Baseball To Conclude Home Stand With Kansas State and Iowa At Rosenblatt
4/14/2008 10:00:00 PM | Baseball
On Deck - Creighton will conclude its seven-game home stand with midweek games at Rosenblatt Stadium against Kansas State on Tuesday and Iowa on Wednesday.
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics website, www.gocreighton.com, will offer live stats for both games. The link can be found under the Multimedia tab on the left side of the athletics homepage. In addition, each game will be broadcast on Omaha's KOZN (1620 AM) with Dave Gustafson and Nick Handley on the call. The audio feed is also available at www.1620thezone.com.
TV Coverage - Both games will be televised by Nebraska Educational Television, with Kevin Kugler providing the play-by-play and John Bishop as the color analyst.
Tuesday's game vs. Kansas State will be shown on NET-1/NET-HD, while Wednesday's game against Iowa will be available on NET-2/NET-HD. Free streaming video of the telecasts will be available at netnebraska.org.
In addition, CBS College Sports TV (formerly CSTV) will bring both games to a national audience using the NET broadcast feed. Tuesday's game will be shown live and aired again on Wednesday morning at 2 and 11 AM. Wednesday's game will be shown tape-delayed on Thursday at 7 and 11 PM.
Scouting Kansas State (16-18) - The Wildcats dropped a Big 12 Conference series to Baylor last weekend at home. After winning the opener, 6-1, KSU lost 5-4 Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday. Since defeating Creighton, 11-1, on March 26, the Wildcats are 5-7. Their opponent was ranked in 10 of those 12 games.
The KSU offense is led by Omahan Adam Muenster, the only Wildcat batting above .300. The Millard North grad had an 18-game hitting streak snapped in Sunday's loss to Baylor. Nate Tenbrink has team-bests with six homers, 10 doubles and 27 RBIs.
Sophomore RHP A.J. Morris will get the start in Tuesday's game. He is 3-2 with a 4.71 ERA in seven appearances, including six starts. Morris picked up the victory against Creighton in the teams' first meeting, allowing one run on seven hits in five innings of work.
Scouting Iowa (12-18) - The Hawkeyes won their first Big 10 Conference series over the weekend, taking three of four at Indiana.
Iowa's offense came alive in the weekend series, scoring 47 runs in the four games. That accounts for nearly 24 percent of their total run-production for the entire season. Iowa hit five homers in the weekend series, matching their total from the previous 26 games. Senior Caleb Curry leads the Hawkeye offense with a .398 batting average, 43 hits and 31 RBIs.
The Hawkeyes have used the same pitching philosophy as Creighton in midweek games, relying on a number of pitchers to make it through contests. Wednesday's starter, freshman RHP Zach Kenyon, has made four midweek starts and owns a 0-1 record with a 5.40 ERA. Senior left-hander Andrew Porter is the team's top reliever, boasting a 2.49 ERA in 19 outings.
Scouting Creighton - After averaging 8.2 runs per game through the first 27 contests, the Creighton offense has mustered only 18 runs in the last six games. Even with the recent struggles, the Jays have still managed to score eight or more runs in 18 games this season and 10+ runs on eight occasions.
Usually a very solid team defensively, Creighton committed three errors in both games of Sunday's doubleheader against #5 Wichita State. With a .975 fielding percentage, CU still ranks atop the MVC.
Tuesday's starting pitcher, Greg Hellhake, is coming off a career-best outing in game two of last Wednesday's doubleheader against North Dakota State. He improved to 2-0 on the season with six scoreless frames.
Weekend Recap - Creighton dropped two of three to fifth-ranked Wichita State last weekend at Rosenblatt Stadium. After a Friday postponement, the Jays won the opener, 7-3, on Saturday. However, CU fell 11-3 and 3-2 in a doubleheader Sunday.
Series History - Kansas State leads the all-time series, 45-33-1, after its 11-1 win over Creighton on March 26.
The Jays can even the all-time series against Iowa with a win, as the Hawkeyes currently lead 10-9. The teams last met on April 1, 1998, when CU beat Iowa, 14-6.
The Coaches - Kansas State head coach Brad Hill is 136-117-2 in his fifth season with the Wildcats. He is 3-3 against Creighton.
Iowa head coach Jack Dahm returns to face his alma mater and former team Wednesday, as he played for and then coached the Bluejays for ten seasons (1994-2003). In five years with the Hawkeyes, he is 114-138.
Creighton head coach Ed Servais is 182-88 (.674) in his fifth season 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. He is 3-3 in his career against Kansas State and has yet to face Iowa.
