Baseball Takes Five-Game Winning Streak to Rice Classic
3/6/2008 9:45:00 PM | Baseball
This Weekend - Creighton plays three games at the Rice Classic in
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics website, www.gocreighton.com, will offer live stats for each game of the Rice Classic. Fans can access the live stats by clicking on the “Live Stats” link under the Multimedia tab on the left side of the homepage. In addition, fans can listen to the Rice radio broadcast of the Jays-Owls matchup on Sunday at www.ktru.org/ktruwmp2002 and watch the webcast of the game for a fee on www.riceowls.com.
Midweek Recap - Inclement weather on Tuesday in
In game one, Creighton used a three-run fourth inning to break open a 1-1 tie. Third baseman Steve Winkelmann then put the game out of reach with a grand slam in the eighth inning. Catcher Tony Pechek added a two-run homer in the ninth to make for the final margin of victory. Second baseman Michael Lam picked up three RBIs in the contest in support of winning pitcher Joe Bonfe (1-1), who allowed one run on three hits in a pre-determined three-inning start.
Winkelmann's bat stayed hot in game two, as the senior put the Jays up 3-0 in the first with a three-run homer. Memphis answered with a six-run bottom half of the opening frame, but Creighton hung a six-spot of its own in the fourth inning to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 9-6 lead. Leadoff hitter Robbie Knight notched two hits and scored two runs in the game, while first baseman Darin Ruf drove in two to up his team-leading RBI total to 12. Winkelmann drove in four runs in the contest to give him eight RBIs in the doubleheader. Redshirt freshman Greg Hellhake (1-0) picked up the win in relief. Senior Pat Venditte came in for a three-inning save, allowing no hits and recording six strikeouts.
Scouting Creighton - The Bluejay offense has come alive during their current five-game winning streak, averaging 10 runs and 11 hits per game. CU has batted .322 and tallied five innings with four-plus runs in those five games.
A major question mark entering the season, the bullpen, has pitched well in the early going. The bullpen has posted a 3.29 ERA, nearly a run better than CU's starters. The starting staff, however, is undefeated in four decisions.
Emphasizing a fundamental approach to the game, Creighton prides itself on good defense and an opportunistic offense. So far this season, CU has committed an uncharacteristic seven errors in eight games for a .977 fielding percentage. On offense, the Bluejays have executed 17 sacrifice bunts after ranking sixth in NCAA history with 93 last season.
Scouting Western Carolina - The Catamounts are 3-6 after falling to
WCU finished 42-20 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season, falling to national runner-up
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Junior catcher Kyle Day leads the Spartan offense with 14 hits and 12 RBIs in the early going. MSU's projected starter against the Bluejays on Saturday, Mark Sorensen, is 0-1 with a 12.60 ERA in two starts.
Scouting Rice - The Owls are 6-4 this season, with impressive wins over
The fourth-ranked Owls own a wealth of experienced pitching, led by converted closer Cole St. Clair, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Ryan Berry and Matt Langwell give the Owls three outstanding weekend starters. Langwell has been Rice's Sunday starter in 2008 and will likely be on the mound against the Jays in the tournament finale.
Offensively, preseason All-American Aaron Luna is hitting .343 with 12 hits and three doubles in the cleanup spot. Third baseman Diego Seastruck leads the Owls so far with a .386 batting average, 17 hits and four doubles. J.P. Padron leads the team with 13 RBIs.
Rice is annually one of the country's best team, making six trips to the College World Series in school history. The Owls won the national championship in 2003. Last season, Rice advanced to the national semifinals in
Series History - Creighton will be facing Western Carolina for the first time in school history on Friday, while the Bluejays are 1-1 against
Friday's game with
The Bluejays and Spartans last met on Feb. 24, 2002, when Creighton won a slugfest, 22-15. MSU defeated the Jays, 3-1, in 1986, in the other meeting. Creighton is 34-36 all-time against teams from the Big 10 Conference.
Creighton's only meeting with Rice occurred in 1993, when the Owls edged the Jays, 3-2. CU is now 3-2 all-time against schools from Conference
The Coaches -
David Grewe is in his third season at
Coaching legend Wayne Graham has been in the Rice dugout for 17 seasons and is in his 28th season overall as a college head coach. He has a 1,321-401 record in his collegiate coaching career and is 746-288 at Rice going into Friday's game against
Creighton head coach Ed Servais is 165-80 (.673) in five seasons with the Bluejays. His teams have averaged nearly 40 wins per season and he has been named MVC Coach of the Year three times in his first four seasons.
