2002 Creighton Baseball Season Recap
6/24/2002 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 24, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Season Wrapup
The Jays suprised a lot of people with their 2002 performance. After finishing seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2001 and picked to place sixth in pre-season polls, Creighton racked up a school-record 21 confrence wins en route to a second-place finish.
Chris Hinrichs made a solid transition from the outfield to second base for the Jays. The senior led the team in batting average (.337), home runs (11), triples (7), hits (69) RBIs, (49), runs (48) and stolen bases (27).
The newcomers were a big part off the turnaround for Creighton as five of the regular starters were new to the team, including the entire outfield.
Freshman first baseman Tony Roth played in every game of his first year, including 52 starts at first base. Roth was named MVC "Freshman of the Year" while providing solid defense and a great ability to reach base. Roth posted a .444 on-base-percentage while also batting .310. Roth led the team in walks (31) and hit-by-pitches (15). He also committed just four errors all year.
Nebraska transfer Matt Daeges was a pleasant surprise for the Jays in right field. The freshman is batting .255 with eight doubles.
The Jays have tried four different players at third base. The freshman duo of Gabe Lapito and Mike Sirianni split time at the hot corner most of the year, with Sirianni seeing extra innings due to Lapito's ankle injury late in the season.
Bluejay pitching saw some problems early in the season, but have made vast improvements since then. Creighton had a team ERA of 11.81 after its first five games, but since then, the ERA dropped to 5.85.
The Jays' pitching staff was led by Tom Oldham and his 3.90 ERA. Oldham owned a 7-3 record while striking out 80 batters on the season.
Freshman Matt Buckingham looked solid for Creighton early in the season, posting a 4-1 record and a 3.64 ERA before a torn medial collateral ligament ended his season.
Rounding out CU's starting rotation was RHP's Mike Perkins (3-5, 5.89 ERA), Prentice Lofstedt (5-4, 5.49 ERA) and Brian Koch (0-2, 7.91 ERA).
Set-up man Matt Garland was named MVC Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 15 for his work against Northern Iowa and Nebraska, when he tossed six innings of scoreless relief in his three appearances. On the season, Garland was 4-0 with a 5.31 ERA in 27 relief appearances.
Steve Grasley stepped into the role of closer for the Jays. Grasley was 4-6 with a 4.87 ERA overall. Take out the three games in which Grasley started and you'll notice a difference in his stats. He was 4-3 with a 2.09 ERA and 11 saves as the Jays' closer.
Last Time Out
The Jays entered the Missouri Valley Tournament expecting to give #12 Wichita State a run for their money for the title. Unfortunately, Creighton's stay in Wichita was a short one, as the Jays went two and out.
The Bluejays appeard to get off to a good start, scoring seven runs in the first two innings including two home runs by senior Chris Hinrichs, but they went scoreless the rest of the tournament.
In game one, CU took a 7-6 lead against Indiana State into the ninth inning. With two out, the Sycamores belted back-to-back homers to win the game 9-7.
The Jays never recovered as Northern Iowa freshman hurler Kory Kelchen tossed a five-hit, complete-game shutout in the second game. UNI eliminated the Jays with a 4-0 victory.
Head Coach Jack Dahm
At the age of 35, Jack Dahm has already established himself as one of the most successful names in Creighton baseball history. Dahm has spent the last 17 years as a player (1986-89), assistant coach (1990-93) and head coach (1994-present) for the Bluejays. In that time, CU has amassed 583 wins in 1,021 games for a .573 winning percentage.
Finishing his ninth season as the Jays' head coach, Dahm has become just the second head coach in school history to win more than 200 games, owning a career record of 263-239-2. Dahm should surpass his former coach Jim Hendry in career victories (282) next year.
Dahm was named 2002 MVC Coach of the Year, marking the second time in his career that he earned the distinction.
Crowded House
A near-sellout crowd of 18,758 fans, the third-largest crowd in NCAA regular-season history came to Rosenblatt Stadium on May 15 to watch Creighton host Nebraska. Adding fuel to the fire was the pitching match-up featuring aces Tom Oldham and Shane Komine. Fans were treated to a pitchers duel through seven innings as NU held a slim 2-1 lead before the Huskers tagged CU closer Steve Grasley for five in the eighth en route to a 9-1 win.
