Friday, May 10
6:30 pm
Creighton University
vs
St. John's
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Bluejays Battle St. John's and UNO as BIG EAST Baseball Heads Into Final Two Weeks
5/9/2019 7:59:00 PM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. -- With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Creighton Baseball team has seven straight home games to close out the season, beginning with a three-game series against St. John's. First pitch for the opening game with the Red Storm is set for Friday night at 6:30 pm. The weekend continues on Saturday as the Bluejays battle St. John's at 6:30 pm. The second contest is the Bluejays' 8th annual Military and First Responders Game. The scheduled pregame festivities will include the presentation of colors as well as a flyover and a paratrooper drop. During the game, an Oath of Enlistment ceremony will be conducted. Post game ceremonies will include taps, a performance by Jimmy Weber and a fireworks show presented by Bellino Enterprises.
Download the complete preview (PDF).
Download the complete preview (PDF).
St. John's at Creighton
@ TD Ameritrade
May 10 @ 6:00 pm
May 11 @ 6:30 pm
May 12 @ 12:00 pm
How to Follow the Weekend Series
Live Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
TV/Watch Online:
Friday - Jays Video - http://gocreighton.com/watch
Saturday - NET (Nebraska Educational Television) - http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/creighton-baseball-vs-st-johns
Sunday - BEDN (BIG EAST Digital Network) -
https://gocreighton.com/www.caffeine.tv/BEDN
Audio Broadcast:
Friday and Saturday Only - 1620 AM
http://player.listenlive.co/52371
On Deck
UNO at Creighton
@ TD Ameritrade
May 14 @Â 11:00 am
How to Follow the Midweek Game
Live Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Watch Online: http://gocreighton.com/watch
Audio Broadcast:Â 1620 AM - http://player.listenlive.co/52371
@ TD Ameritrade
May 10 @ 6:00 pm
May 11 @ 6:30 pm
May 12 @ 12:00 pm
How to Follow the Weekend Series
Live Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
TV/Watch Online:
Friday - Jays Video - http://gocreighton.com/watch
Saturday - NET (Nebraska Educational Television) - http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/creighton-baseball-vs-st-johns
Sunday - BEDN (BIG EAST Digital Network) -
https://gocreighton.com/www.caffeine.tv/BEDN
Audio Broadcast:
Friday and Saturday Only - 1620 AM
http://player.listenlive.co/52371
On Deck
UNO at Creighton
@ TD Ameritrade
May 14 @Â 11:00 am
How to Follow the Midweek Game
Live Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Watch Online: http://gocreighton.com/watch
Audio Broadcast:Â 1620 AM - http://player.listenlive.co/52371
Series History: Creighton trails St. John's, 10-9
Since joining the BIG EAST Creighton has gotten the better of every team except two, St. John's and Xavier. The Red Storm and Bluejays have become rivals. During the five seasons as conference foes Creighton has won two regular season titles, while the Red Storm have the other three. Within the five regular season series the Bluejays have claimed four of the five. Yet the Bluejays were swept by St. John's in three games last season. The Red Storm, however, hold a 3-1 edge on Creighton in BIG EAST tournament contests.
Scouting the Red Storm (2019: 26-19, 5-7 BIG EAST)
The preseason BIG EAST favorite, St. John's has struggled to a 5-7 record in the first four weeks of conference action. The Red Storm suffered an additional setback three weeks ago as ace Sean Mooney was sidelined for at least the remainder of the 2019 season.
St. John's had its weekend outside of BIG EAST play last weekend, splitting two games with Princeton. The Red Storm are anchored by a pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.46. This weekend St. John's is expected to send a trio of left-handers to face the Bluejays. The trio of Joe LaSorsa, Jeff Belge and Nick Mondak have a combined ERA of 2.37.
At the plate St. John's brings a team average of .266, led by a .355 clip from Mike Antico. The Red Storm also have 49 stolen bases, led once again by Antico with 17.
Series History with BIG EAST Foes since 2013
Butler:Â Â Â 12-4
Georgetown:Â Â Â 14-4
Seton Hall:Â Â Â 17-6
St. John's:Â Â Â 8-10
Villanova:Â Â Â 14-1
Xavier: Â Â Â 10-11
Series History: Creighton leads Omaha, 55-30
The Bluejays hold a 55-30 series edge over the Mavericks and are 10-3 against UNO under head coach Ed Servais. The Bluejays took all three meetings last season and the first tussle in 2019, pushing Creighton's win streak against Omaha to seven games. The last UNO win came on April 22, 2014.
