Creighton @ Illinois State Series Preview
- Friday: 4:30 p.m., Duffy Bass Field, Normal, Illinois
- Saturday: 2:00 p.m., Duffy Bass Field, Normal, Illinois
- Sunday: 1:00 p.m., Duffy Bass Field, Normal, Illinois
Last season, Illinois State came to Omaha and handed Creighton a three-game sweep. The Redbirds went on to win the Valley regular season and tournament championships. Illinois State, last year’s regular season and tournament champions, was picked to win the league again in 2011. Creighton, however, were deemed a middle-of-the-pack program in preseason voting. But through the bulk of non-conference play, the Jays and Redbirds sit perched atop the MVC with 20 wins apiece, and are tied with Wichita State for the most wins in the conference. This weekend marks an early season showdown between two of the teams expected to challenge for a league championship.
Media Menu
Live stats for all three games are available at GoCreighton.com. You can hear John Bishop and David Gustafson call the action on KOIL 1180 AM (Friday) and KOZN 1620 AM (Saturday and Sunday).
Last weekend…
Both teams swept non-conference opponents. The Bluejays jumped all over Portland 11-3 on Friday, and followed that with a 12-0 shutout Saturday behind stellar starting pitching from Jonas Dufek. The Jays came from behind on Sunday, beating the Pilots in their last at-bat thanks to a base hit by Trever Adams (photos here).
The Redbirds hosted Chicago State, and proved to be difficult opponents for their guests. Illinois State won four games by a combined 56-9 score. The ‘Birds blasted 18 runs on Friday, 17 and 15 in a doubleheader Saturday, and managed just a measly 6 tallies on Sunday.
Creighton's Jimmy Swift gets back to the bag against Illinois State in 2010
Last year…
Kevin Tokarski broke a sixth inning tie between the two teams in game one of their series at the CU Sports Complex, launching a solo home run off Mark Winkleman. From there, the Redbirds bullpen held the Bluejays in check, and ISU claimed a 7-6 win. Brad Sorkin held the Jays’ bats in check during Saturday’s game, limiting CU to just 3 hits in 6.2 shutout innings. Five different Redbirds knocked in a run, and a two-run triple by Joey Bowens couldn’t help Creighton overcome an early deficit in a 5-2 ISU win. Things looked better in the last game of the weekend, with Ty Blach retiring the first 17 Redbirds he faced and CU taking a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning. But a day after mustering just 4 hits, the Jays could only come up with 3, and Illinois State scored late and often en route to a 6-2 win.
Historically…
The Jays lead the all-time series 66-32. Since 1984, Creighton is 32-15 against Illinois State. Last year’s sweep by ISU was the first time they managed to do that in Omaha since 1986.
On the Mound
- Friday: CU’s Ty Blach vs. ISU’s Corey Maines
- Saturday: CU’s Jonas Dufek vs. ISU’s Brad Sorkin
- Sunday: CU’s Greg Hellhake vs. ISU’s Ryan Camp
All eyes will be on the mound this weekend, as Creighton and Illinois State feature some of the best pitchers in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Redbirds are in a virtual tie with Wichita State for the league’s best team earned run average (3.23 ERA). The ISU staff is led by Corey Maines, Friday’s starter. Maines, a preseason All-Valley pick, is second in the league in wins, fourth in ERA, second in opponent batting average, and second in strikeouts.
As a team, Creighton is third in ERA and fourth in opponent batting average. Creighton pitchers have allowed the second fewest hits in the league. Individually, Ty Blach and Jonas Dufek are fifth and first, respectively, in ERA among Valley pitchers. They are seventh and third, respectively, in opponent batting average and strikeouts. Blach’s five wins are second best in the league, one ahead of Dufek’s four victories.
In his last start against Portland, Blach went 6.2 innings and gave up just 6 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) while striking out 6 and walking 1. Dufek is also coming off a great effort, having thrown 8 innings of nearly perfect baseball against the Pilots. Dufek gave up just 4 hits while not allowing a run or a walk and striking out 11.
At the Plate
In a series featuring nearly even pitching performance, Illinois State gets the nod for a better offense. The Redbirds are batting nearly .300 as a team, good for the third-best team batting average in the Valley. IUS is also either first or second league-wide in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, runs batted in, doubles, home runs, and total bases.
The Redbirds placed a league-high four players on the preseason All-Valley squad, including Kevin Tokarski, last year’s MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year and an All-American second baseman. Tokarski’s numbers are down a bit from last year’s pace, when he hit .412 and had an on-base percentage of .538. But Tyler McNeely is helping pick up for this drop in production. McNeely, a redshirt senior and local product of Normal, Illinois, is second in the league with a .410 batting average. He’s also third in slugging percentage, first in on-base percentage, sixth in runs batted in, and tied for second in home runs.
The Bluejays, meanwhile, sit near the middle of the conference in most offensive categories. The only team that’s scored fewer runs than Creighton is Southern Illinois, and the Salukis are also the only team with fewer hits than the Bluejays. The Jays have leaned heavily on senior Trever Adams as of late. Adams is on an absolute tear, having raised his batting average to .388 while collecting a team-high 7 home runs, 32 runs batted in, and 3 triples. Sophomore Alex Staehely helps Adams in the lineup, and brings a .347 batting average to Normal.
Facts, Figures, and Fodder
Not surprisingly, Creighton compares favorably to Illinois State on defense. The Redbirds’ 45 errors are second most in the league, behind only Wichita State. The Bluejays, on the other hand, have committed just 20 errors through 26 games … The Bluejays are 82 in in Boyd’s World’s RPI ratings, while the Redbirds clock in at 126. Using Boyd’s World’s Iterative Strength Ratings, Creighton is 39 while Illinois State is 83… In his last four starts, Greg Hellhake has allowed just 2 earned runs in 15 innings while striking out 9 and walking just 2. After a rough start to his season, he’s lowered his ERA from 6.57 to 3.62 during those four starts… Corey Maines and Tyler McNeely have each won MVC weekly honors. Maines was earned the March 28 Pitcher of the Week award, while McNeely was named Player of the Week the previous Monday…Only one Redbirds player hails from outside the great state of Illinois — Friday’s starter, Corey Maines.
Weather Forecast
As of Thursday night, it looks like the series will start under cloudy skies Friday before giving way to warmer weather Saturday and Sunday.