Big East play in April and May always carries more weight than any other part of the season, and that remains the case in 2023. Ed Servais’ club owns 12-10 record and an RPI just inside the top 100 entering Friday’s conference opener against Villanova. Eight of those wins have come over teams ranked 180 or worse and their two best wins so far this season — on the road against #15 Coastal Carolina and #74 Cal State Northridge — both came in series where they dropped the other two games. Needless to say, they are not currently one of the pieces of the at-large puzzle that the NCAA Selection Committee is putting together at the halfway point of the regular season. That makes Creighton’s next step crystal clear — qualify for the Big East Tournament. The challenge there is it’s still a four-team tournament, unlike men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, and softball which are all six; and men’s and women’s basketball, which invites all 11 members.
However, the Bluejays do have as friendly of a conference slate as they could ask for as the pursue their second NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons. UConn (26th), Xavier (30th), Creighton (91st), and St. John’s (104th) are the highest-ranked teams in the RPI as league play gets fully underway this weekend. Creighton plays the other three in Omaha this season, and gets 12 of their 21 league at the “Home of the College World Series” starting with Villanova.
The Wildcats are 5-22 this season and are currently sporting a -93 run differential through 27 games. Out of 305 Division 1 teams, their offense ranks 278th in runs per game (4.6) and 279th in slugging percentage (.347), while their pitching staff is 249th in WHIP (1.86) and 271st in earned run average (8.13). None of their three regular weekend starters have an ERA below 6.82 and the only pitchers who have one under 4.78 have each made only one appearance and faced a total of four batters. To further complicate matters for the ‘Cats, their 6-foot-2, 170-pound, lefty-hitting junior shortstop Cameron Hassert, who leads the team in home runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage — the latter by a healthy 145 points over second place — has missed the last six games beginning with the second half of a doubleheader against Iona back on March 26.
Series Schedule
Game 1: Thursday, April 6, 6:00 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
Game 2: Friday, April 7, 6:00 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
Game 3: Saturday, April 8, 11:00 a.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha
How to Watch: Thursday and Saturday – FloBaseball.tv, Friday – Nebraska Public Media
How to Listen: 1180 AM The Zone
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Breaking Down Creighton
Head Coach: Ed Servais (630-373-1 at Creighton)
Record: 12-10 (Home: 5-2, Road: 5-8, Neutral: 2-0, Big East: 0-0)
RPI: 91
Projected Starting Lineup
- C Hogan Helligso (RHB, So.): .313 AVG | .431 OBP | .521 SLG | 1 HR | 12 RBI | 0 SB | 13.7% BB | 22.4% K
- 1B Nolan Clifford (LHB, Jr.): .333 AVG | .461 OBP | .493 SLG | 2 HR | 16 RBI | 2 SB | 19.5% BB | 18.4% K
