Friday, February 23
Sugar Land, Texas
7:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Houston Christian
Photo by: Isaac Fiely
Baseball Travels To Houston for Sugar Land Classic
2/22/2024 9:20:00 PM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. -- After kicking off the season with 33 runs and a pair of victories in Maryland, Creighton Baseball heads to Texas for the Sugar Land Classic Tournament this weekend. The Bluejays face Houston Christian (Friday), UTSA (Saturday) and UIC (Sunday).
Probable Creighton Starters
Game 1   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Dominic Cancellieri (Sr.-RHP)Â Â Â 0.00Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 4.0Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 4
Game 2   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Jimmy Burke (Jr.-RHP)Â Â Â 27.00Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1.1Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1
Game 3   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Cade Lommel (Sr.-LHP)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â YET TO APPEAR IN 2024
Scouting the Bluejays
(2024: 2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Despite officially only getting two games in against Coppin State over the weekend, the Bluejays got hits from 14 different players and nine pitchers took the bump.
Staff ace Dominic Cancellieri earned the win in the opening game with four shutout innings against the Eagles on Friday.
Leadoff man Tate Gillen was dynamic in two games, hitting .714 with five hits, including a triple and a home run. Another hot bat came from shortstop Nolan Clifford, who hit .429 with three hits, four runs scored and three RBI.
Scouting the Huskies
(2024: 3-2, 0-0 SLC)
Tournament host Houston Christian took three of four over the weekend from Le Moyne, but was brought back to earth with a 20-3 loss to Texas on Tuesday.
Dylan LaRue leads the offense through five games, hitting .429 with seven hits, six runs scored and a pair of doubles.
HCU is expected to start James Kirkpatrick, who tossed four innings of one-run ball last Friday night.
Scouting the Roadrunners
(2024: 2-3, 0-0 AAC)
After splitting a four-game with UT Arlington with victories in the both games on Saturday, UTSA fell 14-10 to Tarleton State on Tuesday.
The Roadrunners have scored 32 runs in four games, hitting .310 as a team. Matt King (.368) and James Taussig (.350) lead the team with seven hits each. The duo combined for 11 RBI, including seven from Taussig.
While the offense is humming, the pitching staff has also allowed 32 runs and has a 6.00 ERA. If the Roadrunners' rotation stays the same as last weekend Ruger Rojas will take the hill. Last Saturday he allowed two runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings.
Scouting the Flames
(2024: 2-2, 0-0 MVC)
In Texas since opening weekend, the Flames took two of three from Kansas in Corpus Christi last weekend, but dropped a 22-7 contest to Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
Two Flames are red hot as Zane Zielinski and Jackson Bessette enter the weekend hitting .538 and .500 respectively Zielinski has seven hits and five RBI, while Bessette has collected nine hits and four runs scored.
UIC's pitching staff has allowed 45 earned runs in 32 innings for a 12.66 ERA. The projected starter against Creighton, Kendall
Lyons, allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks over five innings against Kansas last Sunday. Â
Gillen Earns First BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2024
Creighton sophomore Tate Gillen claimed his first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor as the Bluejay center fielder led
Creighton to a 2-0 record at Coppin State over the weekend.
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Returning to center field and the leadoff role for the Bluejays this season, Tate led the Bluejays to a perfect start to the season as he hit .714 (5-of-7) with four runs scored, two stolen bases and five RBI.
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The Overland Park, Kan. native scored Creighton's first run of the season with a steal of home in the Bluejays' 24-0 rout of Coppin State on Friday afternoon.
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In the opener, Gillen went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI, while going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Jays' 9-6 come-from-behind victory in the second game.
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The Game That Wasn't
After posting a 24-0 win in the series opener on Friday, snow forced the Bluejays and Eagles into a doubleheader on Sunday. Scheduled for two seven-inning games, with a noon start. The field crew needed every moment to get the surface in Hanover ready for Sunday. Creighton rallied from a 5-1 deficit with five runs in sixth to take a 6-5 edge, but Coppin State extended the game with a run in the seventh. Finally the Bluejays plated three in the eighth to earn the 9-6 win.
