Illinois State visited Omaha last season and left the CU Sports Complex with a three-game sweep of the Creighton Bluejays. The Redbirds, last year’s Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champions, enter this season picked to win the Valley. And midway through the schedule, Illinois State and Creighton are tied atop the league with 20 wins.
This weekend, Ed Servais will look to continue his teams’ winning ways in Normal. Before getting swept last season, the Jays had an 11-game winning streak against the Redbirds. Overall, Servais is 16-5 all-time against ISU, and he hasn’t lost to the Redbirds in Normal as the head coach at CU.
Can the streak continue? We caught up with Creighton’s skipper ahead of his team’s trip to central Illinois and asked him what it will take to beat the ‘Birds.
White & Blue Review: Your team starts conference play in Normal, Illinois, against the defending champions. What makes the Redbirds a tough team?
Ed Servais: They won the Valley last year for a reason, and they return almost their entire team this season. They are a very aggressive and tough to defend. You need to limit their time on the base paths.
WBR: What are the keys to coming away with a series win against Illinois State this weekend?
ES: Control the first two hitters of the game. They have about 32 stolen bases between them this season and are really aggressive on the bases. We also really need to execute more on offense.
WBR: You have to like what Ty Blach and Jonas Dufek give you on Fridays and Saturdays in the Valley. Heading into conference play, has Greg Hellhake taken control of the Sunday starter’s spot?
ES: He has solidified that spot and will throw this Sunday. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the mound for the next several Sundays.
WBR: You mentioned in the World-Herald that against Nebraska, your team was too tentative offensively. What will your hitters look to do this weekend against a good Redbirds staff that they didn’t do against NU?
ES: We were content with getting the ball in play against Nebraska instead of being aggressive. Instead of simply being happy with getting the ball in play, we need to drive the ball.
WBR: How are the freshmen and newcomers playing, 26 games into their first seasons at CU? How do you grade that class of newcomers thus far?
ES: I would give them a B-minus. They have adapted well, and a number of guys are really starting to show some improvements. I would like to see some more offensive production out of them.