- 2B Andrew Meggs (RHB, Sr.): .185 AVG | .320 OBP | .235 SLG | 0 HR | 13 RBI | 0 SB | 16.5% BB | 16.5% K
- 3B Kyle Hess (LHB, Jr.): .300 AVG | .333 OBP | .400 SLG | 0 HR | 3 RBI | 1 SB | 0% BB | 36.4% K
- SS Sterling Hayes (RHB, Sr.): .282 AVG | .407 OBP | .423 SLG | 0 HR | 16 RBI | 2 SB | 14.0% BB | 18.6% K
- LF Tate Gillen (LHB, R-Fr.): .289 AVG | .467 OBP | .333 SLG | 0 HR | 2 RBI | 4 SB | 21.7% BB | 10.0% K
- CF Nolan Sailors (LHB, So.): .315 AVG | .410 OBP | .528 SLG | 3 HR | 15 RBI | 7 SB | 10.6% BB | 18.3% K
- RF Jack Grace (RHB, Sr.): .293 AVG | .373 OBP | .621 SLG | 6 HR | 13 RBI | 0 SB | 9.1% BB | 31.8% K
- DH Tyler Lozano (RHB, Gr.): .284 AVG | .365 OBP | .407 SLG | 2 HR | 20 RBI | 1 SB | 10.8% BB | 20.4% K
Projected Weekend Rotation
- Thursday: Ryan Windham (RHP, Sr.): 2.80 ERA | 1.31 WHIP | .272 BAA | 7.18 K/9 | 2.31 BB/9 | 0.51 HR/9
- Friday: Dominic Cancellieri (RHP, Jr.): 2.65 ERA | 1.59 WHIP | .284 BAA | 11.65 K/9 | 4.24 BB/9 | 0.53 HR/9
- Saturday: Anthony Watts (RHP, Fr.): 5.00 ERA | 1.37 WHIP | .253 BAA | 5.00 K/9 | 4.33 BB/9 | 0.67 HR/9
Breaking Down Villanova
Head Coach: Kevin Mulvey (90-180-1 at Villanova)
Record: 5-22 (Home: 3-7, Road: 2-12, Neutral: 0-3, Big East: 1-2)
RPI: 279
Projected Starting Lineup
- C Will Reiner (LHB, Sr.): .120 AVG | .389 OBP | .120 SLG | 0 HR | 0 RBI | 1 SB | 19.4% BB | 19.4% K
- 1B Jack O’Reilly (RHB, Jr.): .257 AVG | .390 OBP | .455 SLG | 5 HR | RBI | 4 SB | 13.0% BB | 17.9% K
- 2B Michael Wooley (RHB, Fr.): .308 AVG | .379 OBP | .346 SLG | 0 HR | 2 RBI | 0 SB | 10.3% BB | 20.7% K
- 3B Steve Grober (L/RHB, Gr.): .176 AVG | .270 OBP | .235 SLG | 0 HR | 8 RBI | 0 SB | 8.7% BB | 25.2% K
- SS Craig Larsen (RHB, Gr.): .273 AVG | .333 OBP | .400 SLG | 1 HR | 20 RBI | 1 SB | 8.3% BB | 11.7% K
- LF Paul Cooke (LHB, Gr.): .233 AVG | .333 OBP | .333 SLG | 1 HR | 7 RBI | 2 SB | 10.1% BB | 26.1% K
- CF AJ Hansen (RHB, Jr.): .267 AVG | .371 OBP | .378 SLG | 1 HR | 7 RBI | 2 SB | 12.4% BB | 27.6% K
- RF Shane Solari (RHB, So.): .255 AVG | .361 OBP | .333 SLG | 0 HR | 4 RBI | 2 SB | 11.7% BB | 20.0% K
- DH John Wooley (RHB, Jr.): .185 AVG | .321 OBP | .262 SLG | 0 HR | 8 RBI | 0 SB | 16.7% BB | 14.1% K
Projected Weekend Rotation
- Thursday: Chic DeGaetano (RHP, Jr.): 8.26 ERA | 1.92 WHIP | .325 BAA | 10.89 K/9 | 5.44 BB/9 | 1.92 HR/9
- Friday: Devin Rivera (RHP, Jr.): 6.82 ERA | 1.64 WHIP | .311 BAA | 5.54 K/9 | 3.70 BB/9 | 1.06 HR/9
- Saturday: Sal Fusco (RHP, Gr.): 7.31 ERA | 1.89 WHIP | .275 BAA | 12.17 K/9 | 7.37 BB/9 | 1.92 HR/9
2023 Big East Baseball Standings (sorted by RPI)
- UConn (20-7, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 26)
- Xavier (17-12, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 30)
- Creighton (12-10, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 91)
- St. John’s (16-10, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 104)
- Butler (7-20, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 177)
- Georgetown (16-13, 2-1 Big East, RPI: 208)
- Seton Hall (12-13, 0-0 Big East, RPI: 234)
- Villanova (5-22, 1-2 Big East, RPI: 279)
