Baseball Back On Road With Trip To Bradley
4/15/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
Games #27-29 • Creighton (14-12, 3-6 MVC) at Bradley (10-17, 3-6 MVC)
KOZN 1620
April 16-18 • 6 p.m. / 6 p.m. / 12 p.m.
O'Brien Field (1,000)
The Series
Creighton has controlled the all-time series with Bradley, posting a 66-29 record. The Jays swept two games from the Braves in Omaha last season, outscoring the Braves 12-2 in the two games. The last Bradley series win came in Peoria in 2006, as they took two of three from Creighton
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 .639 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 423-218-1, with his Creighton mark standing at 241-136.
Elvis Dominguez (Creighton, 1986) was introduced as the 15th head coach in the program's 110-year history in June of 2008. Dominguez has 19 years of college coaching experience, including seven seasons as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University. During his career, Dominguez has recruited and coached eight players that advanced to the Major Leagues, 22 All-Americans and three Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Year. His career record stands at 205-247-2.
Scouting The Braves
Bradley has six players hitting over .300, led by Brian Martin at .388. He is the only player to start every game for BU, and also leads the squad with 17 stolen bases. Matt Fritz has three homers and Kevin Sullivan has drove in 22 runs to lead the offense.
No pitcher has made more than nine or less than four appearances. Jacob Booden has a 2.81 ERA in six starts, with a team-best 3-1 record. The bullpen has been a collage of arms, as five different players have saves.
Last Time Out
Creighton had its most disappointing weekend of the year, getting swept by Illinois State at the CU Sports Complex. The Jays managed just four hits on Saturday and followed that with just three on Sunday. The Jays had not lost a series at home to Illinois State since 1986 and had never been swept at home by the Redbirds. Ty Blach took a perfect game into the sixth on Sunday, but suffered the loss. Carson Vitale and Ian Dike both had home runs on the weekend to lead the stagnant Creighton offense.
A Glance at the Series
Creighton's 66 wins all-time against Bradley is tied for second most against MVC opponents (the Jays have 68 wins against Indiana State). Bradley has five series wins over the Jays, four coming in Peoria. The last Bradley series win came in 2006. The Braves boast two sweeps over Creighton, coming in 1996 and 1993.
The Last Meeting
The Jays and Braves got just two games in last year in Omaha, with Creighton winning both. Greg Hellhake earned the win in game one, going six innings and allowing just one run in a 7-2 victory while Robbie Knight posted two runs, hits and RBI. Jonas Dufek was the story in game two, as he threw a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.
Bluejays vs. Braves
Creighton has played Bradley 11 times in the last three years, with Robbie Knight playing in 10 of those 11 games. Jonas Dufek's complete game shutout of the Braves highlights the pitching numbers, as below are the current Jays' numbers against Bradley:
Player AVG GP-GS H-AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Scott Thornburg .333 1-1 1-3 0 1 0 0 0 0-0
T.J. Roemmich .320 10-7 8-25 8 2 1 2 9 0-0
Robbie Knight .270 10-10 10-37 9 2 1 0 8 2-2
Carson Vitale .250 2-1 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Elliot Soto .174 6-5 4-23 4 0 0 0 2 0-0
Ian Dike .125 5-3 1-8 2 0 0 0 0 0-0
Jimmy Swift .000 2-2 0-5 2 0 0 0 0 1-1
Pitcher ERA W-L A-S SV IP R ER BB SO
Jonas Dufek 0.00 1-0 1-1 0 9.0 0 0 0 7
Jack VanLeur 0.00 0-0 2-0 0 3.1 0 0 0 2
T.J. Roemmich 0.00 0-0 2-0 1 3.2 0 0 1 2
Greg Hellhake 1.50 1-0 1-1 0 6.0 1 1 0 3
Mike Nihsen 3.60 0-0 1-1 0 5.0 2 2 0 2
Bobby Lackovic 27.00 0-1 1-0 0 0.1 1 1 0 0
Playoff Nemesis
Creighton and Bradley have met numerous times in the regular season, but the two squads have been regular opponents in the postseason as well. The two teams have met in the MVC Tournament four of the last five years, with Creighton going 4-1 in six games. Bradley ended Creighton's season in 2006, while the Bluejays returned the favor in 2007.
