Friday, April 4
Omaha, Neb.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
vs
Connecticut
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Baseball Begins BIG EAST Play Against Connecticut
4/3/2025 11:30:00 AM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. -- Boasting a 17-7 record in non-conference action, the 2025 BIG EAST season begins with a bang as the Bluejays host defending champion UConn in a three-game series this weekend in Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
All Meetings
5/29/21   vs Connecticut   L   0-5
5/6/22   at Connecticut   L   1-3
5/7/22   at Connecticut   L   5-6
5/8/22   at Connecticut   L   5-6
5/28/22   vs Connecticut   L   1-7
5/18/23   #9 Connecticut   W   7-6
5/19/23   #9 Connecticut   L   3-6
5/20/23   #9 Connecticut   L   0-10
5/10/24   at Connecticut   L   2-9
5/11/24   at Connecticut   L   5-10
5/12/24   at Connecticut   W   14-9
Scouting the Huskies (2025: 12-15, 1-2 BIG EAST)
Connecticut is coming off a midweek 9-3 win at home against Quinnipiac and a 1-2 series loss to Xavier.
The Huskies enter the series at Creighton hitting .277 as a team. Sophomore Tyler Minick leads the team with a .348 average which includes eight home runs on the season. Three other huskies are hitting over a .300, Ryan Daniels (.342), Beau Root (.340) and Grant MacArthur (.309).
From the hill, Connecticut holds a team ERA of 6.49 holding their opponents to a .291 on average. All-BIG EAST First Team selection Brady Afthim proves to be the most dependable pitcher out of the bullpen for the Huskies with an ERA of 0.48 and 28 strikeouts in just 18.2 innings.
Scouting the Bluejays (2025: 17-7, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Creighton is entering conference play with nine wins in its last 11 games, including six consecutive series victories.
Offensively, Creighton is hitting a .273, led by senior Nolan Sailors (.409), junior Ben North (.333) and transfers Nate McHugh (.316) and Dakota Duffalo (.311). Sailors also leads the team in hits (38), doubles (6) and runs scored (26).
On the mound the Bluejays have a team ERA of 4.28 with 192 strikeouts in 204 innings. Bullpen arm Matthew Aukerman is off to a 5-0 start recording 20 strikeouts, while closer Garrett Langrell is 3-0 with six saves.
Creighton Continued its Hold Over Nebraska
Knotted at 4-4 entering the seventh inning, Creighton took the lead for good thanks to Kyle Hess's two-run single. Will MacLean drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, in front of the first double of the season for Connor Capece which set the table for Hess. He responded with a two-run single to break the 4-4 tie. Creighton led 6-5 coming into the ninth when Jack Torosian hit a two-run triple which was followed with an RBI single from Ben North that closed the game at 9-5. The Bluejays tied a season high of three doubles in a game.
Bluejays Starting BIG EAST Action
Opening it's 12th season in BIG EAST play, Creighton is 6-4 (no BIG EAST games in 2020) in the opening game of BIG EAST play. The Bluejays are 7-3 in their first home game in conference since joining the BIG EAST.
Last season Creighton dropped the opening game to Butler 5-1, but rebounded to win the series.
Historically 11 is BIG EAST Magic Number
Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2014, just two teams with double digit victories in conference play has ever missed the BIG EAST Tournament. That came during the 2021 and 2023 seasons when series were expanded to four games, pushing conference matchups to its highest point. St. John's missed the postseason with a 10-16 mark (.385) in 2021, while Creighton missed the mark last year at 10-11.
Year   Fourth-Place Team   Record
2014   Butler           8-10 (.444)
2015   Georgetown       8-10 (.444)
2016   St. John's       9-9 (.500)
2017   Seton Hall       10-8 (.556)
2018   Georgetown       8-9 (.471)
2019    Seton Hall       9-9 (.500)
2021   Xavier            15-11 (.577)   Â
2022   Georgetown        11-10 (.524)
2023   Georgetown       10-10 (.500)
2024   Xavier           12-9 (.571)
Torosian Delivering in a Pinch!
Jack Torosian came up BIG for the second straight pinch hit appearance as the Omaha native blasted a two-run triple against Nebraska. This season he is 5-for-7 (.714) as a pinch hitter this season with a home run, a triple and five RBI.
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Torosian Belts First Pinch-Hit Home Run Since 2023
Jack Torosian's tenth inning pinch-hit home run at Samford on Saturday, March 29 came more than two years since the Bluejays; last pinch-hit blast. The last time it happened was on March 11, 2023 when Ben Gbur connected against BYU.
BIG EAST Tournament Appearances Since 2014
BIG EAST Tournament history since reorganization prior to the 2014 season.