Standings Match Creighton's Success
Take a look at the MVC standings and you'll notice a strong correlation between Creighton's record against that team and how they finished. CU split four games with first-place Wichita State, third-place SMS and fourth-place SIU. They took 3-of-4 with fifth-place Indiana State and sixth-place Northern Iowa. Against the teams that did not qualify for the MVC Tournament (Illinois State, Evansville and Bradley), Creighton went 9-2.
Jays Turn "Triple Play"
With Jack Dahm's MVC Coach of the Yeah honor, Creighton completed a "Triple Play" of sorts. Both Dana Altman (MBB) and Connie Yori (WBB) were named MVC Coach of the Year while leading their squads to regular-season and tournament titles this winter.
A Fresh Start Pays Off
More than half (249-of-481) of Creighton's hits this season have come from players who are newcomers this season. Most impressively, 40.6 percent of CU's hits have come from its freshman class. Below is a comparison of CU's offensive stats by class, with the percentage of the team's total in parentheses:
Year AB H HR RBI
Fr. 709 (40.6) 184 (38.3) 10 (20.8) 98 (33.3)
So. 26 (1.6) 4 (0.9) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Jr. 572 (32.8) 151 (31.4) 20 (41.7) 98 (33.3)
Sr. 439 (25.1) 142 (29.5) 18 (37.5) 98 (33.3)
Dahm-inant Force
Creighton head coach Jack Dahm's MVC Coach of the Year honor was well deserved. Dahm's team was picked for sixth in the preseason MVC poll but finished second despite starting freshmen for much of the year at first base (Roth), third base (Sirianni/Lapito), centerfield (Pietro) and rightfield (Daeges). Dahm previously won the award in 1999 when his team finished 38-23.
Dahm took a huge risk when he threw Tom Oldham against Nebraska on May 15. That meant Oldham had to throw on four-days rest while also losing the super southpaw for the weekend series with Bradley. In the end, it paid off though, as CU's game on Friday was rained out, so Oldham would've been forced to open the MVC Tourney on three-days rest.
Lofstedt Nabs Scholar-Athlete Honor
Senior RHP Prentice Lofstedt earned Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending May 12. Lofstedt threw a complete game to beat Stetson, 7-3 on May 12. Lofstedt owns a 3.547 GPA in Management Information Systems and is a two-time member of the Valley's Scholar-Athlete team.
Gradoville Academic All-District
Creighton catcher Tim Gradoville was one of two MVC student-athletes (Travis Welsch) named to the Verizon Academic All-District VII team. Gradoville, a preseason all-MVC catcher, batted .282 this season and owns a 3.485 GPA in the classroom.
The Hit Men
Tony Roth (15), Chris Hinrichs (13) and Tyler Davies (12) have all been hit by 12 or more pitches this season to each rank among CU's top-10 all-time single-season leaders. Roth trails just Chad McConnell's 21 HBP in 1992 on CU's single-season list.
Hinrichs has now been hit 34 times in his career to tie McConnell for second on CU's career list, trailing Dan Lawler's 45.
Roth also ties for fifth on the all-time, single-season MVC list for hit by pitch.
Throw Out The Rankings
Creighton was 4-4 vs. ranked teams this season, having beaten both Nebraska and Notre Dame when each were ranked 12th nationally and Wichita State (twice) which was #9 at the time.
Ryan Gives ISU Fitz, Named Player of Week
Junior LF Ryan Fitzgerald had three homers (including an inside-the-park homer) and four stolen bases while scoring seven times vs. Indiana State on May 3-5. Fitzgerald was 4-for-10 (.400) at the plate with six walks and was hit once for an on-base percentage of .647 and slugging percentage of 1.300. He drove in five runs during the week. He was also perfect in the field in six opportunities in left field.
Fitzgerald was named MVC Player of the Week for his work against Indiana State.
Prentice Makes Perfect
Prentice Lofstedt has made 66 appearances and 35 starts in his Creighton career, but he saved his best work for last two home starts. The senior from Iowa Falls threw seven shutout innings, holding Indiana State to four hits, in Creighton's 3-0 victory on May 5th.
