Creighton Bluejays (3-0; 0-0 MVC) vs. Portland Pilots (3-0; 0-0 WCC)
- 4:00 p.m. CT Friday
- 3:00 p.m. CT Saturday
- 3:00 p.m. CT Sunday
Fans of the Creighton baseball team have to wait until the middle of March to watch the Bluejays play in Omaha. Until then, Ed Servais’ team spends their season away from TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, working their way up and down the West Coast. Their trip begins in Oregon this weekend, when Creighton returns a three-game series against the Portland Pilots. The Bluejays and Pilots squared off in Omaha last season (photos here), with CU sweeping UP.
Media Menu
Portland’s official website lists live audio availability all weekend. Click here to listen to Creighton’s games against the Pilots.
Creighton’s excellent StatBroadcast live stats software will be in full effect all weekend, too (click here to follow Friday’s stats in real time).
If you haven’t already, follow CreightonBaseball on Twitter. The account brings detailed play recaps to your timeline.
Last weekend…
Both teams started the season 3-0, although one of Portland’s wins came midweek against local neighbor Concordia. The Pilots began their season on the road in Beaumont, Texas, winning games against Stephen F. Austin Friday and Sunday. Their scheduled Saturday matchup with Lamar, the host of the Lamar Classic, was canceled because of rain.
Creighton traveled south for a three-game series against Central Arkansas. The Bluejays bats warmed up as the weekend progressed, but the pitching staff kept things close enough for CU to sweep the Bears. Creighton ace Ty Blach picked up the win Friday as Creighton held off UCA 4-3. Saturday’s game went extra innings, with Reese McGraw picking up the victory in relief in Creighton’s 7-3 win. And Nick Musec relieved Andrew Urban and picked up a win Sunday as the Jays out-hit Central Arkansas 11-5 en route to a 5-1 victory and the series sweep.
Historically…
Creighton holds a 3-1 advantage all time against the Pilots. The two schools played a single game in 2000, with Portland winning 7-6. Last season the Bluejays swept UP in a three-game series at the CU Sports Complex. After winning the first two games in Omaha 11-3 and 12-0, the Jays needed a walk-off single from Trever Adams in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the final game of the series 4-3.
Trever Adams beat Portland in 2011 with a walk-off RBI single (Streur/WBR)
On the Mound
- Friday: Creighton’s LHP Ty Blach (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Portland’s RHP Kyle Kraus (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
- Saturday: CU’s RHP Brandon Koenigstein (0-0, 3.86) vs. UP’s RHP Chris Johnson (1-0, 5.06)
- Sunday: CU’s RHP Andrew Urban (0-0, 0.00) vs. UP’s LHP Travis Radke (first appearance)
Creighton’s pitching staff posted a 1.93 ERA in the season-opening sweep of Central Arkansas. Blach pitched 5 innings of two-hit ball, giving up an unearned run while striking out six and walking three Bears batters. Koenigstein couldn’t complete the fifth inning in his performance, but he fared well for his first outing of the season. He surrendered two runs and six hits while striking out four and issuing one walk. Urban walked three batters in his three innings Sunday, giving way to Musec without allowing a run. Musec picked up the victory after allowing just one run and one hit in 2.2 innings of work.
The Bluejays bullpen surrendered just four earned runs in 15.1 innings against Central Arkansas. Mark Winkelman and McGraw appeared in two of the games, while no other Creighton relievers pitched more than once.
Kyle Kraus, Portland’s projected starter Friday, threw 7 scoreless innings in UP’s season opener. He surrendered just three hits while striking out seven batters. Portland’s posted a 3.00 team ERA through three games.
At the Plate
Nick Judkins, Chance Ross, and Brennan Murphy lead the Bluejays with a .333 average (minimum 10 ABs). Each collected four hits against UCA last weekend. Judkins knocked Creighton’s only homer of the opening weekend and is tied with Mike Gerber for the team lead in runs batted in (3). Ross and Judkins both scored three runs last weekend.
Portland has shown some power early this season. Four different Pilots have hit a home run. UP’s led offensively by Kris Kauppila, Brian Frattali, and Caleb Whalen. Whalen has four RBI through three games. As a team, Portland has scored 32 runs through their first three games.
Facts, Figures, and Fodder
A win Friday would mark the first 4-0 start for Creighton since 1999; the Jays haven’t started 6-0 since 1991… Blach earned the season’s first Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week award following his scoreless outing last Friday… Judkins earned All-Star honors in the famed Northwoods League in this summer… Servais used three different starting lineups in the team’s first three games… Creighton outscored Portland 23-3 in the teams’ first two games in Omaha last season, before winning 4-3 in extra innings to sweep the series… Blach picked up the win in last season’s series opener between the two teams, going 6.2 innings and surrendering two earned runs. His counterpart this weekend, Kraus, lost last season’s Saturday’s game after giving up eight hits and eight runs… Anthony Bemboom, Alex Staehely, Michael Mutcheson, Gerber, and Judkins each had a three-hit game against Portland in 2011.
Weather Forecast
Rain, rain, go away… Looks like precipitation’s in the air in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Shocker, right?