Scouting the Mavericks (2019: 26-16-1, 18-6 Summit)
Despite dropping consecutive series in Summit League play, the Mavericks remain the favorite to win claim the conference with a two-game edge and just two series remaining.
Coming into the weekend the Mavericks are hitting .269 as a team, led by two players over .300. The leader at the dish is Parker Smejkal, hitting .345, while Matt Bondarchuk has a .316 average in limited action (he has played just 23 games).
Similar to the Red Storm, the Mavericks are trying to work through the loss of a starter as Joey Machado missed the weekend with an undisclosed injury. On the mound UNO has a team ERA of 4.24.
Bluejays Have Been Road Warriors
With an 21-5 road record this season, the Bluejays are tied for the most road wins in the NCAA. Creighton is tied with Bryant, with a 21 road wins, Bryant is 21-8 mark on the road.
The Bluejays' .808 road winning percentage is equally impressive, sitting third in the country. The only two teams better on the road this season are Stanford (13-2, .867) and Louisville (13-2, .867).
Pitchers Starting to Carry Bluejays
While the offense carried the Bluejays through the first half of the season, the pitching staff has stepped forward over the last 20 games.
During Creighton's first 20 games the team hit .289, while the pitching staff had an ERA of 5.62. The result was a 14-6 record for the Bluejays.
Over Creighton's last 19 games the team hit .279, while the pitching staff had an ERA of 2.88. The results have yielded a 15-4 record for the Bluejays.
One more comparison is Creighton's last 10 games, with the hitters posting a .272 average and the pitchers have posted a 2.76 ERA, leading to an 8-2 record.
Bluejays Battle Elements to Sweep Hoyas
Creighton's trip to the nation's capital continued a season-long trend of finding gaps in rain drops to fit in the games. Yet it wasn't just the Hoyas and the rain conspiring to challenge Creighton. The trip also brought flight delays coming and going.
Slated for one of the rare direct flights, the Bluejays departed Omaha at approximately 12:00 pm (CT). The flight was supposed to go directly to DC, but poor weather diverted the flight to Pittsburgh. The Bluejays were delayed in the Pittsburgh airport for several hours, forcing the cancellation of practice on Thursday.
A scheduled doubleheader on Friday, became 1.5 games as Creighton rallied to take the opener 7-3, then built a 9-0 lead in the first five frames. The following days saw the Bluejays finish off a 14-2 win, then sweep the series 7-4 in the finale.
Following some sightseeing on Sunday, Creighton was once again delayed on the flight home. Mechanical issues on the connecting flight got the squad back to Omaha after 1 am on Monday morning.
All of this, despite the Bluejays beginning Finals on Monday at 8 am.
Hull Claims BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, Robertson Earns Honor Roll
Creighton senior Denson Hull collected his first BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award on Tuesday, May 7th as he as well as junior Will Robertson earned recognition from the conference's weekly honors.
Hull moved to 4-0 in BIG EAST play, retiring 15 of 16 men he faced in the Bluejays' 14-2 win over Georgetown on Friday, May 3rd. Hull started the second half of Creighton's doubleheader with the Hoyas, but the game was suspended in the top of the sixth inning. Once it was completed the following day, Hull and the Bluejays held a 9-0 lead, so he gave way to the bullpen. Hull struck out five and allowed just one hit to the Hoyas, during his start as the Texas native lowered his BIG EAST ERA to 1.17 in 23.0 innings.
Robertson earned an Honor Roll nod as the Missouri native was 7-for-17 (.412) with eight RBI, two home runs and five extra base hits in the Bluejays' 4-0 week.
Hull, Robertson and the rest of the Bluejay return to the diamond on Friday for a home series with St. John's beginning at 6:30 pm.
Since joining the BIG EAST Creighton has gotten the better of every team except two, St. John's and Xavier. The Red Storm and Bluejays have become rivals. During the five seasons as conference foes Creighton has won two regular season titles, while the Red Storm have the other three. Within the five regular season series the Bluejays have claimed four of the five. Yet the Bluejays were swept by St. John's in three games last season. The Red Storm, however, hold a 3-1 edge on Creighton in BIG EAST tournament contests.
Scouting the Red Storm (2019: 26-19, 5-7 BIG EAST)
The preseason BIG EAST favorite, St. John's has struggled to a 5-7 record in the first four weeks of conference action. The Red Storm suffered an additional setback three weeks ago as ace Sean Mooney was sidelined for at least the remainder of the 2019 season.
St. John's had its weekend outside of BIG EAST play last weekend, splitting two games with Princeton. The Red Storm are anchored by a pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.46. This weekend St. John's is expected to send a trio of left-handers to face the Bluejays. The trio of Joe LaSorsa, Jeff Belge and Nick Mondak have a combined ERA of 2.37.