Pitching on Senior Day, Lofstedt then recorded his first complete game at Creighton in his final home game. Lofstedt went seven innings while striking out eight batters and giving up three runs in a 7-3 Bluejay win.
Lofstedt threw his second complete game in as many starts last weekend when he was on the short end of a 3-0 loss at Bradley.
Senior Swan Song
The Nebraska game marked the final regular-season appearance in Omaha for 11 individuals closely associated with the CU baseball program over the years. Among those honored as part of CU's Senior Day festivities were graduating administrative assistant John Millea, graduating juniors Mike Pietro, Keith Hood and Tim Gradoville and seniors Prentice Lofstedt, Scott Allen, Chris Hinrichs, Joe Humay, Rob Ward and Brian Koch. In addition, Fr. Robert Hart, team chaplain at Creighton for the last 20 years, was honored prior to game vs. Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Creighton's senior class was 127-103 in the last four years.
Going, Going, Gone
The Creighton bench was a little shorthanded in the second game of the May 4th doubleheader vs. Indiana State. First, assistant coach Ed Servais was ejected arguing a balk call in the third inning. One pitch later, CU reliever Matt Garland was ejected for leaving the bench during a verbal war of words that stemmed from Tyler Davies being hit by a pitch. With Servais' ejection, pitching coach C.J. Keating assumed first-base coaching box duties.
Grasley Knows How To Finish
As tough as it's been to score against CU closer Steve Grasley in relief, it's been even tougher for opponents to knock him out of the game. Grasley has finished 21 of the last 22 games he's relieved in, dating back to a March 16 win over Arkansas-Little Rock. The only game in that time he did not finish was CU's 9-1 loss to Nebraska on May 15 when he surrendered a five-run eighth inning.
Jays Run Wild
Creighton owns 118 stolen bases in 159 attempts this season, and perhaps the threat to steal was most important vs. Indiana State when they visited the CU Sports Complex. For the weekend, Creighton was perfect in 13 stolen base attempts vs. the Sycamores. In addition, ISU committed four errors on failed pickoff attempts, including a series-ending 10th-inning miscue that allowed Chris Hinrichs to come home from third to score the winning run.
Jays Find A Way To Win
Take a look at CU's stats in the MVC and it seems improbable that they finished 21-10. Despite being out-hit by a 300-246 margin, they scored 24 more runs than their opponents. Creighton outhit its opponent just three times in eight MVC series, but did not lose a league series. Below is a closer look at the CU's number compared to their MVC opponents (CU listed first).
Opp. Hits Runs Ave. CU W-L
Ill. St. 26/35 22/20 .280/.333 2-1
SIU 25/49 21/32 .210/.355 2-2
Evans. 45/38 36/22 .354/.279 4-0
N. Iowa 38/32 22/12 .297/.267 3-1
WSU 20/36 14/19 .179/.273 2-2
SMS 29/37 22/23 .225/.291 2-2
Ind. St. 26/40 27/23 .218/.286 3-1
Bradley 37/33 26/15 .287/.266 3-1
Totals 246/300 190/166 .257/.294 21-10
Locker Room Dedicated For Hendry
Creighton's all-time winningest baseball coach, Jim Hendry, returned to Omaha this past Saturday, May 4th, as the new Creighton locker room was renamed for him. The ceremony took place on the field between games of the doubleheader vs. Indiana State.
Hendry led the Bluejays to their only College World Series appearance in 1991, when the club finished 51-22. He is currently the vice president for player personnel for the Chicago Cubs.
Grand Ol' Game
Creighton's first game on April 20th was the 1,000th with Jack Dahm in a Bluejay uniform. He was 148-100-1 as a player from 1986-89, 172-95-1 as an assistant coach from 1990-93 and is 263-239-2 as the head coach at his alma mater since 1994.
The April 13th win vs. Northern Iowa was the 250th as CU head coach. It all adds up to a record of 583-434-4 (.572) since Dahm arrived in Omaha. The second game of the doubleheader at Bradley marked Dahm's 500th game as the head coach of Creighton baseball.
How Low Can He Go
Creighton closer Steve Grasley continues to dominate out of the bullpen, as he's lowered his MVC ERA in relief to 0.85 with three wins and nine saves. Grasley was scored on only twice in his 17 MVC relief appearances.
