Baseball To Tangle With Kansas On Tuesday
3/22/2010 5:15:00 PM | Baseball
Creighton
Baseball
Game Notes
Game #15 • KOIL 1180 AM
Creighton
(10-4) at Kansas (11-8)
March 23, 2010 • 6:00 p.m.
Hoglund Ballpark (2,500)
The Series
Creighton holds a 17-8 advantage over Kansas in the all-time series. Kansas took the only meeting last season, a 7-6, 10-inning affair at Rosenblatt Stadium. Creighton hasn't played in Lawrence since 2004, but has won five of its last six games played there. Kansas' media guide has the first meeting coming in 1903; a 15-13 win for the Jayhawks.
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 .649 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 420-210-1, with his Creighton mark standing at 237-128.
Ritch Price (Willamette, 1978) is in his eighth season with Kansas. Price is the only coach in KU history to lead the Jayhawks to a conference championship and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure. The 2006 Big 12 Championship was the school's first conference title in baseball in nearly 50 years. He has led his Jayhawk teams to the NCAA Tournament twice (2006, 2009) and 30-plus win seasons in six of his first seven years at KU. He was named the school's 32nd head baseball coach on July 1, 2002.
Scouting The Jayhawks
Kansas is off to an 11-8 start to the 2010 campaign. Brett Lisher is leading the team in hitting with a .393 mark, while Jimmy Waters has posted three home runs and 20 RBI. Cameron Selik and T.J. Walz have posted four and three wins respectively, while Brett Bochy, son of San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, has three saves and a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings.
Last Time Out
Creighton and UIC combined for 11 home runs in CU's 13-10, 11-inning victory in Chicago. T.J. Roemmich was the only player to have multiple home runs (with 2), while Brandon Koenigstein pitched the final two innings out of the pen to earn his second win of the season. The win moved Creighton to 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.
A Glance at the Series
Creighton hasn't defeated the Jayhawks since 2000, but from, 2001-09 the two teams met just three times; twice in Lawrence and once in Kansas City. Prior to those three losses, the Jays had won six straight over KU, including a three-game weekend sweep in 2000. The Jays lead the all-time series 17-8 and are 10-5 against KU in Lawrence, but just 1-6 in their last seven there.
Last Year at Rosenblatt
Last year's game between KU and CU was the first meeting since 2006. Kansas eeked out a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Jays on a Robbie Price sacrifice fly. Casey Lytle scored three runs, and Jason Brunansky had three RBI on a 2-for-4 day for KU, while Elliot Soto was the only Bluejay with multiple hits, going 2-for-6.
Bluejays vs. KU
Creighton played Kansas in a midweek game at Rosenblatt Stadium last season. The Jayhawks topped the Jays, 6-5 in 10 innings. Here's how current Jays fared in that game last year.
Player GP-S AVG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Elliot Soto 1-1 .333 0 2 0 0 0 0 1-1
T.J. Roemmich 1-1 .250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Jimmy Swift 1-1 .250 2 1 1 0 0 0 0-0
Carson Vitale 1-1 .200 0 1 0 0 0 1 0-0
Robbie Knight 1-1 .000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Ian Dike 1-0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Scott Thornburg 1-1 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Pitcher ERA W-L A-S SV IP R ER BB SO
Jack VanLeur 0.00 0-1 1-0 0 2.1 1 0 3 2
B. Koenigstein 3.00 0-0 1-0 0 3.0 1 1 0 1
Bobby Lackovic 9.00 0-0 1-0 0 1.0 1 1 1 1
Turning The Tables?
Creighton will look for its second straight win against Big 12 competition on Tuesday. Of the current Big 12 teams Creighton has faced, the Jays have their only winning record against Kansas, with a 17-8 mark. Below is how CU has fared in games with the Big 12.
