Baseball Looks To Tame #25 Wildcats
3/16/2010 12:30:00 AM | Baseball
Creighton
Baseball
Game Notes
Game #13
Creighton
(8-4) at #25 Kansas State (13-2)
March 16, 2010
Tointon Stadium (2,331)
The Series
Kansas State owns a 47-34-1 advantage over Creighton in the all-time series. Recent games have been evenly split, as the two are 5-5 against each other in the last 10 meetings.
The Wildcats shot down the Jays in Manhattan by a 12-1 count in last season's first meeting, but the Jays cooled the KSU bats in the return game. Mike Nihsen allowed one earned run in 5.2 innings, leading the Jays to a 5-1 victory in game two at Rosenblatt. Carson Vitale was a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run in that game.
The Coaches
Ed Servais (UW-La Crosse, 1981) is in his seventh season at the helm of the Bluejay baseball program in 2009-10. His .647 winning percentage is the best in school history and he has averaged nearly 40 wins a season during his time as head coach. Servais has taken the Jays to two NCAA Tournaments and has won the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year award three times in his five seasons. His career record stands at 417-210-1, with his Creighton mark standing at 235-128.
In six years with KSU, Brad Hill (Emporia State, 1985) has guided the Wildcats from the depths of the league to the program's best record in school history and the first NCAA Regional appearance. Hill is sixth in the nation among active coaches with a career winning percentage of .722 and career record of 624-239-3 in 15 seasons
Scouting The Wildcats
KSU has started the season strong, posting a 13-2 mark to start the season. They are ranked for the first time this season, coming in at No. 25 on the USA TODAY/ESPN Baseball Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats have won their last seven games after a four-game sweep of Kent State this past weekend.
The Wildcats are led offensively by Carter Jurica, who is hitting .453 with two home runs, 25 RBI and nine stolen bases. The four top starters are a combined 11-0, while closer James Allen has three saves.
Last Weekend
Creighton finished their lengthy spring break trip with a 2-1 showing at the Metrodome Tournament. The Jays topped South Dakota State 4-2 on Friday and Minnesota 6-4 on Saturday, before falling to Harvard, 5-2 on Sunday.
Big 12 Bullies
Playing in the heart of Big 12 country has given the Jays ample opportunity to take on the league's members in non-conference action. The Jays have played all (9) but Texas Tech of the current baseball playing schools. The only school the Jays have a winning record against is Kansas, with a 17-8 mark. Here is the all-time series:
Big 12 Team Last Game CU Record
Baylor 1999 1-3
Kansas 2009 17-8
Kansas State 2009 34-47-1
Missouri 2008 2-6
Nebraska 2009 37-70-2
Oklahoma 2007 5-6
Oklahoma State 2007 3-9
Texas 2000 0-8
Texas A&M 2003 0-2
Overall Record 99-159-3
Little Apple, Little Success
The Bluejays have never been fond of Manhattan, Kan. The squad is 13-33-1 all-time against KSU there, including getting outscored in 30-2 in the last three losses. The Jays have won there just four times since 1990, and have had three losing steaks of seven or more games. The Jays have had more success as of late, as they are 2-2 in their last four games there, with wins coming in 2005 (8-3) and 2007 (3-1); both regional seasons.
K-State Players to Watch
Carter Jurica has given Creighton fits over the last few years. In the four games he has played against the Jays, he has gone 7-for-16 with a four runs, four RBI and a home run. Omaha native Adam Muenster, has one hit in each game he has played against his hometown team, going 4-for-15.
Ranked Record
Kansas State's 13-2 start has them ranked 25th in the USA TODAY/ESPN College Baseball Coaches Poll. The Jays are 16-25 since 2004 against ranked teams, with an 0-8 mark in their last eight. Creighton was 0-2 last season in such games (two losses against Coastal Carolina), with their last 'W' coming in the form of a 7-3 win over #5 Wichita State on April 12, 2008.
A Knight Off
Robbie Knight saw two streaks end on Sunday. The senior outfielder sat out the afternoon's game against Harvard, ending his consecutive starts streak at 106 and his consecutive games played mark at 153.
Five's The Target
Sophomore Brandon Koenigstein's career has got off to a solid start. He is 6-0 on his career thus far, and is 1-0 in 2010. Over the last two seasons, the Jays are 5-0 when Koenigstein pitches 5.0 or more innings in a game.
We Go For Miles and Miles...
Creighton continues its monster road trip to start the season Tuesday. The Jays are scheduled to play a total of 20 games over 36 days at road or neutral sites to start the season. Only two other Creighton teams have faced more days on the road and played more games.
Year # of Games Days Record 1st Home Game
2010 20 36 ? April 2
2003 20 40 5-15 March 25
1999 29 58 19-10 April 9
Throwing Up Zeros
Seeing Jack VanLeur on the mound was a regular sight in 2009. The junior made 36 appearances for the Jays, tying for ninth-most in the country. VanLeur has yet to allow a run this season, hurling 13.1 scoreless innings spread out over seven appearances. The southpaw has been near-perfect, allowing just seven hits with six strikeouts. He has yet to walk or hit a batter this season and has saved two games.
