Note: Each day this week, White & Blue Review will take a look at the upcoming Creighton Baseball season.
The 2010 Creighton Bluejays return two-thirds of their starting outfield from a year ago, as seniors T.J. Roemmich and Robbie Knight will once again cover right and center field, respectively. Junior Trever Adams and transfer Clay Cuno will split time in left field, at least early in the season until one or the other earns the every day job.
Knight led the team in hits (77), batting (.344), doubles (18), walks (36) and on-base percentage (.460) in 2009. His season was rewarded by being named a second team all-MVC pick, as well as to the MVC All-Tournament Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team. He enters the season eighth on the NCAA’s career hit by pitch list with 72, showing he does everything he can to get on base. One of six Bluejays to start all 56 games, Knight posted two hit streaks of 12 games or more: the first a 16-game streak and the second a 12-game stretch. He also put together streak of 11 straight games with an RBI from April 15 to May 3. Knight had a multiple RBI-game 10 times, as well as 19 multi-hit games.
Highlights of his season included going a perfect 4-4 with a run and an RBI in 6-3 win over Notre Dame on March 1. Three weeks later, he came a home run short of the cycle in a 4-5, three RBI day against North Dakota on March 24. Knight was 3-3 with two RBIs and tied a career high with four runs, coming a double short of the cycle, in a 14-1 win over Northern Iowa on April 12. And he went 5-16 (.313) with three runs and six RBIs in the MVC Tournament.
Meanwhile, Roemmich was an honorable mention to both the MVC all-conference and scholar-athlete squads, and he was also named MVC Player of the Week twice (3/9 and 5/4) as he led the team in home runs (9), slugging (.526) and total bases (113). He has good speed, too, as his seven stolen bases were second most on the team.
He hit .320 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in non- conference contests, and was also the team’s best road hitter with .360 average. Just like Knight, he started all 56 games, and in addition to having eight outfield assists to lead the team, he showed his versatility by making six appearances on the mound.
His season highlights included two eight-game hit streaks; the first coming to start the season and the second stretching from April 24 to May 8. Roemmich had 15 multi-hit and eight multi-RBI games. He posted a career-best six RBIs and three runs against Albany on March 7, and collected three hits seven different times, the last coming in the MVC Championship Game against Wichita State. His two home runs against South Dakota State on March 15 made him the only Bluejay to do so in 2009.
He recorded two doubles and four RBIs in 15-0 win at Nebraska on April 7, and his five game stretch from March 3-8, where he hit .450 (9-20) with seven runs, 10 RBIs and three home runs (one in three straight games) earned him his first Player of the Week honor. Roemmich’s second player of the week honor included a five game stretch of a .435 average (10-23), five runs, 10 RBIs, three doubles, a triple and a home run.
The left field starter is up for grabs, with transfers Clay Cuno and Trever Adams appearing to be the leading candidates for the spot. Both players come to Omaha from Hutchinson Community College; Cuno is at his fourth school in four years, and will look to carry over his success from a year ago. He was a Jayhawk West All-Conference pick for hitting .370 with nine home runs, 48 RBIs, 49 runs and seven stolen bases. His career started at Fort Scott Community College where he was Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007. Cuno then redshirted the 2008 season at Nebraska but never played; he transferred to Hutchinson last season.
Adams was named NJCAA Player of the Week for March 25, 2009, and holds the Hutchinson Community College record for doubles in a season with 23. He batted .383 over his two years at Hutchinson, batting an impressive .451 his sophomore season. Adams also hit eight home runs, drove in 63 runs and stole 13 bases that year while starting 51 games.
Two other newcomers will make up the rest of the Creighton outfield. Freshman Michael Blatchford comes from Columbus (Neb.) High School, where he earned a second team all-state mention his senior year and holds school records for home runs (11) and RBIs in a season with 48. The other newcomer is Jordan Makovicka, who will redshirt this season after playing football at Nebraska last season.
Its a solid group overall, led by perhaps Creighton’s two best offensive weapons in Roemmich and Knight, but the newcomers should combine to give the Jays one of the best outfields in the league.