CU closer Kurt Spomer celebrates a Jays win against Missouri State (WBR/Adam Streur)
The Creighton Bluejays entered Thursday looking squarely at their biggest challenge of the 2011 season: winning three straight games to advance to Saturday’s MVC Tournament Championship Game. Win an early afternoon game against Southern Illinois, and the reward would be an evening matchup against the Missouri State Bears — the team that put CU into this position in the first place.
Behind a remarkable pitching performance from Greg Hellhake and a late rally against MSU’s bullpen, Creighton captured two wins and forced an elimination game Friday at 4 p.m. against the Bears. WBR caught up with CU skipper Ed Servais to talk about yesterday’s games and his team’s continued quest for a league tournament title.
White & Blue Review: Big day for your guys yesterday. Can you talk about Greg Hellhake and his outing? He seemed to build off his solid start against Missouri State last weekend.
Ed Servais: I am so happy for Greg and proud of his performance yesterday. He had to battle through some injuries this season and for him to come out as a senior and have a performance like this was great to see. It was a clutch performance in that we were able to rest a few guys in the pen, and we ended up needing them last night. Just a huge performance.
WBR: The nightcap was a back and forth affair. Can you talk about the resiliency of your team to keep coming back against Missouri State?
ES: All year these guys have been fighters, and when they press themselves and don’t give up, they are a fun group to be around. Also, the crowd support last night really played a big role in our success. There were a number of times when we were worn down and tired from a lot of baseball in a short time, but the crowd really helped get us back in the game and refocus.
WBR: What are your pitching plans for today’s game?
ES: We should know for sure in a few hours, but right now it looks like either Mark Winkelman or Nick Musec. Either way, it is going to take a special performance to pull one out today, as Missouri State is a good offensive team.
WBR: Trever Adams looked frustrated last night with a few of his at-bats. Is he pressing, considering he doesn’t seem to be getting many good pitches to hit the past few days?
ES: He has been pitched as hard as a college ball player can be pitched. Honestly, I am a bit surprised it has taken this long, but he is getting nothing but breaking balls and nothing to hit. He wants to contribute, and he has even opened up his strike zone a bit to try and get some pitches he likes. It has been frustrating, but he is a good player and will figure it out.
WBR: Can you talk about how playing a team 6 times in 8 days changes your game plan?
ES: Well, this is pretty rare, and there will be no surprises. Each team is very aware of the other’s strengths and weaknesses. We know that they are a very physical team and very strong at the plate. As I mentioned before, we will need another special performance on the mound today to stay in this game. I hope our fatigue will not catch up to us today, and hopefully we will get another great crowd that can help push us through. It would be really fun to play some ball on Saturday.