Meet the Players<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Baseball</strong><strong>Creighton</strong> <strong>Baseball</strong> Meet the Staff Meet the Players Opponents 2010 in Review Records and History This is <strong>Creighton</strong>19
This is <strong>Creighton</strong> Records and History 2010 in Review Opponents Meet the Players Meet the Staff <strong>Creighton</strong> <strong>Baseball</strong>20<strong>Creighton</strong> <strong>Bluejays</strong><strong>2011</strong> PreviewAfter a 27-25 record in the 2010 season, <strong>Creighton</strong>’s seventh straight winning season, the <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Bluejays</strong> baseball team is on a mission toprove themselves and their ability. Head coach Ed Servais enters his eighth season returning a host of players with quality experience and a talentedgroup of newcomers.The Jays return 20 ballplayers, including 10 pitchers and four starting position players. The talented group of returners include seniorsTrever Adams (who led the team with a .356 average and 12 home runs) and Jimmy Swift (who had just five errors in 148 chances at third baselast season), as well as sophomore Ty Blach and senior Jonas Dufek on the mound. Blach finished with a team low 3.11 ERA and Dufek recordeda team high 65 strikeouts in 2010.<strong>Creighton</strong> has a talented group of 14 newcomers, led by junior college transfers Nick Judkins (junior infielder) and Anthony Bemboom(junior catcher), as well as pitchers Reese McGraw (junior right hander) and Chase Webb (junior right hander). The group will try to make up forthe loss of 21 players.Many players will be asked to step up and fill the holes of five starting position players, including shortstop Elliot Soto and catcher CarsonVitale, both of whom were drafted last season. Soto, who ranks sixth in <strong>Creighton</strong> record books with 490 career assists, was taken in the 15th roundby the Chicago Cubs, while Vitale was drafted in the 38th round by the Texas Rangers.Other key losses for the Jays include senior first baseman Ian Dike, second team all-MVC performer Robbie Knight, MVC honorable mentionpitcher Bobby Lackovic, and outfielder T.J. Roemmich, a career .276 hitter, all to graduation.PITCHERSBlach Dufek Koenigstein VanLeur Winkelman Spomer HellhakeThe Jays have 16 pitchers on the <strong>2011</strong> roster, putting the depth on the mound as one of the biggest strengths for the upcoming season.<strong>Creighton</strong> has 11 right-handed hurlers and six southpaws, each of whom brings value to the pitching staff, which finished last season with a combined5.19 ERA and a .282 opponent batting average.Leading the staff will be 2010 Freshman All-American Ty Blach. The sophomore left-handed pitcher made 14 appearances, which included11 starts, striking out 58 batters and throwing just 18 walks. Right-handed pitchers Jonas Dufek and Brandon Koenigstein also will lead the<strong>Bluejays</strong> staff, as the two finished with a 4.92 and 3.95 ERA a season ago, respectively. Dufek finished with an 8-3 record in 16 appearances whileKoenigstein’s ERA put him second on the team in a team leading 93.1 innings.Left-handed hurler Jack VanLeur, who led the team with 30 appearances, finished the 2010 season giving up just two homeruns and earningfour saves.Mark Winkelman finished with a 4.37 ERA in 27 appearances and one start. The sophomore left-hander hurled one inning 14 times lastseason, giving up just two runs in those 14 innings.The Jays will get support from returning right-handed hurlers Kurt Spomer, Nick Musec and Austin Cole, as well as left-hander GregHellhake.Adding their names to the mix will be newcomers Matt Hartmann, Erik Mattingly, Reese McGraw, Andrew Ostapowicz, RyanPrice, John Sorenson and Chase Webb. Four of the seven pitchers (Mattingly, McGraw, Sorenson and Webb) come from another collegiate institutions,while the other three are fresh out of high school. All seven will add more depth to the staff as they look to replace workhorse pitchersBobby Lackovic, Matt Patterson and Mike Nihsen, who combined for 85 innings last year.CATCHERSThornburgBowens<strong>Creighton</strong> will have a battle behind the plate to replace minor leaguer Carson Vitale as the behind the plate field general. Vitale played in51 of the 52 games last season, starting behind the dish for 42 of those. Vitale had just two errors in 265 chances.Also earning playing time behind the plate last season was junior Scott Thornburg. The Lakewood, Colo., native played catcher in 14games, 12 of which were starts. When not catching, Thornburg was the designated hitter, finishing with a .486 slugging percentage and a .275 average,putting him in sixth on the team.After spending some time in the outfield last season and a as pinch runner the season before, Joey Bowens also will look to compete forplaying time at the catcher position. He finished last season with a .290 batting average in 31 at bats. Bowens was named first team All-Conference