Team   Appearances    Championships
Creighton   7   1
Connecticut   4   2
Seton Hall   8   0
St. John's   7   3
Butler   1   0
Xavier   8   4
Georgetown   5   0
2014: Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's, Xavier
2015: St. John's, Creighton, Seton Hall, Georgetown
2016: Xavier, Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's
2017: Creighton, St. John's, Xavier, Seton Hall
2018: St. John's, Seton Hall, Butler, Georgetown
2019: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Seton Hall
2021: Connecticut, Creighton, Seton Hall, Xavier
2022: Connecticut, Creighton, Xavier, Georgetown
2023: Connecticut, Xavier, Seton Hall, Georgetown
2024: Connecticut, St. John's, Georgetown, Xavier
Tournament champion in BOLD
Bluejay Alumni Update
Bluejay Baseball has 12 former players active in professional baseball, nine on the diamond two as coaches and one in the front office.
Three Bluejays are active at the Major League level with Alan Roden making his debut on Opening Day of the 2025 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Isaac Collins starts his second season with the Milwaukee Brewers while Nicky Lopez signed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortly after Spring Training.
Former Bluejays Scott Servais joined the San Diego Padres this season as a special assistant in player development and Carson Vitale was hired by the Miami Marlins as a bench coach.
Â
AAA Players (2): Ryan Fitzgerald (St. Paul Saints - Milwaukee), Will Robertson (Buffalo Bisons - Toronto).
AAA Front Office (1): Justin Wick (Sacramento River Cats - San Francisco).
AA Players (3):Â Jake Holton (Erie Seawolves - Detroit), Dylan Tebrake (Binghamton Rumble Ponies - New York Mets), Jared Wegner (Somerset Patriots - New York Yankees).
A Player (1): Nolan Clifford (Fresno Grizzlies - Colorado).
Connecticut at Creighton
April 4 @ 6:00 p.m. - FloBaseball.tv       Stat Broadcast   1180 AM
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April 4 @ 6:00 p.m. - FloBaseball.tv       Stat Broadcast   1180 AM
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(2025 Stats) Matchups Probable PitchingÂ
Friday   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
UConn - Olivar Pudvar (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 3.60Â Â Â 3-1Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 35.0Â Â Â 29Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 43
CU -Â Dominic Cancellieri (Gr.-RHP)Â Â Â 0.75Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/1Â Â Â 12.0Â Â Â 9Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 13
Saturday   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
UConn - Cayden Suchy (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 5.28Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 9Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 29.0Â Â Â 26Â Â Â 20Â Â Â 17Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 29
CU -Â Jack Pineau (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 5.40Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 1.2Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 3
Sunday   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
UConn - TBA
CU -Â Wilson Magers (Fr.-RHP)Â Â Â 3.98Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 31.2Â Â Â 20Â Â Â 17Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 16Â Â Â 23
UConn - Olivar Pudvar (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 3.60Â Â Â 3-1Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 35.0Â Â Â 29Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 43
CU -Â Dominic Cancellieri (Gr.-RHP)Â Â Â 0.75Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/1Â Â Â 12.0Â Â Â 9Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 13
Saturday   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
UConn - Cayden Suchy (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 5.28Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 9Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 29.0Â Â Â 26Â Â Â 20Â Â Â 17Â Â Â 15Â Â Â 29
CU -Â Jack Pineau (So.-RHP)Â Â Â 5.40Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 1.2Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 3
Sunday   ERA   W-L   App   GS   CG   SHO   IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO
UConn - TBA
CU -Â Wilson Magers (Fr.-RHP)Â Â Â 3.98Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0/0Â Â Â 31.2Â Â Â 20Â Â Â 17Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 16Â Â Â 23
Series History with Connecticut (Bluejays Trail 9-2)
Creighton and Connecticut have met a total of 11 times in the past four years since their first meeting in the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament. Creighton won their last meeting in 2024 by the largest margin in the series.All Meetings
5/29/21   vs Connecticut   L   0-5
5/6/22   at Connecticut   L   1-3
5/7/22   at Connecticut   L   5-6
5/8/22   at Connecticut   L   5-6
5/28/22   vs Connecticut   L   1-7
5/18/23   #9 Connecticut   W   7-6
5/19/23   #9 Connecticut   L   3-6
5/20/23   #9 Connecticut   L   0-10
5/10/24   at Connecticut   L   2-9
5/11/24   at Connecticut   L   5-10
5/12/24   at Connecticut   W   14-9
Scouting the Huskies (2025: 12-15, 1-2 BIG EAST)
Connecticut is coming off a midweek 9-3 win at home against Quinnipiac and a 1-2 series loss to Xavier.
The Huskies enter the series at Creighton hitting .277 as a team. Sophomore Tyler Minick leads the team with a .348 average which includes eight home runs on the season. Three other huskies are hitting over a .300, Ryan Daniels (.342), Beau Root (.340) and Grant MacArthur (.309).
From the hill, Connecticut holds a team ERA of 6.49 holding their opponents to a .291 on average. All-BIG EAST First Team selection Brady Afthim proves to be the most dependable pitcher out of the bullpen for the Huskies with an ERA of 0.48 and 28 strikeouts in just 18.2 innings.
