Creighton baseball has enjoyed a successful month. Going 12-4 this past March, the team has laid a solid foundation as conference play approaches. This includes seven road wins; a promising stat as the team will have 11 games at home in April.
“I think that we’re slowly but surely getting a little bit better defensively,” Creighton coach Ed Servais said. “Our pitching is starting to get a little bit better and we’re throwing a few more strikes … I know we’re 16-6 but there’s a lot of things we can get better at, a lot of things we can get better at. Im really anxious to see how we perform this week, we play two Big 12 teams in the midweek, which will be a challenge.”
March has seen plenty of excitement on the field. The Jays played in a competitive series in Minneapolis with the University of Minnesota (18-10) from March 9 through March 11, which featured the Bluejays opening with a three-run lead in the first inning. The momentum continued with strong fielding, allowing only one run in the first seven innings.
This was followed with an explosive 7-3 win in the second game with two runs each from sophomore outfielder Will Robertson and junior outfielder Thomas Luevano. The team overall put up a whopping seven doubles to win the second straight game in the series. While they hoped for the series sweep in the third game, they fell short 1-15 in a tough loss.
Creighton had a dominant performance on March 13, beating Kansas State (15-13) 13-3 in Manhattan, Kansas. Junior catcher Michael Emodi and Robertson combined for seven hits, including two home runs, six runs scored and 10 RBIs.
The team also notched a win against No. 22 Wichita State on March 16. Neither team was able to go for the series win, however, as rain caused a cancellation. The Jays won the opener, 3-1, on March 17 thanks to a two-run walk off homer by Emodi. Wichita State answered the next day with a 7-4 win for a series split. As of the end of last month, the Shockers are 19-6.
The Jays were then to host South Dakota State (4-19) on March 20 but the game was postponed due to snow and freezing rain. The game will now be played at 6:30 p.m. on April 10.
Creighton then travelled to Normal, Ill. for a weekend series versus Illinois State (10-13) from March 23 through March 25. Senior pitcher Ryan Tapani allowed one run on six hits and struck out five to lead the Jays to a win, 5-1, in the opener. The Jays were led by sophomore outfielder Parker Upton in the second game; he had two hits including a double, two runs scored and two RBIs to win 7-5. The final game of the series was cancelled due to a snow storm and will not be rescheduled.
At the end of March, the Bluejays beat Nebraska (14-14), 3-1, with over 3,000 fans in attendance at TD Ameritrade Park. The team rallied behind a strong six-inning performance from senior pitcher Preston Church, an Iowa native. Church pitched six no-hit innings and a double from Robertson gave sophomore Isaac Collins the first score of the game. Creighton was close to its first shutout since 2009, but the Huskers pulled out a single with two outs in the ninth.
“Previously I haven’t had very good fastball command and that’s pretty much what I base my pitching off of,” Church said. “Tonight I had it and everything worked off of that. I felt really good warming up, I felt really confident throwing my bullpen and went out there and just trusted my stuff.”
Last weekend the Jays picked up their sixth straight win by sweeping Evansville (6-15). Tapani improved to 5-0 on the season in the opener, allowing one run on two hits and struck out five over seven and two-thirds innings and sophomore pitcher Jonah Smith picked up his third save of the year by retiring the side in the top of the ninth inning.
The second game saw Emodi hit a game-winning double that drove in three runs, as the Jays came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4. Junior infielder Jack Strunc led the Jays in the finale with three hits including a double, three runs scored and three RBIs for a 12-7 win.
“I was expecting a breaking ball away, I was trying to go to the right field because there was a big gap over there,” Emodi said. “He threw the exact same pitch the next pitch and I was able to get most of it … I knew it was going to be over his head, it was just a matter of if they could get in quick enough.”
Now boasting a 16-6 season record, the team gears up for a string of conference games against Butler (17-7), Saint John’s (14-9) and Xavier (9-17).
The team has had a solid start to April as well, with Will Robertson receiving Big East Player of the Week and Ryan Tapani earning Big East Pitcher of the Week.
Creighton’s game against Kansas (17-11) last Tuesday was cancelled due to inclement weather and no makeup date has been announced. The Bluejays are at home next on Wednesday against Kansas State at 6:30 p. m. and Creighton will be looking to extend the winning streak to seven games. Butler then comes to town for a home series beginning Friday.