Baseball Plays in Phoenix Classic Starting Friday Against Dayton
2/26/2009 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
Creighton Bluejays
Creighton is looking to right the ship after an 0-4 start to the season...Coming off a 37-21 season in 2008, the team returns its top four starting pitchers from a year ago, including the MVC ERA leader in Mike Nihsen (2.30)...Senior preseason All-MVC selection Darin Ruf had a strong weekend to start the season as he tied a career-high on Saturday in game two of the doubleheader, going 4-4 with five RBI including his fifth career triple...Other Bluejays to be selected to the 2009 Preseason All-MVC team include Elliot Soto and Robbie Knight...New Bluejay closer, Kirk Clark showed dominance in his two appearances against Sam Houston State, as he held the opposition to a .071 average in 4.0 innings of work...New starting catcher Scott Thornburg hit his first home run of the season in his first career start on Saturday in game one of the doubleheader.
Scouting Dayton
After a 31-win season a year ago, Dayton went 1-2 to start the 2009 campaign against High Point University last weekend....Friday's starter Burny Mitchem was dominant in his first start, as he threw 7.0 scoreless innings surrendering just three hits and striking out four...Last year Mitchem was 5-2 with a 2.06 ERA...Following the season, he was selected to play in the Cape Cod League, the same league Bluejay first baseman Darin Ruf played in...Leading the way offensviely for Dayton is Ryan Nevill who leads the team with a .385 average with two doubles...The Flyers were picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 in the league's preseason poll.
Scouting Gonzaga
The Bulldogs got off to a hot start last weekend, defeating #10 Missouri twice (9-3, 13-9), at the Grand Canyon Tournament, en route to a 3-1 record overall....Offensively the team is led by catcher Tyson Van Winkle who had a home run and four doubles in the first week, as he compiled a .500 average...Following the 2008 season, he was selected by the Houston Astros in the 39th round of the MLB Amatuer Draft...Last weekend all four Bulldog starters went at least 6.0 innings...Saturday's starter Cody Martin went 7.0 innings allowing just one run on three hits.
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame won its last two games at the Big 10/Big East challenge last weekend to finish with a 2-1 record....The lone Irish loss came to #30 Ohio State, 2-0, in the team's first game...The team is led by consensus All-American outfielder A.J. Pollock...Pollock was held in check last weekend going 3-12 with just one extra-base hit...Starting first baseman is backup Notre Dame quarterback Evan Sharpley...Sunday's starter Eric Maust went 5.0 innings in his first start, allowing six runs, of which just three were earned.
Series History
Creighton is not overly familiar with its opponents for this weekend's Phoenix Classic. Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Creighton and Dayton.
Saturday's game against Gonzaga will be only the second time the two teams have gotten together. The Bluejays won the inaugural matchup on March, 9, 2000, 11-2, at the Pepsi/John Quik Classic, held at Fresno State.
Sunday's Phoenix Classic finale against Notre Dame is the 12th meeting all time against the Fighting Irish, but the first since April, 13, 2003. Notre Dame owns the all-time series lead, 8-3.
Facing His Alma Mater
Notre Dame head coach Dave Schrage will be facing his alma mater on Sunday, as he graduated from Creighton in 1983. Schrage ranks sixth all-time on Creighton's career batting average list, with a .358 mark from 1980-83. He is also in the top-10 for single season marks as his .400 average in ?82 ranks ninth all-time, while his .433 average in ?83 is fourth-best.
Following graduation, Schrage was an assistant at CU from 1984-85, under current Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.
Mirror Images
Since 2004, Creighton and Notre Dame have had very similar success. The two teams rank 22nd and 23rd in winning percentages nationally since 2004. CU owns a .664 mark (196-99), while the Fighting Irish have compiled a 195-102 mark (.657).
Tough Start
The Bluejays are looking to rebound after suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of Sam Houston State this past weekend. It is the first time Creighton has started 0-4 since 2002, and the first time under head coach Ed Servais. In 2002, the team finished 30-24.
Creighton is not used to suffering a four-game sweep. Prior to Sunday, the last time Creighton was swept during a four-game series was May 5-6, 2001 in back-to-back doubleheaders against Missouri State.
Extra Extra!
Through the first four games this year, Creighton has already played in two extra-inning games. Last season it took 28 games before CU was involved in two extra-inning games. The Bluejays were 5-1 in extra-inning affairs in 2008.
Close Call
All four of Creighton's losses last weekend were by two runs or less. It is the first time since April, 19-22, 2008 that four games in a row have been decided by two runs or less.
Prior to last weekend, Creighton had not had four straight losses been decided by two runs or less since 2007, when Creighton lost by scores of 6-4 (June 1, vs. Oklahoma State), 2-1 (May 26, vs. Wichita State), 4-3 (May 19, vs. Missouri State) and 4-3 (May 4, vs. Southern Illinois).
Working on Fundamentals
With all four games decided by two runs or less, the execution of fundamentals was apparent in deciding the outcomes. On the weekend Bluejay baserunners were picked off four times. All of last season CU had just six runners picked off.
Fielding fundamentals also came into play as CU saw it's error total rise in three straight games (0-1-2-3) for the first time since a four game stretch from April 8-15, 2005, when the team also had a streak of (0-1-2-3).
