Ed Servais and the Creighton Bluejays baseball team begins their season Saturday, February 19, in Cary, North Carolina. The Jays will play Toledo and Canisius (twice) at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. White & Blue Review takes a look at the team all this week, ahead of the season opener.
Ed Servais has long been known as a baseball coach who understands, emphasizes, and excels in teaching team defense. Since he took over the program after the 2003 season, Servais’ Bluejays team shave committed the fewest errors in Division I baseball (370). During the last seven seasons, Creighton is sixth in the country in double plays turned per game (1.02).
In 2010, the Bluejays finished second in the country with a .980 fielding percentage. The 2009 team finished with a .984 fielding percentage, the best in the nation and an NCAA record during the aluminum bat era. Monster home runs may get fans excited, but exceptional defense positions teams for championships year in and year out.
Elliot Soto and Ian Dike are gone from last year’s infield, and Servais has worked tirelessly with his players during the fall and spring to remake the Creighton defense.
“I didn’t really like what I saw from the defensive end in the beginning of the fall, so I decided to make a change then instead of a week or two into the season,” Servais said. “Plus, I want our best defenders in the middle.”
Jimmy Swift moves to shortstop
That means senior Jimmy Swift, who last season committed just 5 errors at third base), will move to shortstop. There, he’ll partner with returning second baseman Alex Staehely to form a solid center of the infield for Servais’ team.
“I think Jimmy is our best defender and he can be a real leader on the field,” Servais said. “With Jimmy in the heart of the field, he will be a big pick-up when things get tough. He has a lot of experience and the guys respect him.
“Both of these guys can provide a calming effect when things go wrong, as they will at times.”
Creighton's Alex Staehely
Aside from their defense, both Swift and Staehely can swing the bat. Swift hit .296 and led the 2010 Bluejays in sacrifice bunts and doubles. Staehely hit just .240 in his first year, but he strung together a 14-game hitting streak from mid-March through the beginning April, hitting .408 during that stretch.
Newcomers will anchor the corner positions for the 2011 Creighton Bluejays. Chase Ross, a junior college transfer, will man third base to start the season. Fellow JUCO Nick Judkins will replace Dike at first base.
“Chase is a very athletic player who can run very well,” Servais said. “He will allow us to be more aggressive on the offensive end. He has a lot of pop in his bat, but he needs to establish a strike zone to possibly draw a few walks in the leadoff spot.
“Nick is a really good hitter. We see him a 2-spot hitter. He has the ability to use the whole field and pick his spots, and he is a really good bunter. His natural ability to hit has really made his transition to D-I baseball an easy one,” Servais said.
Coming off the bench for the Bluejays in the infield are senior Vince Bellino, junior Michael Mutcheson, and JUCO transfer Gabriel Thibodeaux.
Servais must replace Carson Vitale behind the plate. Vitale started 42 of the 51 games he played in as catcher in 2010. As a sophomore that season, Scott Thornburg earned playing time backing up Vitale. He will start behind the dish this season.
“Thornburg caught a lot for us in the past, so he brings some good experience behind the play and has a very strong and accurate arm,” Servais said.
Two other Bluejays will vie for time at catcher: transfer Anthony Bemboom and junior outfielder/catcher Joey Bowens.
“Anthony joins us after being on a D-II national championship team at Iowa Western, and that experience has made the switch to D-I really easy for him,” Servais said. “With Bemboom and Thornburg playing as well as they are, we are in a great spot to have two everyday guys who could end up splitting time 50/50. That’s a great advantage for us because we can avoid either or both of them wearing down too much over the full season.
“If needed, we could see Joey play a little catcher, switching between center field and behind the plate,” Servais said.