Creighton Bluejays (18-6; 5-1 MVC) at Indiana State (14-13; 4-5 MVC)
- Friday: 5:35 p.m. CT, Bob Warn Field
- Saturday: 1:00 p.m. CT
- Sunday: 12:00 p.m. CT
Overview
Creighton’s farewell tour of the Missouri Valley Conference heads to Terre Haute this weekend. The Bluejays hit the road to face the Sycamores, winners of last year’s regular season MVC championship.
Ed Servais’ team sits atop the league standings. The Jays entered the national rankings after a sweep of Bradley in Omaha last weekend.
Media Menu
Watch the webcast of the games here. Listen to John Bishop and Dave Gustafson on KOZN 1620 AM all weekend (stream here). Catch the live stats here, and follow in-game tweets from the @gocreighton and @cu_baseball Twitter accounts.
Weather
Accuweather.com says to expect temps in the mid-50s Friday and Saturday. Sunday, the thermometer may jump into the upper 60s or lower 70s. In a season spent worrying about rain and snow, Servais and the Jays should welcome this forecast.
Last Weekend
The Bluejays built on their 2-1 start to Valley play with a three-game sweep of Bradley in Omaha. Read Matt DeMarinis’ Tenth Inning recap of Creighton’s winning weekend.
Jordan Mackovicka scores the go-ahead run a win over Bradley (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Meanwhile, in Wichita, Indiana State dropped the first two games to the host Shockers before posting a sweep-preventing victory Sunday. Star pitcher Sean Manaea missed his usual Friday night start (injury) and instead took the mound on Sunday, picking up a win in six innings of deft work against the WSU lineup.
Series History
The last time these teams met, Servais’ Jays upset the Trees and ace Manaea in the Valley tournament en route to the tournament title. Before that, the Sycs took two of three from CU in Omaha in the regular season.
Overall, Creighton has 73 wins to Indiana State’s 52 in the schools’ all-time series. The Bluejays are 25-8 against ISU-Blue under Servais’ leadership.
On the Mound
Probable Starters
- Friday: CU’s Tommy Strunc (4-0, 3.23 ERA) vs. ISU’s Devin Moore (2-3, 2.85 ERA)
- Saturday: CU’s Nick Musec (0-3, 5.91) vs. ISU’s Sean Manaea (4-2, 0.99)
- Sunday: CU’s Austin Groth (2-0, 6.00) vs. Daniel Peterson (1-3, 4.81)
Entering the weekend, Indiana State is third in the Valley in earned run average (3.71); Creighton comes in fifth (3.82). Bluejay pitchers are third in the league in opposing batting average (.244), while Sycamore hurlers aren’t far behind (fifth; .254).
Individually, Manaea is one of the top collegiate pitching prospects and a potential first overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft. He’s second in the Valley in ERA (behind fellow stud prospect Nick Petree at Missouri State), first in opposing batting average (.178), and second in strikeouts (55).
Strunc has ascended to the ace of the CU staff, trying to continue a streak of outstanding Friday night starters (Ty Blach, Jonas Dufek, etc.). In two Friday starts in conference play, Strunc handcuffed Evansville (6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K) for a victory and then suffered a no decision against Bradley despite a nearly identical line (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K).
The Bluejay bullpen continues to do yeomen’s work: the ‘pen is 11-2 with a 2.98 ERA and 8 saves in nearly 112 innings in 2013.
At the Plate
Indiana State is dead last in the league in runs scored (125), average (.238), slugging percentage (.309), on base percentage (.333), and hits (208).
The Bluejays are second in the league in average (.303) and first in on base percentage (.412). CU is sixth of eight teams in runs scored (155), a number skewed lower by the sheer amount of games they’ve missed due to weather issues.
Individually, Koby Kraemer leads the way for the Sycamores in average (.305), slugging percentage (.463), hits (29), and doubles (10).
Three of the six top hitters for average in the Valley play for Creighton: Jake Peter (.402), Kevin Lamb (.364), and Reagan Fowler (.361). Newcomer (and current MVC Player of the Week) Federico Castagnini is at .304, freshman Ryan Fitzgerald is at .300, and vets Brad McKewon (.309), Alex Staehely (.299), and Mike Gerber (.292) are hovering around .300, too.
Ed Servais watches Jake Peter in the batter’s box against Nebraska-Omaha (Mike Spomer/WBR)