Grasley By The Inning
Closer Steve Grasley continues to be a good barometer of the Jays sucess this season, owning a 4-0 mark with 11 saves and a 0.97 ERA in CU's 27 wins, but an 0-5 record and 12.23 ERA in the team's losses. Here's an even more in-depth breakdown of Grasley this season:
INN ERA IP H ER BB SO
1 0.00 3.0 3 0 0 3
2 2.25 4.0 5 1 0 6
3 4.50 4.0 5 2 1 2
4 9.00 3.0 5 3 1 3
5 61.71 2.1 14 16 3 2
6 1.93 4.2 5 1 1 4
7 0.00 10.1 6 0 2 13
8 6.14 13.2 11 9 1 11
9 0.59 15.1 15 1 1 9
10 0.00 1.0 0 0 0 0
Iron Man Hinrichs
Chris Hinrichs is one of three Creighton players (along with Tony Roth and Scott Allen) to have played in all 54 games this season. Hinrichs has played every play of every inning at second base this season for the Bluejays after being used exclusively as an outfielder during his first three seasons. Last year the only Bluejay to play every inning of every game at the same position was SS Sean Peickert.
Bridesmaids Again
Creighton ended up 1.5 games behind Wichita State in their bid for their first MVC baseball title. The Jays have finished in second place on five occasions, including the 1991 team that finished 51-22 and advanced to the College World Series. The last previous time Creighton finished in second place came back in 1995.
On The Watch
Creighton SS Scott Allen and LHP Tom Oldham made the preliminary watch list for the 15th annual Rotary Smith Award as the nation's finest collegiate baseball player. The preliminary watch list was compiled after submissions by the sports information personnel at all of the Division 1 baseball schools in the country.
The Buck Stops Here
Freshman Matt Buckingham will miss the rest of Creighton's season. The righthander has a torn medial collateral ligament in the elbow of his throwing arm. Buckingham left CU's 4-2 win over Wichita State on April 20, when he experienced pain in his elbow after throwing 2.1 hitless innings. Buckingham underwent surgery on May 21 in Alabama.
Triple The Fun
Chris Hinrichs triple vs. Stetson on May 10 gives him seven this season after a total of three in his first three seasons. Hinrichs has moved into a tie for fifth on CU's single-season record list and his seven is a record for CU seniors. All seven of his triples came in non-conference action.
Odd Games Set The Pace
One trend Creighton followed all season long was the ability to do well in the odd numbered games of each series. The Jays were 7-1 in game one and game three of series, but 3-4 in game two and 4-3 in the game fours. In the eight game one's, the only CU pitchers to even throw have been Tom Oldham, Mike Perkins, Matt Garland and Steve Grasley.
The Hits Kept On Coming
According to available records, the 24 runs that Kansas State put on the board against Creighton were the most ever allowed in a single game by a Bluejay staff. The previous high of 23 happened last season at Arizona State and earlier this year against UC-Santa Barbara.
Jack of All Trades
Prior to the April 24 game vs. Kansas State, Rob Ward has played first base, catcher and designated hitter over the course of 34 games in his two years with Creighton. However, most of his time has been spent as the team's bullpen catcher. Ward got the chance that most position players only dream about, as the senior was inserted by Jack Dahm to pitch in the blowout loss to Kansas State.
After plunking his first batter, Ward forced a ground out to end the seventh. Ward, who was timed in the low 80's on the radar gun, ran out of gas in the eighth inning as the Wildcats used one single and three walks to start a seven-run inning. Only four of the runs were charged to Ward, while the other three were unearend and went against reliever Matt Garland.
