Pages 1-92 - Creighton University Bluejays

2010 Bl u e j a y Ba s e b a l l
Bluejay NCAA Tournament Teams
1973 District Five Playoffs
Postseason Results
May 28, 1973 Oklahoma 8, Creighton 1 Tulsa, Okla.
May 29, 1973 Oral Roberts 11, Creighton 4 Tulsa, Okla.
Final Record: 25-16
1973 Major League Baseball June Draft
39th Rd. (715) Jim Lemon, 2B Kansas City Royals
The 1973 Bluejays became the first team in school history to qualify
for postseason play, as they received an at-large bid to the District Five
Playoffs held in Tulsa, Okla. With a total of eight four-team districts, the
1973 NCAA Tournament consisted of 32 teams. There were a total of 216
Division I teams at that time.
Led by coach Dave Baker, the Jays picked up regular season wins over
Kansas State, Nebraska, Arkansas and Iowa State. In the District Five Playoffs,
Creighton lost its opening game to Oklahoma, who would advance to
the College World Series, and was eliminated by Oral Roberts.
Sophomore pitcher Ernie Rongish led Creighton with a 6-3 record as
a starter, earning second-team Academic All-America honors. Freshman
Gary McCabe led the team with a 1.38 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Junior lefthander
Jim Roach appeared in a team-high 13 games.
Offensively, senior co-captain Jim Lemon was the team’s most productive
player, compiling 42 hits in 142 at-bats for a .296 batting average. The
centerfielder also tied for the team-lead with nine stolen bases and would
be drafted in the 39th round of the June 1973, MLB Draft by the Kansas
City Royals. Senior shortstop Steve Naval, also a co-captain on the 1973
squad, led the team with five home runs and 10 doubles. Sophomore first
baseman Ron Thornam paced CU with 23 RBIs.
Postseason Results
May 25, 1990 Creighton 9, Clemson 6 Austin, Texas
May 26, 1990 Cal State Fullerton 6, Creighton 3 Austin, Texas
May 27, 1990 Creighton 4, Clemson 3 Austin, Texas
May 27, 1990 Texas 11, Creighton 9 Austin, Texas
Final Record: 48-22
1990 Major League Baseball Draft
1st Rd. (16) Dan Smith, LHP Texas Rangers
39th Rd. (1015) Mike Heathcott, RHP New York Yankees
46th Rd. (1172) Ryan Martindale, OF St. Louis Cardinals
1990 NCAA Central Regional
After a 17-year absence from postseason play, the 1990 squad ended the drought and began a
streak of three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances for the Jays. Creighton earned an at-large
bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing third in the MVC with a 13-7 league mark.
At the NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas, the Jays picked up their first-ever NCAA Tournament
win over Clemson in the opener. After a 6-3 loss to eventual CWS qualifier Cal State Fullerton,
Creighton came back to defeat Clemson for the second time the next day. The dream of reaching
the CWS ended, however, with an 11-9 loss to the host Texas Longhorns.
The team’s 48 wins were a school-record at that time, as head coach Jim Hendry directed the
squad to the NCAA Tournament in his sixth full season. Hendry would go on to coach only one more
season, before making the jump to professional baseball where he currently serves as the general
manager for the Chicago Cubs.
Individual accolades went hand-in-hand with the team’s success. Junior left-handed pitcher Dan
Smith was named the MVC Pitcher of the Year after leading the league with a 14-3 record and a
then-school-record 1.96 ERA. Smith recorded 12 complete games, five shutouts and 134 strikeouts
as a junior before being selected in the first round (16th pick) of the 1990 MLB Draft by the Texas
Rangers. He received first-team All-America honors from both Baseball America and the ABCA following
the season, as well as first-team all-MVC laurels.
Joining Smith on the all-MVC first team were junior outfielder John Pivovar and sophomore
infielder Scott Stahoviak. Pivovar hit .339 in 61 starts, tallying 11 doubles, four triples, five home
runs and 35 RBIs, to go along with a .988 fielding percentage. Stahoviak led the team in nearly
every offensive category, including MVC-best totals with a .417 batting average,
95 hits and 25 doubles. His .561 on-base percentage would be a school record
until he bettered the mark the following season and his batting average and
doubles total still rank among the top-five at CU.
Stahoviak was also voted onto the All-Regional Team at first base, after batting
9-for-16 in CU’s four postseason games. Joining Stahoviak on the team was
fellow sophomore Steve Hinton, who was selected for his play in left field. Hinton
picked up six hits, scored five runs and drove in four during Regional play.
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