Dahm Returns - Former Creighton player, assistant and head coach Jack Dahm will face his alma mater for the first time as Iowa's head man. Dahm compiled a 283-276-2 record as Creighton's head coach from 1994-2003. His teams made NCAA regional appearances in 1999 and 2000 and finished in the top-three of the MVC standings five times. He was 2-3 against Iowa as Creighton's head coach.
Servais vs. Dahm - Current Creighton head coach Ed Servais was hired by Jack Dahm as an assistant coach in 1998. Servais worked under Dahm for six seasons before taking over the program in 2003 when Dahm departed.
Rosenblatt History - Creighton is 11-7 in games played at Rosenblatt Stadium under head coach Ed Servais after going 1-2 last weekend against #5 Wichita State. Servais is 1-0 against Kansas State at Rosenblatt, a 4-1 win on April 27, 2004.
Wildcats Win In Manhattan - Kansas State defeated Creighton, 11-1, on March 26 at Tointon Stadium. The Wildcats scored five first-inning runs, highlighted by Jason King's grand slam. King and Justin Bloxom combined to go 7-for-10 with eight RBIs in the game. A.J. Morris picked up the win, allowing one run in five innings.
Knight Connection - CU's Robbie Knight began his career at Kansas State, redshirting in 2006, before joining the Creighton program last season. In addition, Knight and KSU sophomore outfielder Adam Muenster were high school teammates at Millard North High School in Omaha. As seniors in 2005, Knight and Muenster helped lead the Mustangs to the state championship and a No. 3 national ranking by USA Today.
Sacrificial Lam - Creighton leads the country with 52 sacrifice bunts this season after setting a school and MVC record with 93 in 2007. Senior Michael Lam and junior Vicente Cafaro lead the team and rank ninth nationally with 10 sac bunts apiece. Eight other Jays have at least two sacrifice bunts in 2008.
Shutout Mark - With shutouts in both games of last Wednesday's doubleheader against North Dakota State, the Creighton pitching staff increased its season total to seven. That mark ties Tulane for the national lead and surpasses last season's total of five.
Black and Blue(jays) - Creighton set a school record after being hit by 116 pitches last season, 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 64 pitches, which ranks fifth nationally. Once again, Knight leads the team and ranks among the national leaders with 15 HBP. Eleven different Bluejays have been hit by a pitch, and CU has recorded at least one HBP in 30 of 33 games.
Knight Needing Armor - Sophomore center fielder Robbie Knight has been hit by 15 pitches in 2008 after breaking the NCAA record last season with 35 bean balls. On March 29 against Illinois State, Knight was hit by three pitches to break the CU career record. He now has 50 HBP in only 93 career games.
Venditte Pitcher of the Week - Senior ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. He recorded saves in both games of CU's doubleheader sweep over North Dakota State last Wednesday. He then picked up the win over #5 Wichita State on Saturday with seven strikeouts in four innings of work. He fanned 14 in his four appearances.
Mr. Versatility - As the nation's only ambidextrous pitcher, Venditte has a unique advantage. His 21 appearances this season lead the MVC and tie for fourth-most in the country.
Strikeout King - Venditte leads the MVC with 61 strikeouts in 52.2 innings. He has recorded at least one strikeout in 19 of his 21 appearances.
Righty AND Lefty - So far this season, Venditte has used both arms in 19 of his 21 appearances. He has struck out a batter using his right and left arm in 10 of those outings. Last season, Venditte also recorded 10 different appearances in which he had at least one strikeout with each arm, as he led the squad with 99 Ks.
Rally Starter - Creighton has used big innings to score many of its runs this season. The Jays have compiled 19 different innings with four or more runs. CU has also scored six or more in an inning on five occasions.
Late-Inning Leads - Rice's two-run eighth-inning rally to defeat Creighton on March 9 marked the first time the Jays had lost a game when leading after the sixth inning since 2006. CU was 35-0 when leading after the sixth inning last season, and are 18-1 so far in 2008.
Closing the Door - In addition, Creighton has won 61 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning. The streak dates back to a 5-4 loss to Kansas State on April 11, 2006.
Mancuso Sidelined - Senior pitcher Ben Mancuso has been out of action since making a season-opening start against Washington State on Feb. 22. He began throwing again on March 31 and could return to game action in the coming weeks as his health improves. The preseason All-American and 2007 MVC Pitcher of the Year was 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA last season. He was victorious in his only start in 2008, allowing two earned runs in five innings at Washington State.
Hitting Streak - Senior Steve Winkelmann posted the team's longest hitting streak of the season, as he began 2008 with a hit in each of the first 12 games. In his 33 starts this season, he has hit safely in 24 games.