At the plate St. John's brings a team average of .266, led by a .355 clip from Mike Antico. The Red Storm also have 49 stolen bases, led once again by Antico with 17.
Series History with BIG EAST Foes since 2013
Butler:Â Â Â 12-4
Georgetown:Â Â Â 14-4
Seton Hall:Â Â Â 17-6
St. John's:Â Â Â 8-10
Villanova:Â Â Â 14-1
Xavier: Â Â Â 10-11
Series History: Creighton leads Omaha, 55-30
The Bluejays hold a 55-30 series edge over the Mavericks and are 10-3 against UNO under head coach Ed Servais. The Bluejays took all three meetings last season and the first tussle in 2019, pushing Creighton's win streak against Omaha to seven games. The last UNO win came on April 22, 2014.
Scouting the Mavericks (2019: 26-16-1, 18-6 Summit)
Despite dropping consecutive series in Summit League play, the Mavericks remain the favorite to win claim the conference with a two-game edge and just two series remaining.
Coming into the weekend the Mavericks are hitting .269 as a team, led by two players over .300. The leader at the dish is Parker Smejkal, hitting .345, while Matt Bondarchuk has a .316 average in limited action (he has played just 23 games).
Similar to the Red Storm, the Mavericks are trying to work through the loss of a starter as Joey Machado missed the weekend with an undisclosed injury. On the mound UNO has a team ERA of 4.24.
Bluejays Have Been Road Warriors
With an 21-5 road record this season, the Bluejays are tied for the most road wins in the NCAA. Creighton is tied with Bryant, with a 21 road wins, Bryant is 21-8 mark on the road.
The Bluejays' .808 road winning percentage is equally impressive, sitting third in the country. The only two teams better on the road this season are Stanford (13-2, .867) and Louisville (13-2, .867).
Pitchers Starting to Carry Bluejays
While the offense carried the Bluejays through the first half of the season, the pitching staff has stepped forward over the last 20 games.
During Creighton's first 20 games the team hit .289, while the pitching staff had an ERA of 5.62. The result was a 14-6 record for the Bluejays.
Over Creighton's last 19 games the team hit .279, while the pitching staff had an ERA of 2.88. The results have yielded a 15-4 record for the Bluejays.
One more comparison is Creighton's last 10 games, with the hitters posting a .272 average and the pitchers have posted a 2.76 ERA, leading to an 8-2 record.
Bluejays Battle Elements to Sweep Hoyas
Creighton's trip to the nation's capital continued a season-long trend of finding gaps in rain drops to fit in the games. Yet it wasn't just the Hoyas and the rain conspiring to challenge Creighton. The trip also brought flight delays coming and going.
Slated for one of the rare direct flights, the Bluejays departed Omaha at approximately 12:00 pm (CT). The flight was supposed to go directly to DC, but poor weather diverted the flight to Pittsburgh. The Bluejays were delayed in the Pittsburgh airport for several hours, forcing the cancellation of practice on Thursday.
A scheduled doubleheader on Friday, became 1.5 games as Creighton rallied to take the opener 7-3, then built a 9-0 lead in the first five frames. The following days saw the Bluejays finish off a 14-2 win, then sweep the series 7-4 in the finale.
Following some sightseeing on Sunday, Creighton was once again delayed on the flight home. Mechanical issues on the connecting flight got the squad back to Omaha after 1 am on Monday morning.
All of this, despite the Bluejays beginning Finals on Monday at 8 am.
Hull Claims BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, Robertson Earns Honor Roll
Creighton senior Denson Hull collected his first BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award on Tuesday, May 7th as he as well as junior Will Robertson earned recognition from the conference's weekly honors.
Hull moved to 4-0 in BIG EAST play, retiring 15 of 16 men he faced in the Bluejays' 14-2 win over Georgetown on Friday, May 3rd. Hull started the second half of Creighton's doubleheader with the Hoyas, but the game was suspended in the top of the sixth inning. Once it was completed the following day, Hull and the Bluejays held a 9-0 lead, so he gave way to the bullpen. Hull struck out five and allowed just one hit to the Hoyas, during his start as the Texas native lowered his BIG EAST ERA to 1.17 in 23.0 innings.
Robertson earned an Honor Roll nod as the Missouri native was 7-for-17 (.412) with eight RBI, two home runs and five extra base hits in the Bluejays' 4-0 week.
Hull, Robertson and the rest of the Bluejay return to the diamond on Friday for a home series with St. John's beginning at 6:30 pm.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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OF
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Jim Hendry & Alan Benes (4/11/11)
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