Starting the second game at 3:45 p.m. (ET), the Bluejays plated four runs in the first, eight in the second, four in the third and nine runs in the fourth to build a 25-2 lead. Plating all those runs, however, left Creighton's fighting time as the Bluejays' return flight to Omaha was at 7:45 p.m. Needing to get to the airport, the game was called at 5:45 p.m. after 3.5 innings, thus the game nor the stats counted.
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Bluejays Begin 2024 Better Than Any Script
The 2024 season began in divine fashion as the Bluejays pushed across 10 runs before a Bluejay pitcher took the bump. The last time Creighton scored at least 10-runs in one inning takes you all the way back to 2010,when the Bluejays plated 13 runs in the seventh inning of a 22-0 win over SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 20, 2010. The last time Creighton scored at least 24 runs in a game was at Xavier on April 20, 2018 in a 24-8 win.
The Grace of Gradoville
With a nod to the heavens, Jack Grace accomplished something that last happened in 2007 by a departed friend. Grace smashed a home run in the first inning of the Bluejays' 24-0 win over Coppin State on Feb. 16. The last time Creighton hit a home run in the opening frame of the season was by Chris Gradoville against Gardner-Webb in a 4-3 win on Feb. 9, 2007.
Not only an alumni, Gradoville was the Bluejays' Director of
Operations during the 2021 season, before being killed in a shooting on the morning of September 30, 2021.m
Servais Showing the Bluejays the Spice of Life
The Bluejays face 24 unique squads during the 2024 season, but will see nine teams that have never played Creighton before. The first four opponents have not played the Bluejays previously (Coppin State, Houston Christian, UTSA and UIC). The other five teams providing variety to the schedule are Army, Charleston Southern, San Francisco, Stanford, and UMass-Lowell. The Bluejays also face Louisiana Tech, a squad that has played Creighton just one time (a 7-3 loss in 2012).
Creighton at Sugar Land Space Cowboys Classic
Feb. 23 at Houston Christian @ 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 24 vs. UTSA @ 11:00 a.m.
Feb. 25 vs. UIC @ 10:00 a.m.
Live Stats: https://hcuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Feb. 23 at Houston Christian @ 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 24 vs. UTSA @ 11:00 a.m.
Feb. 25 vs. UIC @ 10:00 a.m.
Live Stats: https://hcuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Probable Creighton Starters
Game 1   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Dominic Cancellieri (Sr.-RHP)Â Â Â 0.00Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 4.0Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 4
Game 2   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Jimmy Burke (Jr.-RHP)Â Â Â 27.00Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1.1Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1
Game 3   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
CU - Cade Lommel (Sr.-LHP)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â YET TO APPEAR IN 2024
Scouting the Bluejays
(2024: 2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Despite officially only getting two games in against Coppin State over the weekend, the Bluejays got hits from 14 different players and nine pitchers took the bump.
Staff ace Dominic Cancellieri earned the win in the opening game with four shutout innings against the Eagles on Friday.
Leadoff man Tate Gillen was dynamic in two games, hitting .714 with five hits, including a triple and a home run. Another hot bat came from shortstop Nolan Clifford, who hit .429 with three hits, four runs scored and three RBI.
Scouting the Huskies
(2024: 3-2, 0-0 SLC)
Tournament host Houston Christian took three of four over the weekend from Le Moyne, but was brought back to earth with a 20-3 loss to Texas on Tuesday.
Dylan LaRue leads the offense through five games, hitting .429 with seven hits, six runs scored and a pair of doubles.
HCU is expected to start James Kirkpatrick, who tossed four innings of one-run ball last Friday night.
Scouting the Roadrunners
(2024: 2-3, 0-0 AAC)
After splitting a four-game with UT Arlington with victories in the both games on Saturday, UTSA fell 14-10 to Tarleton State on Tuesday.