Back-to-Back Jacks - When Darin Ruf and Steve Winkelmann hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning of CU's win over South Dakota State on March 25, it marked the second time the Jays had accomplished the feat this season. Winkelmann and Nick Nordgren went back-to-back against #6 Rice on March 9. Even more interesting, on both occasions the home runs came on consecutive pitches.
Clutch Cafaro - Junior college transfer Vicente Cafaro has been impressive in his first 33 games at the Division I level. The middle infielder from Venezuela ranks among the team leaders in nearly every offensive category, including doubles (8), triples (2) and sacrifice bunts (10). He drove in the game-winning run in both games of CU's series at Bradley (April 4-6).
Senior CLASS Nominees - Senior pitchers Pat Venditte and Ben Mancuso are two of 30 nominees for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The honor recognizes seniors for their success both on and off the field, including work in the classroom and community, and overall character.
Winkelmann Receives National Honor - Senior third baseman Steve Winkelmann was honored on March 10 as the MVC Player of the Week after collecting 17 RBIs in five games the previous week. On March 12, Winkelmann was selected by CollegeBaseballInsider.com as its Co-National Player of the Week. He recorded eight RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Memphis (3/5), blasting a grand slam in game one and a three-run homer in the nightcap. He then hit three-run doubles in consecutive games against Western Carolina (3/7) and Michigan State (3/8) at the Rice Classic, and tallied five RBIs total against the Spartans. He concluded his impressive week with a solo home run against No. 6 Rice on March 9.
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, then captured its first MVC Tournament title in school history, defeating 12th-ranked Wichita State in the championship game. The Jays advanced to their eighth NCAA Tournament in school history, finishing with a win over Albany and losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas. The team featured the MVC Player of the Year (Darin Ruf), Pitcher of the Year (Ben Mancuso), Newcomer of the Year (Andy Masten), Coach of the Year (Ed Servais) and Tournament Most Outstanding Player (Pat Venditte).
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. In addition, first baseman Darin Ruf, starting pitcher Ben Mancuso and relief pitcher Pat Venditte were named to the 14-member all-MVC Preseason Team.
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. He was also named a first-team preseason All-American by Rivals.com and Ping! Baseball and a second-team choice by the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball. Fellow senior pitcher Ben Mancuso, the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Year, was also named to the Brooks Wallace Watch List and was voted a third-team preseason All-American by the NCBWA and Ping! Baseball.
More On Venditte - Pat Venditte currently ranks third on the CU career appearances chart. Venditte leads the MVC and is tied for fourth nationally with 21 appearances in 2008, a season after making a school-record 38 appearances -- in which he used both arms 30 times.
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 2.73 ERA after 21 appearances this season, Venditte now boasts a 2.64 career ERA to rank first in school history.
Jays in the Pros- Three players from the 2007 squad were selected 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 part of the 2008 Bluejay team.
Who Needs A Day Off? - Junior first baseman Darin Ruf, the 2007 MVC Player of the Year, has started all 146 games he has played in his career. This includes every one of Creighton's games over the past three seasons.
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 - Maybe a better player defensively, Ruf was awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove last season as the nation's best fielding first baseman. He committed only two errors in 611 chances. So far in 2008, he is errorless in 284 fielding chances, and maintains a .996 career fielding percentage.
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 its last 41 games. So far in 2008, CU has turned 22 double plays in 33 games.
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 CBS College Sports TV. Remaining games against Kansas State (4/15), Iowa (4/16) and Nebraska (5/13) will be carried statewide on Nebraska Educational Television and will also be picked up by CBS College Sports. In addition, WOWT 6.20 (Cox Channel 120) will televise three more Creighton games at Rosenblatt Stadium.
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 and Dave Gustafson will handle the call. 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.
Home Sweet Home - Creighton is 13-2 at home this season, including a 12-0 mark at the CU Sports Complex. The Jays started 13-0 before dropping two to #5 Wichita State at Rosenblatt Stadium on Sunday.
Home Run Barrage - With three homers at Bradley (April 4-6), Creighton increased its season total to an MVC-leading 29 round trippers in 30 games. However, the Jays have gone six games without hitting a long ball. CU's 29 homers still remain only one behind the MVC lead.
Local Mix- The 2008 Bluejay roster consists of 17 Nebraskans, including 12 players from Omaha. All 17 Nebraska natives came to Creighton from communities within 60 miles of the campus.
No-Hit Winner - Creighton was no-hit for the first time in recorded school history in game one of a doubleheader with North Dakota State on April 9, but won the game 2-0 thanks to nine walks and a hit batsman. According to Boyd Nation, this freak no-hitter scenario was the first in college baseball since Maryland-Baltimore County's Eddie Bach held Hartford hitless and lost 1-0 in a seven-inning game on April 30, 2006.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, there have also been two Major League games in which a team has had a no-hitter thrown for them but lost. The first occurred on April 23, 1964, as Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45's was beaten 1-0 by the Cincinnati Reds. Three years later, in 1967, Steve Barber and Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles pitched a combined no-hitter, but lost 2-1 to the Detroit Tigers.
