-11 in head-to-head meetings against Arkansas while serving as head coach at South Carolina from 2018-24. He lost 2-of-3 meetings in all four SEC series (2018 and 2023 in Fayettevile; 2021 and 2024 in Columbia), as well as in the 2018 Super Regional in Fayetteville. Kingston won the lone neutral-site meeting in 2018 in Hoover.

Cancellieri and Capece Sweep Final Baseball Weekly Honors
The Bluejay battery of Dominic Cancellieri and Connor Capece swept the final BIG EAST Pitcher and Player of the Week honors handed out on Monday, May 19.

Creighton opened the week with a 19-3 win in seven innings over Omaha, then swept Georgetown to secure the top overall seed in the BIG EAST Tournament starting Wednesday, highlighted by a 12-1 (7) in the regular season finale.

Cancellieri guided Creighton to a 5-3 win on Thursday, May 15 with 7.0 innings on one run ball. The Bluejay ace scattered three hits with seven strikeouts and just one walk. He needed just 91 pitches to take the game through seven frames.

Capece hit .462 during the week to lead Creighton to four victories. The Bluejay catcher notched at least one hit in every game as well as scoring at least one run. Capece went 5-for-12 (.417) with four runs scored and five RBI in the sweep of Georgetown.

Hess and MacLean Give New Meaning to Wearing It
Seniors Kyle Hess and Will MacLean have each moved into the Top-10 for Hit by Pitches in the season, while Hess has climbed to second in his Bluejay career.

Hit by Pitches - Season
HBP Name, Class Year
35 Robbie Knight, Fr. 2007
24 Robbie Knight, So. 2008
23 Kyle Hess, Sr. 2025
21 Chad McConnell, Jr. 1992
19 Vicente Cafaro, Jr. 2008
19 Steve Winkelmann, Sr. 2008
18 Will MacLean, Sr. 2025
17 Parker Upton, Jr. 2019
16 Colin Shockey, Sr. 2005
16 Tony Daniel, Jr. 2004

Hit by Pitches - Career
HBP Name Years
81 Robbie Knight 2007-10
47 Kyle Hess 2022-present
45 Dan Lawler 1998-01
38 Tony Daniel 2003-05
35 Matt Daeges 2002-05
34 Parker Upton 2017-21
34 Reagan Fowler 2012-16
34 Vicente Cafaro 2008-09
34 Chris Hinrichs 1999-02
34 Chad McConnell 1990-92

Rob Anderson Effect (From Creighton Historian & Athletic Communications Director)