Norquist Keys Pinch Parade
The Creighton bench came through against SMS, led by Dan Norquist's game-winning pinch-hit single in the ninth inning on Saturday. Norquist leads a CU bench that is now 16-for-41 this season in pinch-hitting situations. By comparison, last year Creighton was 7-of-31 in pinch-hitting situations.Pinch-Hitting Stats
Name Ave H-AB HR RBI
Joe Pietro 1.000 1-1 0 0
Tim Gradoville 1.000 1-1 0 1
D.J. Klusaw .500 2-4 1 1
Tom Oldham .500 2-4 0 0
Matt Daeges .500 1-2 0 1
Ryan Fitzgerald .500 1-2 0 0
Dan Norquist .444 4-9 2 4
Rob Ward .333 3-9 0 4
Gabe Lapito .250 1-4 1 1
B.J. Schumacher .200 1-5 0 0
Tyler Davies .000 0-1 0 1
Dennis Shanahan --- 0-0 0 1
Jim Hinrichs --- 0-0 0 0
Team Total .390 16-41 4 14
The World According To Garland
Matt Garland earned Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 15 for his work against Nebraska and Northern Iowa. The junior from Creighton Prep tossed six innings of scoreless relief in his three appearances. Garland allowed seven hits while getting the win against Nebraska and a save in a game at UNI.
Garland continues to excel in his set-up role and enters this weekend with a stretch of 10 earned runs in his last 24 innings pitched. In fact, if not for three rough outings where he's given up six runs (vs. UCSB, at SIU and vs. Ind. St.), his ERA would be 1.61.
Batting Leadoff...At First Base...
First baseman Tony Roth's .444 on-base percentage leads the team by a wide margin, so it only made sense for Jack Dahm to insert the freshman into the leadoff spot to help set the table. Roth did his part with a double and two singles in his first three at-bats vs. Kansas State. He leads the Jays walks (31) and HBP (15) and is third with a .310 batting average.
Roth played second base in high school before being converted to first base this fall to help fill a hole in the infield. The Freshman of the Year winner has swiped 9-of-14 stolen bases and owns just four errors in 492 chances in the field.
First Hit Of Many
Freshman Jim Hinrichs made the most of his second career start vs. Kansas State. The freshman from Omaha singled in his first at-bat on the afternoon, which was also his first career hit at the college level. Hinrichs' last previous hit in a game was a walk-off homer at Rosenblatt Stadium that gave Creighton Prep the Nebraska State High School title last summer.
Norquist Shows All Around Game
Dan Norquist went 3-for-4 vs. Kansas State with a single, double and triple on the afternoon, leaving him just a homer shy of the cycle. However, Norquist hit a ninth-inning, pinch-hit homer the previous Sunday vs. Wichita State. Earlier this season Chris Hinrichs hit for the cycle against Dana on March 5th.
Against SMS, Norquist had the game-winning RBI on a pinch-hit single in the top of the ninth on Saturday. He also reached base three out of five at bats on Sunday, Apr. 28.
A Good Omen
Creighton's split with Wichita State was just the third season since 1985 that the Bluejays posted multiple wins vs. the Shockers. The previous two times (1992 and 2000) that Creighton did it, they ended the season in NCAA Regional play.
Jam Sessions
Steve Grasley has shown the ability to come in and get out of jams this season, allowing just 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) of inherited runners to score this season. By comparison, his teammates have allowed 42-of-66 (63.6 percent) to score.
Hinrichs The Ignitor
Much of the success of Creighton's offense has hinged on the play of senior second baseman Chris Hinrichs. In the last 31 games, Creighton is 17-6 when Hinrichs gets a hit and 1-7 when he's hitless.
Creighton's centerfielder the last three seasons, Hinrichs continues to play excellent defense at second base. He has just four errors in his last 213 chances (since March 10) for a stellar .981 fielding percentage.
Formula For Success
Most coaches in the MVC will tell you the formula for success is to win your series at home and split on the road. Creighton's followed that pattern this season and finished in second place, just 1.5 games out of first. The Jays have won home series with Evansville, Indiana State and Illinois State while splitting with #9 Wichita State. On the road, they've split with Southern Illinois and SMS while going 3-1 vs. Northern Iowa and Bradley.
Another key is to do well in both games of Saturday's doubleheaders. Creighton has played nine doubleheaders this season, sweeping Evansville, Bradley and Wichita State and splitting with Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana State, Bradley and SMS. The last time CU made it through an entire MVC season without being swept in a doubleheader was Jack Dahm's first season in 1994. This year marked the first time in CU's MVC history that they went the entire league slate without losing consecutive conference games in the same series.
Saturday Savior
Sophomore closer Steve Grasley continues to get his work in on Saturday's, having pitched in 12 of Creighton's last 16 Saturday contests. He's pitched in both games of a doubleheader on four occasions (all on Saturday's) and is 2-2 with five saves in 24.2 innings over his last 12 Saturday appearances.