Useless Fact of the Day
Creighton's 8-6 loss last Friday was somewhat of a rarity for those who have watched the team over the years. Coming into the game, the Bluejays had not lost a game by the score of 8-6 since April 29, 1995 against Bradley, a streak spanning 757 games.
Saturday's 7-5 loss was a bit more recent as the team last loss by that score on May 12, 2002 against Stetson, a streak spanning 360 games.
Career Series
Sophomore Jimmy Swift had a career series against Sam Houston State. On Friday night he provided CU with its first two runs of the season, courtesy of a home run in the second inning. It was the first home run of his career. The next day he continued his hot hitting as he hit a double down the left field line to bring in a run. It was the first double of his career, and he finished with four RBI on the weekend, surpassing his previous career season-high of two.
Career Game
Darin Ruf tied a couple of career-highs in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday against the Bearkats. He tied his previous career bests of hits in a game as well as RBI, as he went 4-4 with five RBI. He also hit the fifth triple of his career.
Good Luck Streak Snapped
Coming into last Friday's season opener, Creighton had been 12-1 in games that pitcher Jeremy Hauer started, including eight straight wins to close the season in 2008. Unfortunately the streak was snapped as Hauer received the loss, going 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.
Congrats to Coach Smith
This week it was announced that Creighton pitching coach Rob Smith was named one of two recipients for 2008 NCAA College Pitching Coach of the Year.
Smith is one of two CU coaches to be honored for their work last season. In December head coach Ed Servais was tabbed as one of two NCAA FieldTurf Coach of the Year recipients. The other was the College World Series champion Mike Batesole of Fresno State.
No Runs For You
Since Rob Smith took over as pitching coach in 2007, Creighton has finished 14th in ERA in each of the last two seasons. Coming into 2009, the team's overall ERA since Smith took over was 3.71, good for 11th in the nation.
Team ERA
1. Wichita State 3.22
2. North Carolina 3.23
3. Virginia 3.31
4. Rice 3.391
5. Long Beach 3.392
6. San Diego 3.394
7. UC Irvine 3.51
8. Charlotte 3.63
9. Louisville 3.69
10. St. John's 3.713
11. CREIGHTON 3.715
Defense Wins Championships
Since 2007, Creighton owns the second-best fielding percentage in the NCAA. The Bluejays are one of just two schools to finish in the top-10 in fielding percentage in each of the last two years (TCU), and are one of just three schools to finish in the top-15 each of the last two years (TCU and Oregon State). Below are the top fielding percentages since 2007.
Team Fielding Pct.
1. Oregon State - .97559367
2. CREIGHTON - .9754241
3. South Carolina - .97526579
4. TCU - .97506535
Look Out!
Junior Robbie Knight has not been one to be afraid of opposing pitchers coming inside. Knight owns the school record for most hit by pitches during a career with 59. In 2007 he set the NCAA single-season record after being beaned 35 times. He is currently 14th on the NCAA all-time hit by pitch leaderboard.
NCAA Record Book, Career HBP's
Player, Team Years G HBP
Brett Lilley, Notre Dame 2005-08 231 109
Tony Hurtado, San Francico 1997-00 221 92
Cody Rizzo, Notre Dame 2003-06 233 84
Gabe Somarriba, Fla. Atlantic 1999-02 226 81
Mark Muscenti, Cincinnati 2003-06 211 76
Jeff Ontiveros, Texas 1999-02 258 74
Clay Schwartz, Milwaukee 1994-97 180 68
Jay Molina, Illinois State 2003-06 189 65
J.R. Revere, Ga. Southern 1999-02 217 62
Karl Jernigan, Florida State 1998-01 250 61
Rusty McNamara, Ok State 1995-97 194 61
Lou Donati, Santa Clara 1991-94 178 61
Jim Murphy, Wash. State 2005-08 217 61
Robbie Knight, Creighton 2007-Pr. 122 59
Immediate Impact
A member of the Bluejay pitching staff took home MVC Newcomer of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2008. Jeremy Hauer earned the honor last year after going 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA. Andy Masten (4-3, 2.02 ERA, 16 saves) was honored following the 2007 season.
Getting Drafted
The conclusion of the 2008 season saw Creighton lose its go-to guy out of the bullpen. Pat Venditte the only known ambidexterous pitcher in the NCAA last year, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round in June.
Venditte ranked among the top pitchers in the nation in 2008 in a number of categories. He was 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings with just 6.78 allowed, 24th with 10.53 strikeouts per nine innings, and 30th with nine victories.
Venditte had a great season his first year with the Staten Island Yankees. He was 1-0 with a 0.83 ERA in 32.2 innings. He amassed 23 saves in 30 games pitched. This past fall he won Minor League Short Season Reliever of the Year and was third in voting for Minor League Reliever of the Year.
The Bluejays currently have two players on their roster that have been drafted by Major League teams. This past summer freshman Otto Roberts was drafted in the 23rd round by the Cleveland Indians. In 2007, Elliot Soto was drafted in the 13th round by the Minnesota Twins
Team Sacrifice
Creighton showed team play frequently in 2008, as the squad led the nation in sacrifice bunts with 95. That mark set a new school and MVC record, previously set by CU in 2007, when the team had 93.
Shutout Stars
A big part of the reason Creighton was able to rank among the national leaders in ERA was its ability to shutout the opponent. In 2008 the team had eight shutouts, just one shy of the national leader, UC Irvine.