Finding Green...And Seats
Trever Adams had a fine Metrodome Tournament this past weekend, going 6-for-13 (.462) in Creighton's three games in Minneapolis. Adams hit his second home run of the year, to go along with two doubles and two RBI.
Adams currently leads the Jays in batting with a .415, mark which has been paced by a .429 spring break stretch. The junior has hits in nine of Creighton's 12 games this year, eight of which have been multi-hit contests.
Thanks For the Cool Breeze!
Jonas Dufek picked up his third win of the season on Friday against South Dakota State on the strength of the strikeout. Dufek struck out nine Jackrabbits, eight of which were swinging, coming one shy of his career high of 10. Dufek's is currently 3-0 on the year, and has nearly matched his win total of four from his previous two years combined.
Getting On Track
Alex Staehely is starting to recover from a slow start to his collegiate career. The freshman started the season 2-for-22 but has gone 6-for-14 (.429) in the his last four games. That included a three-hit effort at UT-Arlington last Wednesday, in which he scored two runs and recorded his first career RBI.
Rolling With Roemmich
T.J. Roemmich has the distinction of being Creighton's active home run leader with 14 career long balls. Home runs from Roemmich usually equal success for Creighton, as they are 11-2 when he homers.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot...19 Of Them
Creighton posted a season-high 19 hits at UT-Arlington last Wednesday. Creighton has seven, double-digit hit games this season and has won five of them. The last time the Jays had 19 hits was on April 29 of last year in a 12-3 drubbing over Iowa in Iowa City.
Nine Is Usually Fine
The Jays' 11-10 loss to Sam Houston State back on March 7 was a rarity. Creighton had won 28 straight games when scoring nine or more runs coming into that contest. The last defeat before that game was a 12-10 setback to Nebraska on April 3, 2007.
Out-Hittin' and Still Winnin'
Four of Creighton's eight wins this season have come despite the Jays being out-hit by their opponent. Saturday evening's game at Minnesota marked the most recent time it has happened:
Date Opponent Score Hit Total
Feb. 20 at Central Arkansas 3-2 8-4, UCA
Mar. 5 vs. Northern Colorado 15-8 16-15, UNC
Mar. 6 at Sam Houston State 6-5 14-7, SHSU
Mar. 13 at Minnesota 6-4 12-9, UMN
Knight Goes For 100th RBI
Robbie Knight added another milestone to his stellar career as he recorded his 100th career RBI against Northern Colorado on March 5. Knight posted a season-best 41 RBI last season and currently has 10 this year.
Debut's, Debut's, Debut's
A few more Jays made their debut's over the most recent eight-game road trek. Kyle King, Gage Daniels, and Nick Musec all made their first Creighton appearance, with King and Musec making their collegiate debuts.
Dike Doubling Up
Ian Dike took 40 at-bats to hit two home runs this season; his third and fourth of his career. While that may not seem all that impressive, it took Dike 159 at-bats and three seasons to hit his first two home runs.
Mile Count
Getting back to Creighton's season-opening road trip, the Jays mileage count will be at just over 5500 round trip miles. Here's a look at Creighton's travels thus far:
Destination Round Trip
Omaha-Conway, Ark.-Omaha 1170.14 miles
Omaha-Nacogdoches, Texas-Omaha 1548.86 miles
Omaha-Huntsville, Texas 834.48 miles
Huntsville, Texas-Arlington, Texas 188.07 miles
Arlington, Texas-Minneapolis, Minn. 998.12 miles
Minneapolis, Minn.-Omaha 379.25 miles
Omaha-Manhattan, Kan.-Omaha 388.92 miles
5507.84 miles without a home game
Under The Lights
Creighton played its first night game on March 5 at Sam Houston State. The Jays have posted .500 or better records in games played under the stars in all but one of Ed Servais' season.
Year Record Pct.
2010 3-0 1.000
2009 10-6 .625
2008 4-4 .500
2007 10-3 .769
2006 4-5 .444
2005 11-7 .611
2004 5-3 .625
Servais Sneaking Up on 250
Speaking of Servais, the head coach is nearing win No. 250 in his Creighton career. The seventh-year skipper will have to win 20 more games to reach that mark this season. Listed below are a few of his milestone wins:
Win Date Opponent Score
1 2/15/04 at Air Force CU 13, AFA 8
50 3/20/05 Northern Colorado CU 13, UNC 3
100 3/31/06 #13 Wichita State CU 2, WSU 1 (11)
150 5/12/07 at Illinois State CU 5, ILS 3
200 3/14/09 South Dakota State CU 8, SDSU 2
Bouncing Back
The Jays have been quick to rebound from losses under Ed Servais. Since 2004 Creighton is 75-44 (.630) in games following a loss and have not been below .500 in such games.
Year Record Pct.
2010 1-1 .500
2009 12-12 .500
2008 13-7 .650
2007 11-4 .733
2006 10-10 .500
2005 12-4 .667
2004 16-7 .696
Total 75-45 .628