Winkelmann Streak? Senior third baseman Steve Winkelmann has hit safely in all eight games this season for the Bluejays. He compiled eight RBIs in CU's midweek doubleheader sweep of
Ruf On Fire - Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Darin Ruf has been on a tear since going 1-for-10 in CU's season-opening series at
Soto Snaps Hitless Streak - Freshman shortstop Elliot Soto picked up his first collegiate hit in game two of the doubleheader against Memphis Wednesday, driving in a run in the process. The 13th-round draft choice of the Minnesota Twins had gone 0-for-19 to begin his career.
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Sacrificial Lam - Senior Michael Lam leads the Jays with five sacrifice bunts on the season. Lam started game one of the doubleheader against
Road From
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Last Season - Creighton finished 2007 with its second 45-win season in the past three years, ending with a 45-16 record. The Bluejays placed second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 19-5 mark, for the best MVC winning percentage in school history. The team captured its first MVC Tournament title in school history, defeating 12th-ranked
MVC Preseason Poll - Creighton was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference, as voted by the league's coaches. The Bluejays were picked fourth last season, but finished second in the final standings. Individually, first baseman Darin Ruf, starting pitcher Ben Mancuso and relief pitcher Pat Venditte were named to the 14-member all-MVC Preseason Team.
Mancuso Out of Action - Starting pitcher Ben Mancuso will not pitch this weekend in the Rice Classic and will have his throwing arm re-evaluated in mid-March following an injury suffered at
Caliente Cafaro - Junior college transfer Vicente Cafaro has been impressive in his first eight games at the Division I level. He leads all regulars with a .435 batting average and five doubles. He is also a team-best 3-for-3 in stolen base opportunities. In Creighton's season-opening win over
Preseason Recognition - Senior ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte, the 2007 MVC Tournament MVP, has received a multitude of preseason honors. He was chosen to the Golden Spikes and Brooks Wallace player of the year watch lists. Venditte was also named a first-team preseason All-American by Rivals.com and
Fellow senior pitcher Ben Mancuso, the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Year, was also named to the Brooks Wallace and Roger Clemens watch lists. The southpaw was also voted a third-team preseason All-American by the NCBWA and Ping! Baseball. Both Venditte and Mancuso were named to the MVC Preseason Team, along with junior first baseman Darin Ruf.
Ambidextrous Accomplishments ? Senior reliever Pat Venditte is the only known ambidextrous pitcher in the country. Last season, Venditte used both arms in a game 30 times in his school-record 38 appearances. In the 30 games he switch pitched, he struck out a batter with both arms 10 times. So far in 2008, Venditte has used both arms in all six of his appearances, and has recorded a strikeout with each arm in five of those outings. He ranks fourth all-time at Creighton with 79 career appearances.
ERA Records - During his standout 2007 campaign, Venditte established a new school record with a 1.88 earned run average. This number was aided by a 43.2-inning scoreless streak from April 11 to May 26, which spanned 17 appearances. With a 0.56 ERA after six appearances this season, Venditte now boasts a 2.43 career ERA to rank first in school history.
Making the Sacrifice - Creighton set a school and Missouri Valley Conference record with 93 sacrifice bunts in 2007. The total ranked third nationally and sixth in NCAA history. Of the 93 runners advanced on a sacrifice, 62 came around to score. In the first eight games of the 2008 season, the Jays have already managed 17 sacrifice bunts.
Black and Blue(jays) - The 2007 squad also set a school record after being hit by 116 pitchew, which was one shy of national leader UC-Irvine. Seven players were hit by at least nine pitches, including new NCAA single-season record holder Robbie Knight, who was beaned 35 times. So far in 2008, Creighton batters have been hit by 11 pitches.
Knight Needing Armor - Sophomore center fielder Robbie Knight was hit by an NCAA record 35 pitches last season, including 11 times when leading off a game. He tallied seven games in which he was beaned more than once and set a school record with four HBP against
Turning Two - Creighton led the MVC last season with 77 double plays. In 2005, the Bluejays led the country in the category with 85 twin-killers. CU ended last season with at least one double play in 38 of the last 41 games. The Jays have continued that trend with at least one double play in six of their eight games this season, totaling eight altogether.
