Baseball Opens MVC Tournament on Tuesday Against Indiana State
5/23/2010 4:15:00 PM | Baseball
Creighton
Baseball Game Notes
2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
May 25-29, 2010 • Wichita, Kan. • Eck Stadium
KOIL 1180 & KOZN 1620 • Live video available for all games at mvc.org
Game 1: #3 Indiana State / May 25 / 9 a.m.
Head Coach Ed Servais
Ed Servais (UW-La Crosse, 1981) is in his seventh season at the helm of the Bluejay baseball program in 2009-10. His .633 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 seven seasons. His career record stands at 435-229-1, with his Creighton mark at 253-147.
Last Time Out
Creighton finished its regular season with a series win over New Orleans. It marked the first time this season the Jays had won two consecutive three-game weekend series. The Jays clinched it with a doubleheader sweep on Friday before falling in the regular season finale on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Trever Adams and Jimmy Swift led the offensive charge, as Adams hit .600 (6-for-10) and Swift posted a .571 weekend (8-for-14). Adams had four extra-base hits while swift posted three doubles. T.J. Roemmich also contributed with two home runs, including a two-run shot in his final at-bat at Rosenblatt Stadium.
In The Tournament Opener...
Creighton will open up against third-seeded Indiana State on Tuesday morning in Wichita. Creighton has not lost their first game of the tournament under Ed Servais. The Jays have won their last six tournament openers after losing their last three under former head coach Jack Dahm. Since 1979, the Jays are 14-12 in tournament openers.
In It To Win It
The Jays have advanced far in the tournament, reaching the title game in three of the last five seasons. Creighton's lone tournament title came back in 2007 when the Jays scored a 10-9, 12-inning victory over Wichita State. Four current Jays were active on that '07 team, as Bobby Lackovic, Robbie Knight, T.J. Roemmich and Ian Dike. Several other current Jays redshirted that year, including Jimmy Swift, Greg Hellhake, and Jack VanLeur.
Just A Bit Under and Over
Since 1979, Creighton is 40-45-1 in the Valley Tournament, good for a .471 winning percentage. It has been a different story under Ed Servais, as Creighton is 15-10, good for a .600 mark.
Bluejays In The Tournament
Robbie Knight has played in all 13 Valley Tournament games since 2007. Jimmy Swift has the best average in tourney play with a .462 mark. Here is how current Jays have fared in those games:
Player GP-S AVG R H-AB 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Jimmy Swift 4-4 .462 5 6-13 0 0 1 1 0-0
Ian Dike 5-2 .444 3 4-9 1 0 0 1 0-0
Elliot Soto 8-8 .361 7 13-36 0 0 0 2 2-2
Robbie Knight 13-13 .255 8 13-51 4 0 0 13 1-1
Scott Thornburg 3-2 .250 0 1-4 0 0 0 1 0-0
T.J. Roemmich 11-7 .233 8 7-30 2 0 1 6 2-2
Carson Vitale 4-4 .133 2 2-15 1 0 0 1 0-0
Pitcher ERA W-L A-S SV IP R ER BB SO
B. Koenigstein 0.00 1-0 1-1 0 7.0 0 0 0 7
Bobby Lackovic 1.93 1-0 3-0 0 4.1 1 1 0 3
Jack VanLeur 5.87 0-1 5-0 1 7.2 5 5 1 4
Greg Hellhake 7.71 0-1 2-2 0 7.2 4 4 4 3
Matt Patterson 9.00 0-0 2-0 0 1.0 1 1 2 1
Mike Nihsen 10.80 0-1 1-1 0 3.1 4 4 1 2
Can't Get It By Us
Creighton has been known for its defense over the years. Nowhere is it more evident than at Wichita State's Eck Stadium. Creighton has gone 404 straight chances over three years without making an error at the stadium. The last time the Jays made an error there was April 8, 2007, when Steve Winkelman made a throwing error in the eighth inning of a game with Wichita State.
Against The Valley
Creighton has the most Valley wins against its first round opponent Indiana State. Here is a listing of Creighton's record against current Valley teams in the tournament
Indiana State: 10-8
Bradley: 9-3
Wichita State: 6-14
Illinois State: 5-1
Southern Illinois: 4-10
Missouri State: 3-5
Evansville: 2-3
Slotted Sixth
The Jays will enter the tournament as the sixth seed. It is just the fourth time CU has been seeded sixth. The Jays have been seeded second a team-high seven times. Here is how Creighton seeding has gone:
1: 1
2: 7
3: 6
4: 4
5: 2
6: 4
Looking To Make It Nine
Creighton has made it to the NCAA Tournament nine times in program history. The first trip came back in 1973 when they received an at-large bid to the District Five playoffs, while 2007 marked the last trip when the Jays won the Valley Tournament. Inbetween those two were trips in: 1990, 1991 (CWS), 1992, 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2007. The Jays hold a 12-16 in those postseason appearances.