The Roadrunners have scored 32 runs in four games, hitting .310 as a team. Matt King (.368) and James Taussig (.350) lead the team with seven hits each. The duo combined for 11 RBI, including seven from Taussig.
While the offense is humming, the pitching staff has also allowed 32 runs and has a 6.00 ERA. If the Roadrunners' rotation stays the same as last weekend Ruger Rojas will take the hill. Last Saturday he allowed two runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings.
Scouting the Flames
(2024: 2-2, 0-0 MVC)
In Texas since opening weekend, the Flames took two of three from Kansas in Corpus Christi last weekend, but dropped a 22-7 contest to Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
Two Flames are red hot as Zane Zielinski and Jackson Bessette enter the weekend hitting .538 and .500 respectively Zielinski has seven hits and five RBI, while Bessette has collected nine hits and four runs scored.
UIC's pitching staff has allowed 45 earned runs in 32 innings for a 12.66 ERA. The projected starter against Creighton, Kendall
Lyons, allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks over five innings against Kansas last Sunday. Â
Gillen Earns First BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2024
Creighton sophomore Tate Gillen claimed his first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor as the Bluejay center fielder led
Creighton to a 2-0 record at Coppin State over the weekend.
Â
Returning to center field and the leadoff role for the Bluejays this season, Tate led the Bluejays to a perfect start to the season as he hit .714 (5-of-7) with four runs scored, two stolen bases and five RBI.
Â
The Overland Park, Kan. native scored Creighton's first run of the season with a steal of home in the Bluejays' 24-0 rout of Coppin State on Friday afternoon.
Â
In the opener, Gillen went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI, while going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Jays' 9-6 come-from-behind victory in the second game.
Â
The Game That Wasn't
After posting a 24-0 win in the series opener on Friday, snow forced the Bluejays and Eagles into a doubleheader on Sunday. Scheduled for two seven-inning games, with a noon start. The field crew needed every moment to get the surface in Hanover ready for Sunday. Creighton rallied from a 5-1 deficit with five runs in sixth to take a 6-5 edge, but Coppin State extended the game with a run in the seventh. Finally the Bluejays plated three in the eighth to earn the 9-6 win.
Starting the second game at 3:45 p.m. (ET), the Bluejays plated four runs in the first, eight in the second, four in the third and nine runs in the fourth to build a 25-2 lead. Plating all those runs, however, left Creighton's fighting time as the Bluejays' return flight to Omaha was at 7:45 p.m. Needing to get to the airport, the game was called at 5:45 p.m. after 3.5 innings, thus the game nor the stats counted.
Â
Bluejays Begin 2024 Better Than Any Script
The 2024 season began in divine fashion as the Bluejays pushed across 10 runs before a Bluejay pitcher took the bump. The last time Creighton scored at least 10-runs in one inning takes you all the way back to 2010,when the Bluejays plated 13 runs in the seventh inning of a 22-0 win over SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 20, 2010. The last time Creighton scored at least 24 runs in a game was at Xavier on April 20, 2018 in a 24-8 win.
The Grace of Gradoville
With a nod to the heavens, Jack Grace accomplished something that last happened in 2007 by a departed friend. Grace smashed a home run in the first inning of the Bluejays' 24-0 win over Coppin State on Feb. 16. The last time Creighton hit a home run in the opening frame of the season was by Chris Gradoville against Gardner-Webb in a 4-3 win on Feb. 9, 2007.
Not only an alumni, Gradoville was the Bluejays' Director of
Operations during the 2021 season, before being killed in a shooting on the morning of September 30, 2021.m
Servais Showing the Bluejays the Spice of Life
The Bluejays face 24 unique squads during the 2024 season, but will see nine teams that have never played Creighton before. The first four opponents have not played the Bluejays previously (Coppin State, Houston Christian, UTSA and UIC). The other five teams providing variety to the schedule are Army, Charleston Southern, San Francisco, Stanford, and UMass-Lowell. The Bluejays also face Louisiana Tech, a squad that has played Creighton just one time (a 7-3 loss in 2012).
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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INF
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OF
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OF
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LHP
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