Series Schedule
UPDATED SCHEDULE:
- 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2019
- 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2019
- 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2019
- Location: Shirley Povich Field in Rockville, Maryland
- Broadcast ($): http://guhoyas.com/watch
Weekend Forecast
The outlook for game one on Friday calls for a high of 84 degrees and a low of 63 with a 30% chance of rain in the afternoon and a 50% chance of rain in the evening, according to the 10-day forecast on weather.com. Saturday is slated to be a bit cooler on both the high and low end with an increased chance of storms affecting play for game two. For day two the teams are looking at a 50% chance of rain in the afternoon and a 90% chance of rain in the evening. And if they’re looking for some help with Mother Nature on Sunday it doesn’t appear that they will get it as a high of 68 degrees will make drying the field a difficult task if rain does hit the area late on Saturday. Making matters even more bleak is the Sunday forecast which calls for a 90% chance of rain in the morning. The baseball gods may have to call in a few favors to get this three-game set in the books.
Georgetown Scouting Report
The Hoyas aren’t going to strike fear into anyone with a 17-27 overall record an official RPI of 250. On paper they are objectively the worst offense in the Big East thanks to a slash line of .180/.291/.306 through nine games. In conference play they are dead last in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, and total bases, and they are second-to-last in walks drawn.
However, despite their struggles across the board in every major offensive category, Georgetown does find itself sitting at 5-4 in Big East play — just one game behind Creighton for second place in the standings — after a three-game sweep at home last weekend against preseason favorite St. John’s. The reasons for their success through the first half of league play are a pitching staff that leads the Big East in earned run average at 2.78 and is second in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.19, and a defense that is second in the league in fielding percentage at .981. Senior right-hander Jack Cushing and junior right-hander Nick Morreale are both among the top seven in the league in earned run average. Cushing is just a shade over a run at 1.09 in three league starts, while Morreale sports a 1.80 ERA to go along with a 3.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Last weekend against the Red Storm, Cushing struck out nine batters over eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 win on Sunday, while Morreale recorded 14 punch outs over eight innings in a 2-1 win on Saturday. Despite the dominance of the duo, neither of them gets the ball on Friday nights. That responsibility falls on the shoulders of 6-foot-2 junior right-hander Jeremiah Burke. His 5.09 earned run average in league play isn’t the most intimidating mark in the world, but that didn’t prevent him from mowing down the Red Storm last weekend to the tune of 12 strikeouts over seven innings as he earned his second win of the season.
The bullpen behind the three frontline arms is effective enough for Big East competition, but not nearly as overpowering as the trio of Cushing, Morreale, and Burke. The relievers as a whole have a 4.44 earned run average on the season, but they mostly rely on the defense behind them 4.66 strikeouts per nine innings is a major drop off from the starting rotation.
The Bluejays have built a case for an at-large bid up to this point, but Georgetown represents three RPI landmines this weekend and they have a starting staff capable of stopping Creighton’s momentum in its tracks. How well the Jays match the Hoyas on the mound will be deciding factor in this series. If Georgetown’s starting rotation is able to replicate last weekend’s dominance — albeit against one of the most potent offenses in the conference this time around — it could set the stage for an interesting weekend.
Creighton’s Resume
Overall Record: 26-10 (Home: 7-4, Road: 18-5, Neutral: 1-1)
Big East Record: 6-3
RPI:
- NCAA.com – 20
- D1Baseball.com – 20
- WarrenNolan.com – 20
NC SOS:
- D1Baseball.com – 58
- WarrenNolan.com – 36
Quadrant 1 Record (RPI 1-50): 8-6
Quadrant 2 Record (RPI 51-100): 7-1
Quadrant 3 Record (RPI 101-150): 3-2
Quadrant 4 Record (RPI 151-299): 8-1
Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday
- Creighton: RHP Mitch Ragan – 4.11 ERA | 8.70 K/9 | 1.66 BB/9
- Georgetown: RHP Jeremiah Burke – 5.51 ERA | 9.54 K/9 | 2.99 BB/9
Saturday
- Creighton: LHP Denson Hull – 5.64 ERA | 6.90 K/9 | 4.48 BB/9
- Georgetown: RHP Nick Morreale – 3.44 ERA | 10.80 K/9 | 5.07 BB/9
Sunday
- Creighton: RHP Evan Johnson – 3.42 ERA | 7.02 K/9 | 4.68 BB/9
- Georgetown: RHP Jack Cushing – 2.37 ERA | 9.87 K/9 | 2.69 BB/9
Projected Starting Lineups
Creighton
- 2B Isaac Collins – .301 AVG | .365 OBP | .491 SLG | 4 HR | 21 RBI | 10 SB
- LF Parker Upton – .310 AVG | .480 OBP | .584 SLG | 7 HR | 24 RBI | 5 SB
- 1B Jake Holton – .391 AVG | .497 OBP | .699 SLG | 10 HR | 37 RBI | 1 SB
- RF Will Robertson – .284 AVG | .385 OBP | .554 SLG | 9 HR | 41 RBI | 1 SB
- SS Jack Strunc – .257 AVG | .311 OBP | .375 SLG | 1 HR | 18 RBI | 4 SB
- 3B Jordan Hovey – .248 AVG | .366 OBP | .488 SLG | 7 HR | 23 RBI | 8 SB
- DH Jared Wegner – .301 AVG | .356 OBP | .387 SLG | 1 HR | 15 RBI | 5 SB
- C David Vilches – .190 AVG | .363 OBP | .302 SLG | 1 HR | 4 RBI | 1 SB
- CF Will Hanafan – .287 AVG | .356 OBP | .309 SLG | 0 HR | 9 RBI | 3 SB
Georgetown
- LF Kyle Ruedisili – .275 AVG | .339 OBP | .557 SLG | 8 HR | 24 RBI | 15 SB
- 2B Ryan Weisenberg – .284 AVG | .373 OBP | .369 SLG | 1 HR | 20 RBI | 3 SB
- CF Ryan M. Davis – .258 AVG | .331 OBP | .423 SLG | 2 HR | 11 RBI | 7 SB
- 3B Eddie McCabe – .317 AVG | .416 OBP | .398 SLG | 2 HR | 21 RBI | 1 SB
- 1B Freddy Achecar III – .238 AVG | .329 OBP | .346 SLG | 2 HR | 9 RBI | 2 SB
- DH Kai Nelson – .250 AVG | .365 OBP | .431 SLG | 3 HR | 5 RBI | 4 SB
- SS Alex Rosen – .196 AVG | .270 OBP | .393 SLG | 2 HR | 9 RBI | 0 SB
- C Matt Stone – .211 AVG | .302 OBP | .421 SLG | 2 HR | 5 RBI | 0 SB
- RF James Gabor – .193 AVG | .313 OBP | .246 SLG | 0 HR | 3 RBI | 0 SB
Big East Standings
- Xavier: 9-2 | Remaining schedule: vs. Seton Hall, at Villanova
- Creighton: 6-3 | Remaining schedule: at Georgetown, vs. St. John’s, vs. Villanova
- Georgetown: 5-4 | Remaining schedule: vs. Creighton, at Seton Hall, vs. Butler
- Seton Hall: 4-5 | Remaining schedule: at Xavier, vs. Georgetown, at St. John’s
- St. John’s: 5-7 | Remaining schedule: at Creighton, vs. Seton Hall
- Villanova: 3-6 | Remaining schedule: at Butler, vs. Xavier, at Creighton
- Butler: 3-8 | Remaining schedule: vs. Villanova, at Georgetown