Big 12 Team Last Game CU Record
Baylor 1999 1-3
Kansas 2009 17-8
Kansas State 2009 35-47-1
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 100-159-3
Big 12 To Big Dance
Success against Big 12 opponents has been synonymous with a trip to the postseason. In the two seasons CU has gone to a regional under Ed Servais, the Jays have had a winning record in the regular season against Big 12 teams. Here's the Jays regular season results against Big 12 teams since 2004:
Year Record 2004 4-5
2005 3-1
2006 0-5
2007 4-3
2008 1-5
2009 2-3
2010 1-0
Tough To Get Rolling
Creighton has played its fair share of games against Big 12 teams, but have found it tough to get a streak of any kind going. Since the Big Eight re-formed into the Big 12 in 1997, the Jays have won three straight games over league opponents twice. The last was in 2007, when the Jays took two from Nebraska (9-2, 2-1) and one from Kansas State (3-1). The other time came in 2001, when the Jays took two from Oklahoma (14-12, 9-3) and a 7-6 decision from Kansas State.
Postseason Years
While Creighton has had the upper hand in the series, Kansas has gotten the best of the Jays in years they have gone to a regional, as they are 3-0 against Creighton in years they have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Windy City Lives Up To Billing
Creighton and UIC put up some historic home run numbers in Friday's 13-10 Creighton win. The Jays blasted seven home runs, tying a school record. The Jays had hit seven as a team two other times, the first coming in 1991 against Grand View and the second coming in 2001 against Southern Illinois.
Perfect 10
With the wind howling out for the first six innings, Creighton and UIC combined for 11 home runs from 10 different players; all in the first 6.5 innings. The 10 different players to hit home runs is tied for most in the NCAA this season, as 10 players from Georgia State and New Mexico State combined to hit 12 home runs on March 14 in Las Cruces, N.M. Georgia State won the game by a 30-24 count.
Middle Mashers
Creighton's starting middle infielders in Elliot Soto and Alex Staehely both joined the long ball parade on Saturday. It was the first time since 2005 that a Creighton second baseman and shortstop had homered in the same game. Tony Roth and Brad Dutton last accomplished that feat on May 8, 2005 against Northern Iowa.
Back-to-Back x2
Creighton posted back-to-back home runs two times in Friday's game. The first duo was Carson Vitale and Jimmy Swift, who launched their shots in the fourth. Trever Adams and T.J. Roemmich followed the very next inning with two solo shots of their own. It is believed to be the first time in school history that feat has occurred.
Long Ball Buddies
Carson Vitale and Jimmy Swift became the first two Bluejays to homer in consecutive games this season. The pair both hit home runs in the win over #25 Kansas State and at UIC on Friday.
Extra Power, Extra Bases
Alex Staehely's home run on Saturday was the first of his young career. The long ball also marked the first extra-base hit of his career, as his first 10 hits were singles.
4-for-3?
Creighton's four home runs in the first three innings got the Jays out to a quick lead on Friday. It also marked the first time the Jays had hit that many dingers in the first three innings since 2006, when four balls left the yard at Tennessee Tech on March 11.
Jays Stay Unbeaten in Extras
Creighton's 11-inning win on Friday moved the Jays to 3-0 on the season in extra innings. The Jays have won their first three extra-inning games just two other times in program history, the first coming in 2004 and the second coming in 2007.
Roemmich Rakes
T.J. Roemmich had a big week for the Jays, posting his second career two-homer game on Friday. Roemmich finished the week 4-for-9 (.444) with a double, three runs and five RBI. He finished the week with a gaudy OPS of 1.722.
Three For Soto
Elliot Soto's three-hit, three-RBI performance on Saturday helped lead the Jays to victory. The game marked Soto's 37th career multi-hit game, good for second among active Bluejays behind Robbie Knight's 61.
Hinkel's Heroics
Zane Hinkel had a huge hit in Creighton's three-run, 11th inning on Friday. The sophomore came in as a defensive replacement earlier in the game, but made his mark with a single to prolong the Bluejay rally. The hit was just the second of his career, and first since April 29 of last year at Iowa.
We Go For Miles and Miles...
Creighton continues its monster road trip to start the season this Tuesday. The Jays are scheduled to play a total of 18 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 to begin a season.
Year # of Games Days Record 1st Home Game
2010 18 36 ? April 2
2003 20 40 5-15 March 25
1999 29 58 19-10 April 9
Planes, Buses, Vans and Automobiles
Getting back to Creighton's season-opening road trip, the Jays mileage count will be at just under 7000 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
Omaha-Lawrence, Kan.-Omaha 505.22 miles
6950.82 miles without a home game