For the season, Grasley leads Creighton with 27 appearances and 11 saves.
Homers In A Pinch
Redshirt freshman Dan Norquist came off bench for a ninth-inning homer vs. Wichita State, Creighton's fourth pinch-hit homer of the season and Norquist's first base hit since Feb. 22, Creighton's second game of the year.
Norquist and fellow frosh Gabe Lapito both hit a pinch-hit homer in the first at-bat of their college careers. Norquist did it in the season opener vs. Kansas State on Feb. 19, while Lapito did it on Feb. 23 vs. UC-Santa Barbara. In addition, D.J. Klusaw swatted a pinch-hit homer vs. Southern Illinois on March 15.
One Hit Wonders
Wichita State RHP John Tetuan threw one of the best games in the Shockers' storied history vs. Creighton on on April 19, striking out 13 while allowing just one fly ball to the outfield and one second-inning single by Tim Gradoville. The last time Creighton was held to one hit was Nebraska's Steve Fish, who one-hit the Jays Feb. 21, 1997 in Phoenix in a 3-0 Husker victory.
Fitzgerald Rounds Second
Junior outfielder Ryan Fitzgerald keyed Creighton's 4-2 seven-inning victory over Wichita State on April 20, blasting a three-run homer in the second inning and scoring an insurance run in the fifth frame. Fitzgerald now has eight homers and four triples, but just five doubles this year.
All The Small Things
Creighton coach Jack Dahm continues to put pressure on the opponents with a brand of small-ball. The Jays have performed 39 sacrifice bunts, stolen 51 bases and had nine sacrifice flies in the last 30 games. In that time, they've grounded into just 14 double plays, while turning 27 themselves.
Allen Picks It Up at Short
Jack Dahm is quick to credit the move of Scott Allen to shorstop for Creighton's run of success. In the 41 games he's played at short, Allen has hit .331 with 31 runs scored and 34 RBIs. His defense has also been solid, with 11 errors in 213 chances for a .948 fielding percentage.
Shortstop
AVG GP AB R H HR RBI E FLD
.331 41 151 31 50 6 34 11 .948
Third Base
AVG GP AB R H HR RBI E FLD
.308 13 52 9 16 1 7 4 .907
The Valley Difference
Creighton succeeded in regular-sesaon MVC play thanks to pitching and defense. CU's MVC fielding percentage is a robust .968 while their ERA is 4.78 in league action. The Bluejay hitters are actually hitting worse in MVC action, batting at a .257 clip.
Creighton's 21 wins in MVC play this season is 10 more than their total from a year ago. Creighton had never won more than 18 games in MVC play.
Games W-L AVG R/G ERA FLD%
MVC only 21-10 .257 6.12 4.78 .968
Non-MVC 9-14 .297 7.09 7.26 .946
Better Get A Good Start
Much of Creighton's success this season has been dependent on their starting pitchers. For instance, against SIU Creighton's two wins came via complete game efforts by Tom Oldham and Matt Buckingham. Creighton lost the two games their bullpen was needed, including Sunday's 14-4 loss that came after leading 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh. The inning that has hurt the Jays the most has been the fifth, where the team ERA is 9.00. Here's a comparison of the team by innings:
Innings 1-3
ERA IP H R ER BB SO
4.17 162 203 109 93 52 111
Innings 4-6
ERA IP H R ER BB SO
6.50 162 210 139 117 62 105
Innings 7-9
ERA IP H R ER BB SO
5.98 128 158 102 85 49 106
Sweeping Up The Fallin' Aces
The April 16th doubleheader sweep was Creighton's first vs. Evansville since May 4, 1997. This also marked the first time in school history that Creighton swept Evansville in a four-game series.
Friendly Confines
Creighton started off to a 9-1 home record for the first time since the 2000 team did it and later made it to the NCAA Regionals. What's more impressive is that since Jack Dahm arrived at Creighton as a player, the Jays have started 8-1 or better at home in 10 of the last 17 seasons. In that span they've also done it in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999 and 2000 before this season.
OIdham To Become The Caped Crusader
Tom Oldham will spend this summer playing in the Cape Cod League. That league is generally recognized as the premier summer league for college players and typically home to the nation's future draft prospects.
