Series: Illinois State wins 3-0
- Illinois State 7, Creighton 6
- Illinois State 5, Creighton 2
- Illinois State 6, Creighton 2
Creighton: 14-12, 3-6 MVC (T-6th)
Headed into the weekend, the Creighton baseball team was 49-7 at the CU Sports Complex over the last four years. Granted, most of the “big” games are played at Rosenblatt Stadium, but there’s a definite home field advantage at the ‘Plex. You would understand if you had ever seen a bloop single turn into a triple because the opposing right fielder forgot to account for the moon bounce the baseball takes off the outfield Astroturf.
Plus, I always thought the Complex was the victim of a lot of unwarranted criticism. It’s really ahead of its time, if you think about it. A party deck along the first base line; a grass berm down the left field line; comfortable skybox suites and a restaurant in right field – there are Valley schools that would kill for those amenities.
So, as I took my spot in the aluminum bleachers on Friday — the first of three gorgeous days for baseball — for the series-opener against Illinois State, I was excited. Sure, the Jays had stumbled the previous weekend in their home-opening Valley series against Indiana State, losing two of three, but the one game they did win was Sunday’s game at the ‘Plex, the only one of the three played away from Rosenblatt Stadium (where the team is mired in a four-game losing streak).
My excitement was momentarily reinforced as Creighton took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. But then, in the second inning, the Jays came unraveled in the most uncharacteristic of ways: two errors led to six Redbird runs, five of them unearned.
The first five Illinois State batters totaled three singles, a walk and a strike out; the bases were loaded with one out and a run had already come across the plate. Friday starter Jonas Dufek got the next hitter to strike out, but then Illinois State’s Jake Thornton lofted a pop fly into left field. As left fielder Trevor Adams was moving backward to make the catch, he was twisting and turning, trying to fight off the sun and a breeze. The sun and breeze won. He dropped the ball and the bases cleared. The next batter hit a liner to Adams, which he also couldn’t come up with, and the score was 6-2 Redbirds headed to the bottom of the second.
Creighton fought back to tie it, scoring two in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth, but a sixth-inning solo home run by the Redbirds off freshman reliever Mark Winkelman was the difference in the 7-6 loss. The Jays have lost three of their last four one-run games and are 5-6 in such contests this year. Adams’s two errors (three total from the Jays) were quite obviously the game-changer.
I had a different view for Saturday’s game, this time sitting behind the microphone in the press box as the public address announcer. I watched as Creighton managed only four hits in the game – compared to Illinois State’s 13 – and only two runs, both of them coming in a futile, ninth-inning semi-rally.
Creighton often looked silly at the plate and there really wasn’t a moment when I thought the home team was going to win the game. Even though I tried my hardest to get into the heads of several Redbird hitters by pronouncing their names wrong (on accident, but still – I’m doing my part), the Jays lost 5-2 and found themselves in the same situation they were in the previous weekend – attempting to salvage one game in the series.
Creighton has not won a softball or baseball game that I have attended this year. Because of that stat, and the fact that it was Sunday at Augusta, I decided to stay home for the series finale.
Since I wasn’t there, it figured that freshman pitcher Ty Blach, who allowed only three runs in eight innings in his Sunday start a week ago, had a no-hitter going entering the sixth inning. I even told myself that if he got through the sixth, I would head to the field. But a two-out single by Illinois State ended the no-no, and three batters later, the Jays had relinquished their 2-0 lead. It was 3-2 Redbirds after the sixth and 6-2 Redbirds at the end of the game. Illinois State scored all of its runs and posted all of its hits in the game with two outs.
It was the first time Illinois State had ever swept Creighton in Omaha. The Jays tied their season-low with four hits in game two, then recorded a new season-low with only three in game three. They hit .152 on the weekend. As a comparison, the Redbirds hit .349 with two outs and .341 with runners on base over the weekend. Yikes.
On Friday afternoon, a friend and I decided that we should head down to Wichita for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament that starts on May 25 in Wichita, Kansas. On Sunday evening, I sent that same friend this unfortunate text: “I suppose we should qualify for the MVC tournament before we finalize any plans.”
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- Creighton has lost two straight home MVC series for the first time since 1987. On a note that’s somewhat related, but not really, I wonder what the practice schedule will look like for the Jays once they move into the new TD Ameritrade Park in 2012. I’d imagine they will get to practice there every day, especially if the park goes without another baseball tenant. That will certainly be nice. I know there are more than a few players on the current team who prefer playing at the CU Sports Complex now due to the very limited practice time the team receives at Rosenblatt Stadium. Not that any of that mattered this weekend, but that could possibly explain the difference in records between the two venues (49-10 at the ‘Plex over the last four years, 11-14 at the Blatt).
- Junior shortstop Elliot Soto is hitting .250 this year. Junior third baseman Jimmy Swift is at .247. Last year, those guys hit .322 and .301, respectively. If the Jays are to pick up a couple spots in the MVC standings (and if Soto wants to get drafted), those guys will have to start hitting.
- On Friday, junior relief pitcher Jack VanLeur appeared for the 11th time in 12 games. After taking Saturday off, he pitched again on Sunday. Fatigue could be a factor as he’s struggled recently after a stellar start. It was nice, then, to see sophomore right-hander Kurt Spomer pitch two scoreless innings on Saturday. The two innings were a career high, and between him and Winkelman, the Jays could have a couple more bullpen options other than VanLeur and seniors Matt Patterson and Bob Lackovick.
Creighton will not pay a mid-week game this week. The Jays will travel to Bradley for a three-game MVC set this weekend. The Braves are also 3-6 in the Valley, tied for sixth place with Creighton. Only six teams make the MVC tournament, so this could prove to be a big series for the Jays. [Note: All eight teams will make the conference tournament this year in a College World Series-like bracket. Thanks to commenter mdawg888 for the info.]
