Baseball Heads To Windy City To Face UIC
3/18/2010 10:00:00 AM | Baseball
Creighton
Baseball
Game Notes
Games #14-15
Creighton
(9-4) at UIC (2-11)
March 19-20, 2010
Tointon
Stadium (1,100)
The Series
Creighton holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series with UIC. The Bluejays took two from the Flames in Omaha last season. Prior to that, the two squads split a pair of games in 2006 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. The other meetings came in 1989, with CU taking 3-2 and 8-1 decisions. The first meeting in the series was a UIC forfeit in 1981.
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 .648 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 418-210-1, with his Creighton mark standing at 236-128.
Mike Dee (UW-La Crosse, 1979) is in his 11th season with UIC. The Flames have nine, 30-plus win seasons in the last 10 years, and have been more than competitive on a regional level, going 26-12 against Big Ten teams in the past eight seasons. Dee has guided the Flames to seven straight Horizon League regular season titles and four regional appearances since 2003.
Yeah Buddy
Head coaches Ed Servais and Mike Dee are a little more familiar with each other than most coaches. That's because the two were college teammates at Division III Wisconsin-La Crosse. The two played together in 1978 for the Eagles.
Scouting The Flames
UIC is off to a slow, 2-11 start. The Flames last nine games were against top-60 RPI teams, as they went 1-8 against Alabama, Western Kentucky and Baylor (the win was at WKU, 7-5). Matt Serna is leading the team in hitting by 95 points with a .435 average. Chris Rutta has four home runs and Steve McGuiggan has posted four stolen bases. The pitching staff has an 11.96 ERA, but Saturday starter Michael Heesch has a 1-2 record with a 4.22 ERA and a save.
Last Time Out
The Jays broke an eight-game skid against ranked opponents with a 7-4 win over #25 Kansas State. Carson Vitale hit his second career home run against the Wildcats, and T.J. Roemmich had two hits and two RBI. Mark Winkelman posted his second career win, as seven different pitchers saw action for the Jays.
VanLeur's Scoreless Streak Ends
Jack VanLeur has been Creighton's best option out of the pen this season. The lanky lefty started the season with 15.0 scoreless innings in eight appearances, but finally gave up his first run with two outs in the ninth inning of Creighton's 7-4 win over #25 Kansas State on Tuesday.
Jays Top A Top 25
Creighton's win over K-State on Tuesday broke an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents. The last CU win over a ranked team was a 7-3 win over No. 5 Wichita State in April, 2008.
On The Non-MVC Side
Creighton had fallen in nine straight games against non-MVC ranked teams before Tuesday's win. The last win of that sort was against another Big 12 squad in Missouri. That W came on March 27, 2007, a 4-3 victory over the then-No. 25 Tigers.
Embracing Young Thievery
Alex Staehely added to the Bluejay stolen base total with the first of his young career on Tuesday. Staehely swiped second with two out in the fifth inning while posting an RBI single in the Bluejay victory.
Well I Was Walking in Manhattan
Jack VanLeur had another impressive streak end on Tuesday, as he walked his first batter of the season in the eighth inning at Kansas State. VanLeur's strikeout-to-walk ratio is still at a healthy 7-to-1.
Bluejays vs. UIC
Creighton played UIC in two games at the CU Sports Complex last season, winning both before getting the other scheduled game rained out. Here's how current Jays fared in that series:
Player GP-S AVG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Carson Vitale 2-2 .429 1 3 1 0 0 1 0-0
Elliot Soto 2-2 .400 3 4 1 0 0 0 0-0
Robbie Knight 2-2 .300 0 3 1 0 0 2 0-0
T.J. Roemmich 2-2 .286 2 2 0 0 0 0 0-0
Jimmy Swift 2-2 .167 2 1 0 0 0 0 0-0
Ian Dike 1-1 .333 1 1 0 0 0 1 0-0
Scott Thornburg 1-1 .333 1 1 0 0 0 0 0-0
Joey Bowens 1-0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Pitcher ERA W-L A-S SV IP R ER BB SO
Bobby Lackovic 2.08 1-0 2-0 1 4.1 1 1 2 1
Jack VanLeur 3.00 0-0 0-0 0 3.0 1 1 0 0
Greg Hellhake 3.18 1-0 1-1 0 5.2 2 2 2 5
Jonas Dufek 6.75 0-0 1-1 0 4.0 3 3 1 5
Not Hampered By The Horizon
Creighton has arguably had its most success the Horizon League, posting a 21-2 record in games against UIC, Wright State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. CU won the first nine games in the UWM series before falling in 2001, 4-1.