Jays in the Pros - Three players from the 2007 squad were drafted in last June's MLB Draft. Pitcher Marc Lewis was a 20th-round selection of the Florida Marlins, catcher Chris Gradoville was selected in the 24th round by the Texas Rangers and pitcher Pat Venditte was chosen in the 45th round by the New York Yankees. Infielder Chad Ogden also signed a free agent contract with the Rangers. In addition freshman shortstop Elliot Soto was a 13th-round pick of the Minnesota Twins. Venditte and Soto both turned down the opportunity to play professionally and are members of the 2008 Bluejay team.
Roughing It - Junior first baseman Darin Ruf, the 2007 MVC Player of the Year, has started all 121 games he has played in his career, including all 61 contests last season and each of the eight games this season. Ruf was on the field at first base every inning of every game last season.
Mr. Productivity - Ruf led Creighton and ranked in the top-five of the MVC last season in 10 different offensive categories, including batting average (.374), on-base percentage (.463), slugging percentage (.587), total bases (135), doubles (19), RBIs (57), hits (86), runs (53), walks (35) and home runs (8).
Gold Glove ? As impressive as Ruf has been at the plate, he may be an even better defensive player. Last season, Ruf won a Rawlings Gold Glove as the nation's best fielding first baseman after committing only two errors in 611 chances for a .997 fielding percentage.
Television Exposure - Creighton will play at least 10 games this season on TV, including four games that will be carried either live or tape delayed nationally by CSTV. Games played at Rosenblatt Stadium against
Radio Coverage - KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast 23 regular season Bluejay baseball games, including 14 home games, nine road games and all postseason contests. John Bishop will provide play-by-play, while Dave Gustafson will handle the color commentary. All games can also be heard online at www.1620thezone.com. In addition, nine home games will be available in an audio-only webcast on gocreighton.com.
Local Mix - The 2008 Bluejay roster consists of 17 Nebraskans, including 12 players from
Under head coach Ed Servais, Creighton has:
? Averaged nearly 40 wins per season
? Made two NCAA Tournament appearances
? Won its first MVC regular-season championship (2005)
? Won its first MVC Tournament championship (2007)
? Led the nation in fielding percentage (2004)
? Led the nation in double plays (2005)
? Produced six All-Americans
? Had nine players sign with Major League organizations
? Had 12 first-team all-MVC selections
? A 41-11 record in MVC home games
? A 67-9 record when leading after the first inning
? A 134-6 record when leading after the sixth inning
? A 119-4 record when leading after the seventh inning
? A 122-3 record when leading after the eighth inning
? A 56-3 record when scoring ten or more runs
? A 113-8 record when scoring six or more runs
? A 125-12 record when scoring five or more runs
? A 123-9 record when out-hitting its opponents
? A 121-22 record when scoring first
Quick Hits:
? CU did not lose a game in 2007 when leading after the sixth inning or later, and the Jays are 6-0 so far this season. The Jays were 35-0 with a lead after the sixth, 33-0 after the seventh and 36-0 after the eighth last season.
? CU has won 51 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning. The streak dates back to a 5-4 loss to
? Senior ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte has been featured in many national publications during his career. He has appeared on the front cover of the New York Times, the “Leading Off” section of Sports Illustrated, in USA Today and Baseball America. He has also made appearances on ESPN's Cold Pizza, the CBS Evening News, Rogers Sportsnet in
? When Venditte takes to the hill, NCAA rules dictate that he declare which arm he will throw with before the batter steps into the box. Venditte is only allowed to switch pitching arms between batters, and not in the middle of a pitch count.
? Senior third baseman Steve Winkelmann tied the CU single-season record with eight sacrifice flies during the 2007 season.
? CU was 28-5 last season when Michael Lam started at second base, and the Jays are 3-0 this season.
? CU returns four players who had 12 or more multi-hit games in 2007: Darin Ruf (22), Robbie Knight (16), Michael Lam (12) and Steve Winkelmann (12). Ruf leads all current players with 36 career multi-hit games, including a team-leading four in 2008. Knight has three as the leadoff man in 2008.