League Leaders
The Jays have two players at the top of league categories. Bobby Lackovic leads in appearances with 32, while Ian Dike leads the MVC in putouts and chances with 519 and 571 respectively.
Glovin' It
Creighton's stingy defense had it at the top of the national rankings last week. Creighton led the country with a .984 fielding percentage, the best mark in the aluminum bat era that dates back to the early 1970's. The Jays are attempting to become the second school to repeat as national leader (Tennessee, 1993/94) as well as trying to become the first team to post three straight seasons of .979 percent or better.
Gotta Get Ahead
Since Ed Servais took the reigns of the Creighton program in 2004, getting the first lead and staying ahead at the Valley Tournament has been imperative. The Jays have only one win after trailing anytime after the sixth inning since 2004. That came on May 22, 2008 against Northern Iowa. On top of that, the Jays are 12-2 when scoring first, compared to just 3-8 when the opponent lights up the scoreboard first.
Backed By The Bullpen
Creighton's bullpen has been a savior at the MVC Tournament in years past. In 12 decisions since 1999, Creighton's pen has a record of 9-3, while starters have a mark of just 10-15. Jays starters have just four wins in the tournament dating back to 2006.
Close Calls
One-run games have been a near 50-50 proposition for the Bluejays in the Valley Tournament. The Jays are 10-8 all-time in one-run games. Creighton played one such game last year, defeating Missouri State 7-6 in 10 innings.
Three Bags, Twice
Ian Dike did not have a triple in his four-year career going into the May 21 doubleheader with New Orleans. That all changed...twice. Dike posted two triples, his first in coming in his 319th career at-bat in game one of the doubleheader. His second came just seven plate appearances later in his final at-bat of the second game.
He Can't Hit Just One
Trever Adams has been Creighton's most consistent offensive force this season, leading the team in batting with a .356 mark. Adams' good days have been very good, as he has 25 multi-hit games, compared to just 8 games with one-hit. He has posted 10 games of three or more hits, with his season-high four hits coming at UT-Arlington on March 10.
Century Mark
Creighton pitchers have reached the 100-pitch barrier 13 times this year, all by weekend starters Jonas Dufek, Ty Blach and Brandon Koenigstein. Creighton is 7-6 in those games, as Blach is 3-2, Dufek is 1-1 and BK is 3-3 when getting to that mark.
In A Pinch
The Bluejay reserves are hitting .259 (7-27) in pinch-hitting roles this season. Michael Blatchford is the only Bluejay with two pinch-hits, while five others have one. Blatchford also leads with three RBI, followed by Joey Bowens' two. Clay Cuno has struggled the most in that situation, going 0-for-7 in pinch-hit situations. Overall, non-starters are hitting .208 for Creighton (11-for-53), with Bowens leading all those with multiple at-bats, going 3-for-7 with six runs.
Pitching Staff Notes
Creighton starters have put up a record of 16-11 with a 4.35 ERA this season. That's opposed to a bullpen that has a 10-12 mark with a 6.07 ERA. In the 26 Creighton wins, the starters have a 2.92 ERA with a strikeout to walk ratio of nearly 4-to-1 (89-25). The bullpen has a 5.09 ERA in games won, but that jumps up to 7.01 in games lost. The Creighton starters? Their ERA is 6.34 in games lost with that stellar K-BB ration falling to below 2-to-1 (68-35).
See Ya' Rosenblatt (Good Riddance!)
Creighton had the privilege of playing 11 games in legendary Rosenblatt Stadium's last season. Unfortunately opponents had a much better time in the park, as CU finished 3-8 in those games. Trever Adams did enjoy hitting in the park as he hit .421 with three home runs and nine RBI to lead the team. Ian Dike and Carson Vitale also had two home runs. The pitching staff was victimized by the strong winds on the hill, as Mark Winkelman was the only hurler with a sub-4.32 ERA, as CU was outscored 89-55.
Swift Locked In
Jimmy Swift brings a hot bat into this weekend's tournament. The junior went 13-for-27 (.481) with eight runs, five doubles an a pair of RBI over the team's last six games.
