On Deck: Creighton Co-hosts the TD Ameritrade Classic

Creighton’s games in the TD Ameritrade Classic:

• 6:30 p.m. Friday: Creighton (22-9, 8-4 MVC) vs. Nebraska (19-20, 11-4 Big Ten)
• 7:00 p.m. Saturday: Creighton vs. Rutgers (20-19, 8-7 Big East)
• 5:00 p.m. Sunday: Creighton vs. Oklahoma State (28-11, 7-7 Big 12)

Other games this weekend:

• 2:30 p.m. Friday: Oklahoma State vs. Rutgers
• 11:00 a.m. Saturday: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State
• 3:00 p.m. Saturday: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State
• 1:00 p.m. Sunday: Nebraska vs. Rutgers

Overview

Ed Servais and the Creighton Bluejays take a step back from Missouri Valley Conference contests to co-host the TD Ameritrade Classic. The event, a product of serendipitous events and logistical efforts, features four teams currently among the top 100 in Warren Nolan’s college baseball RPI rankings.

The featured game showcases in-state rivals Creighton (No. 72) and Nebraska (No. 42). The Bluejays and Huskers will send their aces to the TD Ameritrade Park mound, with Tommy Strunc and Christian DeLeon set to start the game for their respective programs. Strunc in particular seems ready to go.

The Bluejays and Huskers continue their baseball rivalry Friday night in the TD Ameritrade Classic. (Mike Spomer/WBR)

The rest of the weekend gives CU the chance to rekindle relationships with the Scarlet Knights (No. 52) and Cowboys (No. 67). It’s been more than 25 years since Creighton and Rutgers last met on the diamond, while the Jays and ‘Pokes last played 5 years ago.

Media Menu

No television coverage this weekend for Creighton baseball. Fans who can’t make it to TDAPO for the TD Ameritrade Classic can tune the games in on KOZN 1620 AM all weekend (stream here). John Bishop and Dave Gustafson will have the call all weekend. You can catch the live stats here, and follow in-game tweets from the @gocreighton and @cu_baseball Twitter accounts.

Weather

FINALLY. Solid, spring weather forecast for a full weekend of baseball in downtown Omaha.

Last Weekend

The Bluejays swept Southern Illinois. The weekend started with Strunc throwing eight innings of no-hit ball in a 4-3 CU win Friday. The Jays followed that victory with a 5-3 win Saturday, thanks to a solid start by Nick Musec. Creighton completed the sweep Sunday, jumping on the board with four runs in the first inning and cruising to a 9-1 win on ESPNU.

Series History

Nebraska holds an 81-41-2 edge in the all-time series against Creighton.

The Bluejays also trail Oklahoma State in the two teams’ all-time series, 3-9, with the last meeting a 6-4 Cowboys win in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

CU is undefeated against Rutgers; the two teams have met just once, which resulted in a 14-1 win for the Jays in 1985.

On the Mound

• Friday: CU’s Tommy Strunc (5-1, 3.29 ERA) vs. NU’s Christian DeLeon (5-2, 3.44)
• Saturday: CU’s Nick Musec (1-4, 5.18) vs. RU’s Rob Corsi (2-3, 3.52)
• Sunday: CU’s Austin Groth (2-0, 4.32) vs. OSU’s Tyler Nurdin (0-2, 2.38)

If this were a weekend featuring conference games for Creighton, we’d look at how the Bluejays pitching staff compared to the opposing staff using the Valley’s stats board. Instead, let’s see how all four teams stack up based on the NCAA’s official national ranking summary (through April 24 games):

TD Ameritrade Classic -- Team Pitching Stats

At the Plate

Let’s do the same with the four participating teams’ offensive statistics.

TD Ameritrade Classic -- Team Offensive Stats