Baseball To Wrap Up MVC Play This Weekend Against Indiana State
5/8/2008 1:30:00 PM | Baseball
On Deck - Creighton will wrap up Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend against Indiana State at the CU Sports Complex. The Bluejays have already clinched a berth in the MVC Tournament and can secure a top-four seed with two wins against the Sycamores.
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics website, www.gocreighton.com, will offer live stats for each game of the weekend series. The links can be found under the Multimedia tab on the left side of the athletics homepage. In addition, Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast in Omaha on KOZN (1620 AM) and online at www.1620thezone.com, with John Bishop and David Gustafson on the call.
Scouting Indiana State (14-29, 6-12 MVC) -
The Sycamores are coming off an 11-6 win over Eastern Illinois at home on Tuesday. Their game scheduled for Wednesday against Purdue was rained out.
Indiana State is an offensive-minded team, averaging 6.7 runs per game with 10+ runs in 10 different contests. Senior outfielder Chris Schmidt paces the team with a .362 batting average and 36 runs scored. Preseason all-Valley second baseman Ryan Strausborger is hitting .325, while junior outfielder Brady Shoemaker has team-bests with 13 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 51 RBI. Sophomore Nick Ciolli is another power threat, launching five long balls on the year.
Pitching has been a major problem for the Sycamores, as the staff owns an MVC-worst 7.33 ERA. Reliever David Gurbach is the only hurler with an ERA under 6.47. ISU's three weekend starters have combined for only six wins, while giving up 20 home runs.
Scouting Creighton (30-17, 13-8 MVC) ? The Bluejays are coming off a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to #14 Missouri on Tuesday in which CU blew a late 4-1 lead and lost on a walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Creighton is led offensively by reigning MVC Player of the Year Darin Ruf, who again tops the team with a .349 batting average. He is coming off a recent 15-game hitting streak and owns 14 doubles, six homers and 45 RBI on the season. Leadoff batter Robbie Knight went 5-for-5 with two homers against Missouri on Tuesday, upping his average from .312 to .331. Third baseman Steve Winkelmann leads the team with nine homers and 50 RBI.
CU's starting pitching has allowed just three earned runs in the past six games. Saturday starter Mike Nihsen owns a 1.64 ERA and has thrown 24 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Friday starter Jeremy Hauer has posted back-to-back outings of 7.2 innings and is tied for the MVC lead with eight wins.
The bullpen has been solid for much of the season, but it has struggled recently. Preseason All-American Pat Venditte, the anchor of the pen, has been hurt by the long ball but still ranks among the league leaders in strikeouts (85) and innings pitched (73). Venditte is second nationally with 31 appearances, and he is joined by right handers Bob Lackovic and Kevin Dooley and left-hander T.J. Roemmich as the workhorses of the pen with a combined 86 appearances.
Defensively, the Jays have been solid overall, posting an MVC-best .976 fielding percentage. However, errors at crucial times have haunted CU this season.
Series History ? The Bluejays have won 18 of the last 25 meetings against Indiana State. CU has won seven straight games between the teams and 13 of the last 14, including series sweeps each of the last two years.
The Coaches - Indiana State is led by second-year coach Lindsay Meggs, who is 40-55 overall after a 26-26 debut campaign last year. Creighton head coach Ed Servais is 189-95 (.665) 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 13-1 in his career against ISU, including a 6-0 mark at home.
Home Sweet Home - Creighton is 15-0 at the CU Sports Complex this season, including a 6-0 mark in MVC play entering this weekend. CU can complete a perfect baseball-softball MVC slate, as the Bluejay softball team was a perfect 12-0 in MVC action at home this season.
Historic Knight - In Tuesday's game against #14 Missouri, sophomore Robbie Knight made plenty of history. He became the first Bluejay since Chris Gradoville (March 12, 2006 vs. Tennessee Tech) to notch five hits in a game. His leadoff homer was the first by a CU player since Chase Odenreider led off a game vs. Missouri State with a long ball on May 6, 2006. Knight homered in his next at bat in the second inning, giving him more round trippers in two innings (2) than in his previous 106 games (1) at Creighton combined. Knight also extended his hitting streak to a career-long seven games, during which he has batted 15-for-31 (.484).
Nihsen Nasty - Saturday starter Mike Nihsen has not allowed an earned run in his last six starts while on the mound. The only earned runs he allowed in that time were runners he left on base that a reliever inherited and allowed to score. Nihsen has lowered his ERA from 3.79 to 1.64 during that time to rank as the MVC leader and among the top-10 nationally.
Big League Comparison - Junior first baseman Darin Ruf has started all 160 games since arriving at Creighton, the near equivalent of a full major league season. In those 160 games, Ruf has compiled a .340 batting average, 199 hits, 40 doubles, 18 home runs and 143 RBI. As a comparison, during Albert Pujols' MVP season of 2005, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman batted .330 with 195 hits, 38 doubles, 41 homers and 117 RBI in 161 games.