Big 12 Team Last Game CU Record
UIC 2009 6-1
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2005 13-1
Wright State 1990 2-0
Overall Record 21-2
Chicago Shelackings
Creighton has had success against the set of three Chicago teams, putting a 12-2 mark against UIC, Northwestern and Chicago State. The Jays are undefeated against CSU, with a 5-0 mark.
Hotbed For Bluejays
Illinois has long been a hotbed for Creighton recruits, as Ed Servais currently has 10 players from the state on his roster. In fact, five of the players are within 50 miles from the Windy City. Listed below are the players and the distance from Chicago:
Player Distance From Chicago
John Boyle, Wheaton 26 miles
Kyle King, Bartlett 35 miles
Joey Bowens, Libertyville 38 miles
Elliot Soto, Algonquin 41 miles
Alex Staehely, Sugar Grove 46 miles
Austin Cole, Belvidere 71 miles
Mark Winkelman, Harvard 73 miles
Eric Bruns, Oregon 100 miles
Greg Hellhake, Quincy 315 miles
Brandon Koenigstein, Waterloo 316 miles
50-50 Proposition
With Creighton topping #25 Kansas State on Tuesday, the Jays will try to keep its high level of play going. Since 2001 the Jays are 10-9 in games following victories against ranked opponents.
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.
A Knight Off: Part Two
Robbie Knight saw his streak of 14 games with a hit end on Tuesday, after he was removed from the game in the fifth inning. Knight still has one impressive stretch going, as he has reached base in 21 consecutive games played, including 54 of the last 55.
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 19 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 to begin a season.
Year # of Games Days Record 1st Home Game
2010 19 36 ? April 2
2003 20 40 5-15 March 25
1999 29 58 19-10 April 9
Mile Count
Getting back to Creighton's season-opening road trip, the Jays mileage count will be at just under 6500 round trip miles after Saturday. 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
Omaha-Chicago-Omaha 937.76 miles
6445.60 miles without a home game
League Leaders
Several Jays are in the top five of MVC categories heading into the last weekend of non-conference play before league games. Here is a list of those players (Rank as of Wednesday morning)
Player Category Rank-Total
Trever Adams Hits T2-23
Doubles T5-6
Total Bases 4-37
T.J. Roemmich Doubles T5-6
Elliot Soto Walks 1-13
Sac Bunts T4-3
Sac Flies T1-4
Alex Staehely Sac Bunts 1-6
Robbie Knight Sac Flies T3-3
Jonas Dufek Wins T1-3
Bobby Lackovic Wins T1-3
Appearances T3-8
Games Finished T5-4
Games in Relief T3-8
Jack VanLeur Saves T3-2
Appearances T4-2
Games in Relief T4-7
Matt Patterson Appearances T4-7
Games in Relief T4-7
Mike Nihsen Games Started 1-5
Results are the Real Deal
Creighton is used to synthetic surfaces. The Jays play most of their home games at CU Sports Complex, an all-turf field. The Jays have played four games on full or partial synthetic surfaces, winning three. UIC's Les Miller Field is covered by FieldTurf, and brings the scheduled total of games on the surface to 14 games.
Two-Out Terrors
Several Jays have excelled with two outs. Trever Adams leads the team with a .550 average (11-for-20) in that situation. Carson Vitale isn't far behind at .500 (5-for-10), as he and Jimmy Swift both have seven, two-out RBI. Adams has them trumped in that category as well, with 10, two-out RBI on the campaign.
Runners On; Balls Are Gone
A telling stat of how important Trever Adams' addition has been, is his average with runners on base. The junior is hitting .500 on the dot (18-for-36), to lead a Jay attack that is swinging the bats at a .355 clip in those situations.
Catalyst
Robbie Knight's presence at the top of the lineup has been equally important for CU. The senior has reached 10-of-20 opportunities as a the leadoff man in the inning. Not to be outdone, Elliot Soto has put up a .600 success rate (6-for-10) in those situations.
On A Regular Bas-es
Jimmy Swift's home run at K-State on Tuesday put the Jays up for good. Swift also added a double and hit by pitch to post seven total bases, a single-game career high.
Out-Hittin' and Still Winnin'
Four of Creighton's eight wins this season have come despite the Jays being out-hit by their opponent. The March 13 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
Century Marks
T.J. Roemmich reached a milestone on Tuesday, as his RBI double in the first was the 100th hit of his career.Robbie Knight reached the century mark in another category earlier in the season, as he posted 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.