Scouting the Bluejays (2025: 17-7, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Creighton is entering conference play with nine wins in its last 11 games, including six consecutive series victories.
Offensively, Creighton is hitting a .273, led by senior Nolan Sailors (.409), junior Ben North (.333) and transfers Nate McHugh (.316) and Dakota Duffalo (.311). Sailors also leads the team in hits (38), doubles (6) and runs scored (26).
On the mound the Bluejays have a team ERA of 4.28 with 192 strikeouts in 204 innings. Bullpen arm Matthew Aukerman is off to a 5-0 start recording 20 strikeouts, while closer Garrett Langrell is 3-0 with six saves.
Creighton Continued its Hold Over Nebraska
Knotted at 4-4 entering the seventh inning, Creighton took the lead for good thanks to Kyle Hess's two-run single. Will MacLean drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, in front of the first double of the season for Connor Capece which set the table for Hess. He responded with a two-run single to break the 4-4 tie. Creighton led 6-5 coming into the ninth when Jack Torosian hit a two-run triple which was followed with an RBI single from Ben North that closed the game at 9-5. The Bluejays tied a season high of three doubles in a game.
Bluejays Starting BIG EAST Action
Opening it's 12th season in BIG EAST play, Creighton is 6-4 (no BIG EAST games in 2020) in the opening game of BIG EAST play. The Bluejays are 7-3 in their first home game in conference since joining the BIG EAST.
Last season Creighton dropped the opening game to Butler 5-1, but rebounded to win the series.
Historically 11 is BIG EAST Magic Number
Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2014, just two teams with double digit victories in conference play has ever missed the BIG EAST Tournament. That came during the 2021 and 2023 seasons when series were expanded to four games, pushing conference matchups to its highest point. St. John's missed the postseason with a 10-16 mark (.385) in 2021, while Creighton missed the mark last year at 10-11.
Year   Fourth-Place Team   Record
2014   Butler           8-10 (.444)
2015   Georgetown       8-10 (.444)
2016   St. John's       9-9 (.500)
2017   Seton Hall       10-8 (.556)
2018   Georgetown       8-9 (.471)
2019    Seton Hall       9-9 (.500)
2021   Xavier            15-11 (.577)   Â
2022   Georgetown        11-10 (.524)
2023   Georgetown       10-10 (.500)
2024   Xavier           12-9 (.571)
Torosian Delivering in a Pinch!
Jack Torosian came up BIG for the second straight pinch hit appearance as the Omaha native blasted a two-run triple against Nebraska. This season he is 5-for-7 (.714) as a pinch hitter this season with a home run, a triple and five RBI.
Â
Torosian Belts First Pinch-Hit Home Run Since 2023
Jack Torosian's tenth inning pinch-hit home run at Samford on Saturday, March 29 came more than two years since the Bluejays; last pinch-hit blast. The last time it happened was on March 11, 2023 when Ben Gbur connected against BYU.
BIG EAST Tournament Appearances Since 2014
BIG EAST Tournament history since reorganization prior to the 2014 season.
Team   Appearances    Championships
Creighton   7   1
Connecticut   4   2
Seton Hall   8   0
St. John's   7   3
Butler   1   0
Xavier   8   4
Georgetown   5   0
2014: Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's, Xavier
2015: St. John's, Creighton, Seton Hall, Georgetown
2016: Xavier, Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's
2017: Creighton, St. John's, Xavier, Seton Hall
2018: St. John's, Seton Hall, Butler, Georgetown
2019: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Seton Hall
2021: Connecticut, Creighton, Seton Hall, Xavier
2022: Connecticut, Creighton, Xavier, Georgetown
2023: Connecticut, Xavier, Seton Hall, Georgetown
2024: Connecticut, St. John's, Georgetown, Xavier
Tournament champion in BOLD
Bluejay Alumni Update
Bluejay Baseball has 12 former players active in professional baseball, nine on the diamond two as coaches and one in the front office.
Three Bluejays are active at the Major League level with Alan Roden making his debut on Opening Day of the 2025 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Isaac Collins starts his second season with the Milwaukee Brewers while Nicky Lopez signed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortly after Spring Training.
Former Bluejays Scott Servais joined the San Diego Padres this season as a special assistant in player development and Carson Vitale was hired by the Miami Marlins as a bench coach.
Â
AAA Players (2): Ryan Fitzgerald (St. Paul Saints - Milwaukee), Will Robertson (Buffalo Bisons - Toronto).
AAA Front Office (1): Justin Wick (Sacramento River Cats - San Francisco).
AA Players (3):Â Jake Holton (Erie Seawolves - Detroit), Dylan Tebrake (Binghamton Rumble Ponies - New York Mets), Jared Wegner (Somerset Patriots - New York Yankees).
A Player (1): Nolan Clifford (Fresno Grizzlies - Colorado).
Players Mentioned
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OF
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Jim Hendry & Alan Benes (4/11/11)
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