Ruf Reaches 15 - Darin Ruf extended his hitting streak to 15 games before it was snapped last Sunday at Southern Illinois. The streak (April 12 - May 4) was a career-best for Ruf and the longest for any player on the team this year. During his streak, Ruf was 23-for-55 (.418) with 15 RBI, six doubles, a triple and a homer.
Making The Sacrifice - Creighton leads the country with 75 sacrifice bunts this season after setting a school and MVC record with 93 in 2007. Junior Vicente Cafaro and senior Joe Servais are tied for the MVC lead and rank among the national leaders with 14 apiece. Eleven Jays have at least one sacrifice bunt in 2008.
Shutout Mark ? Creighton pitchers have thrown eight shutouts this season after posting a 5-0 win over Southern Illinois in game one of a doubleheader last Saturday. The eight shutouts lead the country and are one shy of the school record of nine, set by the 1983 squad.
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 89 pitches, which ranks fourth nationally. Once again, Knight leads the team and ranks among the national leaders with 19 HBP. Eleven different Bluejays have been hit by a pitch, and five have been beaned by at least 10. CU has recorded at least one HBP in 42 of its 47 games.
Knight Needing Armor - Sophomore center fielder Robbie Knight has been hit by 19 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.
Stopper of the Year - On April 17, senior ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte was among 45 relievers named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. Venditte has compiled five saves and six wins so far in 2008. Last year, Creighton closer Andy Masten was a finalist for the award.
Nordgren's Big Week - Right fielder Nick Nordgren recorded 12 RBI and three home runs in five games from April 22-27 to earn the MVC Player of the Week award. He was also named to the College Baseball Foundation's “National All-Star Lineup.” The Norway, Iowa, native homered in both midweek games against Nebraska (April 22 & 23) and notched five RBI in Wednesday's contest at Rosenblatt Stadium. Nordgren then tallied three RBI in the series-opener against Evansville on Friday (April 25) and finished the week with a two-run homer in Sunday's (April 27) win over the Purple Aces.
Venditte Pitcher of the Week ? Pat Venditte was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week on April 14, after recording saves in both games of CU's doubleheader sweep of North Dakota State (April 9) and a win over #5 Wichita State (April 12). He struck out 14 batters in his four appearances that week, including seven against the Shockers.
Mr. Versatility - As the nation's only ambidextrous pitcher, Pat Venditte has a unique advantage in that he is available to throw in almost every game. His 31 appearances this season lead the MVC and are one off the national lead held by UNC-Greensboro's James White. Venditte owns 104 career appearances, fourth-most in MVC history.
Strikeout King ? Pat Venditte leads the MVC with 85 strikeouts in 73 innings. He has recorded at least one strikeout in 26 of his 31 appearances. Last season, Venditte led the team with 99 Ks and he is bidding to lead the team in strikeouts for the third straight season.
Righty AND Lefty - So far this season, Pat Venditte has used both arms in 28 of his 31 appearances. He has struck out a batter using his right and left arm in 16 of those outings. In 104 career appearances, Venditte has fanned batters using both arms 38 times, including 10 times last year and on 12 occasions as a sophomore.
Rally Starter - Creighton has used big innings to score many of its runs this season. The Jays have compiled 23 different innings with four or more runs, including six with six or more tallies. On April 27 against Evansville, CU tallied a season-high eight runs in the fifth inning of its win.
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 23-2 so far in 2008.
Closing the Door - Creighton had won 65 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning before falling to Missouri on Tuesday. The streak dated back to a 5-4 loss to Kansas State on April 11, 2006. CU took a 4-3 lead into the ninth against the Tigers, but Steve Gray's pinch-hit walk off homer gave MU the come-from-behind victory.
Mancuso Sidelined - Senior pitcher Ben Mancuso has been out of action since making a season-opening start at Washington State on Feb. 22. He began throwing again on March 31 and could return to game action at the end of the regular season 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.
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.
Senior CLASS Nominees - Senior pitchers Pat Venditte and Ben Mancuso were 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. Neither were named among the 10 finalists.
Winkelmann Receives National Honor - Senior third baseman Steve Winkelmann was honored on March 10 as the MVC Player of the Week after collecting 17 RBI 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 RBI 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 RBI 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 finished second in the final standings last season after being picked fourth. 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.
Always Available - With his outing against Nebraska in Lincoln on April 22, Pat Venditte moved into second on the CU career appearances list. He has made 31 appearances so far in 2008, one shy of the national lead. Last season, Venditte appeared in a school-record 38 games -- in which he used both arms 30 times. He is the only player in Creighton history to appear in 30 games on the mound in three different seasons.