Oldham was named to the all-Northwoods League team, with a 6-1 record and a 0.74 ERA for the Wisconsin Woodchucks. He gave up six earned runs and 56 hits in 73.1 innings of work.
Start of Something Big
Earlier this year, Creighton started Missouri Valley Conference play 8-3 (or better) for just the fifth time in school history, and the first time since 1999's team went 38-25 and made it to the NCAA Regional. Other teams that started 8-3 or better also experienced a great deal of success, including the 1995 team that went 35-22, the 1991 team that went 51-22 and made it to the College World Series and the 1988 team that was 43-21-1. Jack Dahm was a player on the '88 team, an assistant coach on the '91 team, and has been the man in charge for the last three occasions.
Five Hit Game Sparks Allen's Weekend
Scott Allen's five hits on April 5, against Evansville made him the first Bluejay player with five hits in a game since Vince Pietro went 5-for-6 vs. Bradley on May 5, 2000. Allen's hot week continued when he hit a grand slam in the second game of the series, a double in the third game and three hits and three RBI in the series finale. In all, Allen went 10-for-18 (.556) with four runs, three doubles, a homer and eight RBI for the weekend.
If At First, You Don't Succeed...
While we're on the topic of significant innings, it's worth noting that Tom Oldham has been absolutely dominant after surviving past some mediocre first innings this season. He's given up 13 of his 39 earned runs this year in the first inning of his starts, as evidenced below:
First Inning
ERA IP H R ER BB SO
7.80 15 26 13 13 2 14
After 1st Inning
ERA IP H R ER BB SO
3.15 75 81 34 26 17 66
Saving Gras
Steve Grasley's save Sunday at Bradley gives him 11 this season and 16 in his young career. That places him second in CU history for career saves, trailing only Steve Plummer's 18. Grasley finished one shy of Chris Ringleb and Rick Heiserman's single-season record of 12.
Grasley also moved onto the MVC single-season list with the 11 saves. He is just two saves shy of the MVC career-saves list.
Big Game Pitcher
Before getting hurt, freshman Matt Buckingham owned three of Creighton's biggest wins of the year. He defeated a Michigan State team that started 17-6, a Notre Dame team that was ranked 12th nationally at the time, and now a Southern Illinois squad that was 14-7 at the time.
Buckingham isn't the first freshman hurler to experience a lot of success on the mound. Steve Grasley (2001) and Scott Yarhaus (1999) were both named honorable-mention freshman All-Americans following their debut seasons with the Jays.
Closer Grasley
Steve Grasley has been replaced in Creighton's starting rotation and for good reason. Grasley has been nearly unhittable as a reliever with four wins and 11 saves in relief, but lost all three of the games he's started. Below is a comparison of Grasley's games:
Starter
ERA W-L G IP H R ER BB SO
14.49 0-3 3 13.2 30 22 22 4 13
Reliever
ERA W-L G IP H R ER BB SO
2.10 4-3 24 47.2 39 14 11 6 43
One inning that has particularly plagued Grasley has been the fifth inning. Grasley has been torched for 14 hits and 16 runs in just 2.1 innings of fifth-frame work for a 67.71 ERA. In all other innings, his ERA is a more manageable 2.62 As a team, Creighton has been outscored 58-35 in the fifth inning this season.
Double the Fun
Something that always helps pitchers get out of a jam is the double-play ball. That is something the Jays have been doing well as of late. CU has turned 41 double plays in its last 30 games. In the first 26 games this season, the Jays could only manage to turn 13.
How Bout the Weather
The Jays have not had the best of luck with the weather this spring. Ten of Creighton's games have been postponed or cancelled due to miserabe weather.
The Jays had their series finale with Illinois State as well as their game with Kansas on Tuesday, March 26, cancelled due to a winter storm that hit five days into spring.
More recently, Creighton's game against Rockhurst, scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, was cancelled due to a different kind of cold. Rockhurst head coach Gary Burns became ill, forcing the team to be unable to make the trip.
Shutout
CU's 7-0 win over Arkansas-Little Rock was the school's first shutout since a 12-0 blanking of SMS on April 23, 2000. Tom Oldham pitched seven and a third innings to earn the win.