Taking On One Of Our Own
Leading the Braves this season in second-year head coach Elvis Dominguez. Dominguez was a four-year starter at shortstop for the Bluejays from 1983-86, and led the team in hitting his senior with a .348 mark. Following graduation, Dominguez served as the graduate assistant coach on the 1987 team and was promoted to a full time position in 1988, before leaving to become Omaha Central's head coach. Dominguez made his return to Creighton for the 1993 season and spent five seasons as infield instructor and hitting coach before departing for Iowa.
Speaking of Sweeps
The Bluejays and Braves are heading in opposite directions after last weekend's action. The Braves are heading into the weekend after sweeping Missouri State last weekend, while the Jays were swept by Illinois State. The two teams are tied for sixth in the MVC standings with a 3-6 record.
Get 'Em In!
Creighton's scoring opportunities were limited against Illinois State last weekend, but production was scarce, even when chances were present. The Jays finished the weekend hitting .167 (2-for-12) with runners in scoring position and just .156 (5-for-32) with two outs. Illinois State was as good as the Jays were bad, hitting .375 (12-for-35) with scoring position chances and .349 (15-for-43) with two outs. All of Illinois State's base runners, hits and runs came with two out on Sunday.
Getting Low
The Bluejays matched a season-low with four hits on Saturday, before being held to three hits on Sunday. The last 15 CU hitters were retired in order as the game was the fourth straight with single digit hits.
Home Woes?
After a 12-6 record in games away from Omaha to start the season, Creighton seemed ready to take a step forward. That has been far from the case, as the Jays have stumbled to a 1-6 record at home, including an 0-3 mark at Rosenblatt Stadium. In seven home games the Jays are hitting just .197 and have an ERA of 5.20. In contrast, the Jays are hitting .305 in non-home games and have an ERA of 4.55.
Alex Staehely and Ian Dike are the only two Jays hitting over .300 at home, posting .320 and .304 marks respectively. From there, the next closest Jay is at .241.
Quality Outings
Ty Blach has posted three straight quality starts, but has little to show for it, as his record stands at 0-1. The freshman southpaw worked into the seventh inning on Sunday, allowing just three earned runs. Against Indiana State (4/4) he threw eight innings and allowed three earned runs, while his start at Southern Illinois (six innings, one earned) started the stretch.
Koenigstein Falls For First Time
Brandon Koenigstein saw a nice run end on Saturday, as the sophomore suffered his first career loss in 23 appearances. Koenigstein gave up a career-high 12 hits and five earned runs in the loss.
Spomer Makes His Case
Kurt Spomer came into Saturday's game with a solid 2.70 ERA in five appearances. The sophomore made his case for more time, as he threw a career-long three innings of one-hit ball. He struck out two and allowed just two hits to lower his season ERA to 1.23.
Staehely's Streak Ends
Alex Staehely saw a 14-game hit streak come to an end on Saturday. The freshman turned his early struggles into success, hitting .404 (20-for-49) over the streak. Eight of his hits were for extra-bases, as he added five RBI on the streak. Staehely's streak is the longest by a CU freshman since Dave Schultz hit safely in 15 straight games from March 14 - April 5, 2003.
Playing The Field
The Bluejays are one of four Valley teams to post wins against the 2009 NCAA Tournament Field. Bradley leads the way with five (Army (2), Tennessee Tech (3) followed by Missouri State (Oral Roberts (3), Oklahoma State (1). The Jays are next with three (Kansas State, Minnesota and Sam Houston State) and Wichita State rounds out the group with two wins.
Boots Come In Pairs
Trever Adams made two errors in Friday's game against Illinois State. The last time a CU player made two errors in a game was April 4, 2009 when Jimmy Swift made two.
Arms Are Pitching In
Creighton leads the league in four categories; three of them pitching. The Jays are tops in runs allowed (142), earned runs allowed (126) and walks allowed (80). The Jays also lead in fielding percentage with a .978 mark.
Lackovic Regains Form
Bobby Lackovic had lofty expectations coming into the year. After a start that saw the senior reliever allow seven earned runs in his first four appearances (9.45 ERA), Lackovic has since turned it around. In the last 18 Bluejay games, he has made 12 appearances, posting a 1.36 ERA with nine strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched.
Milestone Men
A couple of Bluejays are coming up on or have reached career milestones. Bobby Lackovic threw his 100th career inning against Illinois State and made his 75th career appearance at Nebraska (4/6). Elliot Soto will need three more hits to reach 150 on his career.
Mix and Match
With injuries and inconsistency, the Creighton lineup has seen its fair share of juggling. The starting nine against Illinois State on Sunday was the 20th different order and 12th different defensive alignment Ed Servais has put together this season.