Quick Hits
? In addition to the Knight-Muenster connection at Millard North, Creighton's Kevin Dooley and KSU's Brad Hutt played together at Papillion-LaVista High School in Omaha.
? Bluejay pitching had allowed just one unearned run in the last 143.2 innings (a span of 16 games) before surrendering eight in Sunday's doubleheader against #5 Wichita State.
? Creighton is outscoring teams 24-2 in the first inning of home games this year. The Jays have scored in the bottom of the first in 10 of 15 home games to date.
? The Jays are also outscoring teams 14-2 in the second inning of home games in 2008.
? Creighton's offense has scored 15 or more runs three times this season, 10 or more eight times and eight or more 18 times.
? Creighton committed three errors in both games against Wichita State on Sunday. The Jays hadn't made three errors in a game all year before that.
? Bluejay pitching has allowed 10 hits or less in 11 straight games, dating back to Kansas State's 16-hit performance on March 26.
? CU has not homered in its last six games, and has only four extra-base hits in that time. Opponents have not homered or tripled in the last five games against Bluejay pitching.
? Opposing starting pitchers are 5-19 with an 7.50 ERA this year against Creighton, averaging just 4.5 innings per start. Last year, starting pitchers were 10-36 with a 5.10 ERA against the Jays.
? Wichita State starting pitchers Aaron Shafer and Anthony Capra each picked up victories in the Shockers' sweep on Sunday. They became the conference's first starting pitchers to earn a win against Creighton in Omaha since Evansville's Ben Norton was victorious on April 23, 2006. CU had played 19 straight MVC home games without an opposing starter getting the win.
? Prior to Shafer's win in game one of Sunday's doubleheader, the opposing starting pitcher had not earned a win in 35 straight CU home games.
? Shafer and Capra picked up more wins (2) in Sunday's doubleheader than all opposing starting pitchers had in 2007 and 2008 combined (1).
? Since 2002, Creighton has had a pitcher record seven or more wins on seven occasions. All of those players were left-handed (or ambidextrous), with the exception of Steve Grasley's 12-4 season in 2004. This year's wins leader, Jeremy Hauer (6-1), is also left-handed.
? Senior ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte allowed four runs on six hits in suffering the loss at #6 Rice on March 9. He had previously allowed only four runs total in his past 22 regular season appearances.
? 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.
? Last year, Venditte did not allow a homer to a right-handed batter despite facing 253 of them. This year, he has allowed five homers among the 135 right-handed hitters he's faced, but hasn't allowed a homer in 77 appearances against left-handed hitters.
? Left-handed batters have 71 at bats against Venditte, with 23 strikeouts.
? Creighton had been hit by a pitch in 19 straight games before going without a beaning in the second game Sunday. The Jays have been hit by a pitch in 30 of 33 games this season.
? Last season, Robbie Knight was hit by an NCAA record 35 pitches, 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 Oklahoma on March 7. Despite the repeated drillings, Knight missed only one game in 2007.
? Knight has been hit multiple times in a game on 10 occasions in his career, and has been hit in seven of the last 10 home games.
? Notre Dame's Brett Lilley set the NCAA record for times hit by a pitch in a career on April 9 with 93 HBP in his 204th game. That averages out to .46 HBP/game. Knight has been hit 50 times in 93 games for a .54 HBP/game average.
? In his first three at bats this season with the bases loaded, Steve Winkelmann produced a grand slam and a pair of three-run doubles to give him 10 RBIs on three swings.
? Junior transfer Vicente Cafaro made his collegiate debut with a 4-for-4 performance against Washington State on Feb. 22 in the season opener, notching two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.
? Cafaro is batting .487 (19-for-39) with 12 RBIs in 11 games when hitting second in the lineup. In that spot, he has .554 on base and .744 slugging percentages.
? Cafaro is the only player on the team with a four-hit game this season, accomplishing the feat against both Washington State (2/22) and Western Carolina (3/7).
? No Creighton starter had made it through seven innings on the mound until Jeremy Hauer and Mike Nihsen each posted seven scoreless frames in CU's series against Illinois State (March 28-30). Hauer then matched that effort with seven innings in a win April 4 at Bradley.
? Opponents are hitting just 4-for-45 (.089) against Pat Venditte in the seventh inning this year.
? 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 Canada, CSTV and the George Michael Sports Machine.