ERA Records - During his standout 2007 campaign, Pat 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. Venditte currently owns a 3.03 career ERA to rank fifth 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 160 games he has played in his career. This includes every one of Creighton's games over the past three seasons.
Mr. Productivity ? Darin 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, Darin 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 has just two errors in 447 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 34 double plays in 47 games.
Television Exposure - Creighton will play at least 11 games this season on TV, including five games that will be or were carried nationally by CBS College Sports TV. Nebraska Educational Television has already aired games against Wichita State (4/13), Kansas State (4/15) and Iowa (4/16) and Nebraska (4/22). The May 13 rematch with Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium will also be aired by NET.
In addition, WOWT 6.20 (Cox Channel 120) televised two games during the Wichita State series and aired the Nebraska game at Rosenblatt on April 23. Two games with Louisiana-Monroe (May 15-16) at Rosenblatt will also be broadcast.
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 David Gustafson will handle the call. All games can also be heard online at www.1620thezone.com.
Local Mix - The 2008 Bluejay roster consists of 17 Nebraskans, including all but one from the Omaha area. 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
? Darin Ruf owns 199 career hits -- one shy of the 200 milestone. The only player to record 200 or more hits in Ed Servais' five-year tenure was Zach Daeges, who had 205 of his 238 career hits after Servais took over in 2004.
? Creighton has won 30 or more games in all five seasons under the direction of Ed Servais. Last Saturday's 9-8, extra-inning win at Southern Illinois was CU's 30th win this season.
? Nick Nordgren is hitting .325 (13-for-40) with five doubles, three homers and 15 RBI in 12 games since breaking out of a 0-for-20 slump with a game-winning pinch hit double in the ninth inning at Northern Iowa on April 19.
? Creighton owns 41 homers on the season through 47 games. By comparison, last year's club hit 37 long balls all season in 61 contests and the 2006 team had 36 homers in 52 games.
? No Creighton starter had made it more than seven innings on the mound this season until Jeremy Hauer went 7.2 innings each of the past two Friday's. Hauer now has four of the team's five outings of seven innings or more. Mike Nihsen also threw seven scoreless frames against Illinois State on March 30.
? Creighton has scored first in 23 of its last 25 games, with a 15-10 record during that stretch. The Jays have scored first in 27 of their 30 wins this season and have a 143-31 record when scoring first under Ed Servais.
? Mike Nihsen's current ERA of 1.64 ranks as the best single-season mark in Bluejay history (min. 50 IP), just ahead of Pat Venditte's 1.88 ERA last season. Nihsen has thrown 24 straight innings since last allowing an earned run.
? Mike Nihsen has thrown 24 consecutive scoreless innings over his past five appearances, allowing just four unearned runs. Nihsen has allowed 21 runs this season, but only 10 earned runs.
? Creighton owns four grand slams this season -- Darin Ruf most recently went yard with the sacks full at Southern Illinois on May 3. It was Ruf's third career grand slam, as he's had one in each of the past three campaigns.
? Pat Venditte's 239 career strikeouts are sixth-most in school history, with 19 Ks needed to catch Mike Heathcott (1988-91) for fifth place on the all-time list. Venditte is also tied for 10th place in CU history with 11 career saves.
? Creighton is 16-0 when Vicente Cafaro has an RBI. All 25 of his RBIs this year have come in Bluejay victories.
? Mike Nihsen has gone 49.1 innings since the last home run he's allowed. Jeremy Hauer has allowed only one long ball in 66.2 innings this season.
? Creighton's offense has scored 15 or more runs three times this season, 10 or more nine times and eight or more 21 times.
? 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. Robbie Knight has been hit 54 times in 107 games for a .50 HBP/game average.
? Left-handed batters have 104 at bats against Pat Venditte, with 35 strikeouts. He had not allowed a home run pitching lefty until he gave up two in Tuesday's loss to #14 Missouri.
? When Pat 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.
? 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 Canada, CSTV and the George Michael Sports Machine.
? Jeremy Hauer has not allowed a run this year in the second or third inning of work. Similarly, Mike Nihsen has not allowed an earned run in the first, fourth or fifth inning this season.
? Zak Moore has allowed four runs or less in 28 of 32 career starts on the mound.
? Zak Moore has had seven career appearances of two innings or more in which he did not allow a walk. In those appearances, his ERA is 0.72 (two earned runs in 25 innings).
? Creighton is 9-1 when Jeremy Hauer starts on the hill. Hauer owns a 7-0 record in 10 starts with a 2.10 ERA. CU has shut out the opposition in three of his 10 starts.
? Creighton's starting pitchers have allowed just three homers in 21 MVC games this season. CU's starters have a 2.74 ERA in league action.
? Creighton's starting pitchers have allowed just three earned runs in 34 innings over the past six games, good for a 0.79 ERA. In that same time span, the opposing starting pitchers have allowed 28 earned runs in 36 frames for a 7.00 ERA.
