The Offseason: Darin Ruf and Pat Venditte

Creighton Baseball alums Darin Ruf and Pat Venditte caught up with head coach Ed Servais in Episode 8 of "The Offseason".

Darin Ruf was a 20th-round pick in 2009 by Philadelphia and reached the Major Leagues with the Phillies in 2012 after being named Eastern League (AA) MVP. A native of Omaha and a Westside High School graduate, Ruf started all 227 games while at Creighton between 2006-09. He hit .331 with the Bluejays, finishing with 57 doubles, 27 homers, 22 sacrifice flies and 201 RBI and was named 2007 Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year after a standout sophomore season that saw him hit .374 with eight homers and 57 RBI as the Jays won their first MVC Tournament in program history. A defensive wizard at first base for the Jays, Ruf was the first player in Division I history to win multiple Rawlings Gold Gloves (2007, 2009). Ruf also was a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection and named a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American choice in 2009 before graduating that May with a degree in Finance. Ruf spent five seasons in the Major Leagues with the Phillies, slugging 35 home runs, and is currently part of the San Francisco Giants organization after returning from a three year run in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Pat Venditte was an ambidextrous pitcher for the Creighton baseball staff from 2005-08 and recently named as part of the 2020 Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame class. He earned spots on the 2007 Baseball America and Rivals.com All-America Second teams, the SouthernCollegeSports.com All-America Second Team and the Collegiate Baseball All-America Third Team after posting the Creighton single-season program record for ERA (1.88) and appearances (38). In 2007, Venditte was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 MVC Tournament after helping the program to its first title. That was part of a stretch where he threw 43.2 scoreless innings in a row and took home National Player of the Week acclaim from Collegiate Baseball. He ended his career as a Bluejay with a 2.86 ERA in 248.1 innings pitched and the fourth-most appearances (110) in program history. His 255 strikeout total also ranks sixth in the Creighton career record books and included a whopping 39 career games with a strikeout with both arms. Venditte was drafted in both 2007 and 2008 by the New York Yankees before signing with the Yankees after being selected in the 20th round of the 2008 draft. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 2015 with the Oakland A's and has appeared in 58 games over the course of four years in the majors, while making 420 appearances during 12 seasons in the minor leagues. Venditte is currently part of the Miami Marlins organization.

Ed Servais has spent the past 17 seasons at the helm of the Creighton baseball program, guiding the Bluejays to five NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of trips to the Regional finals. The winningest coach in program history, Servais owns a 563-330-1 mark on The Hilltop. An eight-time Conference Coach of the Year, Servais' overall record of 745-412-2 (.648) places him 21st in the nation in winning percentage and 31st in wins amongst active Division I coaches. He is also the father of former Bluejay Joe Servais and the uncle of former Creighton All-American and major league catcher Scott Servais, who currently serves as the manager of the Seattle Mariners.

The Offseason Episodes
Episode 1: Nicky Lopez and Ed Servais
Episode 2: Marcus Zegarowski and Greg McDermott
Episode 3: Bruce Rasmussen and Nick Bahe
Episode 4: Jaylyn Agnew and Jim Flanery
Episode 5: Taryn Kloth and Kirsten Bernthal Booth
Episode 6: Ethan Finlay and Johnny Torres
Episode 7: Jahenns Manigat, Ethan Wragge and Greg McDermott
Episode 8: Darin Ruf, Pat Venditte and Ed Servais

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