Creighton swept its conference regular-season and tournament titles in the same season for the third time in program history, also doing it in 2011 and 2019.
Creighton is 19-1 this season, including 14 straight wins, when not making an error.
Creighton has won 21 straight games in which it owns a lead at any point, but the Bluejays aren't just a bunch of front-runners. CU also owns 19 come-from-behind wins this spring, including 12 comeback victories after trailing by multiple tallies. CU's biggest comeback win of the year was on March 29 at Samford, when CU overcame a 5-0 hole to defeat the Buldogs, 11-8.
Creighton went 17-4 in league play this season. That .810 win percentage is its best conference win percentage ever, and the 17 victories were its most since going 19-5 in 2007 as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. That team also made a trip to Fayetteville for NCAA Regionals.
Creighton is one of nine schools to make the NCAA Tournament in Baseball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball and Women's Volleyball during the 2024-25 academic year, joining Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.
Creighton's 41 victories are its sixth-most ever entering the NCAA Tournament, and most since taking a 44-14 mark into the Corvallis Regional in 2011.
Creighton is 24-6 this season when hitting a home run, including 13 straight victories. The Bluejays have homered in seven consecutive contests for the first time since doing so from Feb. 24-March 7, 2008. CU's last streak of eight or longer with a home run came over 12 straight games from April 14 – May 5, 2002, when Ed Servais was the Bluejay hitting coach.
Creighton has won seven straight games, the nation's fifth-longest active streak behind Northeastern (27), Coastal Carolina (18), Columbia (9) and Vanderbilt (8).
The Bluejays have also won 21 of their last 23 games.
During the last seven games, Creighton is averaging 10.3 runs per game and hitting .328, while six different Bluejays have at least one win in that span (Ian Koosman has two). Connor Capece is hitting .520 with 10 RBI and nine runs scored in that span, during which he owns a 1.354 OPS and Teddy Deters is batting .346.
Capece is hitting .430 in CU's past 23 games, while Matt Scherrman owns six homers and 32 RBI in that span. Koosman owns five of CU's wins. Creighton's starting pitching is 11-0 with a 2.95 ERA in the past 23 games, while its opposing starting counterparts are 1-13 with a 6.92 ERA.
Creighton is 29-0 this season when leading after eight innings this spring and 102-1 in the last four seasons when leading after eight frames. That includes 32 straight wins. All-time under Ed Servais, CU is 555-15 (.974) when leading through eight innings.
Creighton is 4-0 this season on neutral fields, improving to 11-1 over the last three years.
Creighton's 20 road victories are tied for third-most in the nation this year, trailing only West Virginia (23) and Fairfield (22). CU's eight-game road win streak is tied for the nation's second-longest active win streak, trailing only Bryant (12).
Creighton owns 76 stolen bases in 99 tries this season, its most since going 106-for-157 in 2000. Three different players have 14 or more thefts for the first time since 2002.
Creighton has walked 277 times this season, its most since accepting 293 free passes in 1995. While Kansas walks 4.30 batters per nine innings, Arkansas is third-best in the nation with just 3.17 walks per nine innings.
Friday figures to be the 200th start of Nolan Sailors career, which would trail only Darin Ruf (227) and Alex Staehely (217) in the Ed Servais era. Creighton is 63-19 when Sailors starts in left, 52-47 when he starts in center and 12-6 when he's the DH in his career as a Bluejay.
Nolan Sailors enters Friday with 246 career hits, putting him four shy of becoming the seventh Bluejay ever with 250 or more. Sailors is already the first player in Creighton history with at least 240 career hits and 60 or more career stolen bases.
Sailors enters the Fayetteville Regional batting .392. The only player to hit .388 or better in a season with 75 or more at bats under Ed Seravis was Chris Gradoville, who hit .403 in 124 at bats in 2005.
Kyle Hess owns a .497 on-base percentage this season, the best mark by a Bluejay (min. 70 AB) since First Team All-American Ryan Gripp reached at a .517 clip in 1999. Hess ranks fifth on the team with a .280 batting average, but has reached 35 times via walk and been plunked a team-leading 23 times as well.
Matt Scherrman owns 77 career doubles, including one in each of CU's final two BIG EAST Tournament games. Scherrman had 52 doubles at Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Oshkosh and has added 25 more over the past two seasons in a Bluejay uniform. Those 77
two-baggers rank second nationally among the nation's active players, trailing only the 79 by Tyler Cannon over two seasons at Iona and four years at Rowan.
Dominic Cancellieri owns a 1.94 ERA this season, which would rank fourth-best nationally if he had thrown four more innings (the NCAA requires 1 IP/team game).
Cancellieri is currently third on CU's single-season ERA chart (min. 50 IP), which is the best by any CU starting pitcher ever.
Garrett Langrell ranks tied for second in CU single-season history with 13 saves after picking up a pair of three-inning saves last week at the BIG EAST Tournament. Langrell's 13 saves are seventh-most in the country this year, and he's the only one with 13 or more saves to average more than two innings per appearance. Langrell has finished all 24 games he's entered this season on the mound.
Creighton's 20 saves are its most since collecting 21 in 2011.

Common opponents with Kansas, NDSU or Arkansas
Omaha: Kansas (3-1), NDSU (3-2), Creighton (2-1)
Kansas State: Arkansas (0-1), Kansas (3-0), Creighton (1-0)
Portland: Arkansas (3-0), Creighton (2-1)
SDSU: NDSU (3-3), Kansas (1-0), Creighton (2-0)
Nebraska: Kansas (1-1), Creighton (2-1)

Bluejays with NCAA Tournament History
Playing with Notre Dame in 2021, Kyle Hess and Dominic Cancellieri played in one game – June 5, 2021 vs. Connecticut

Hess – PR, Run Scored
Cancellieri – 1 IP, R, 2H, 2 K

Creighton Baseball Begins NCAA Regional Against Kansas

Players Mentioned

Dominic Cancellieri

Connor Capece

Teddy Deters

Kyle Hess

Ian Koosman

Garrett Langrell

Will MacLean

Ben North

Nolan Sailors

Matt Scherrman

Malakai Vetock

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