Creighton Sweep Villanova to Claim Big East Regular Season Championship

The Bluejays are the 2019 Big East Regular Season Champions, defeating Villanova 8-2 Saturday afternoon in Omaha.

Creighton capitalized early on a series of miscues by Villanova to win 8-2. Two wild pitches in the first inning led to a two-run double by Jack Strunc, who picked up a 3rd RBI later in the game on a sac fly. Strunc now has 26 RBI on the year.

Forced to go to their bullpen, Creighton then took advantage of Villanova's weak pitching staff, which has a team ERA of 6.52 this year. The Jays drew a walk, hit three singles, a double, and a triple in the 7th inning to push the game out of reach for the Wildcats, who finish the year 13-38.

Defensive Struggles

Villanova's year-long fielding woes reared their ugly head one last time. The Wildcats committed 4 fielding errors, bringing their season total to 72. Going into the day, Villanova ranked next-to-last in the Big East in fielding, and 211th nationally.

Compounding those fielding issues were 3 wild pitches in the first two innings, and a play in which a Creighton runner was caught dead in no-mans-land but squirted free thanks to back-to-back errant throws by the Villanova infield.

Bats Wake Up

Despite the sluggish play by the Villanova defense, the Wildcats stayed within range until the bottom of the 7th, trailing just 4-1. Creighton was finally able to string hits together in the 7th, where the Jays recorded a single, single, reached on fielder's choice, doubled, tripled, walked, and recorded one last single, dinging the Wildcat staff with 4 runs to put the game away.

Top Players

Creighton's Jake Holton reached base four times, recording two hits and walking twice, scoring two runs and pushing his batting average up to .409.

The Jays' Evan Johnson pitched 6 innings, allowing zero runs on 3 hits, striking out 7.

Up Next

Villanova failed to qualify for the postseason. Creighton will head to Mason, Ohio for the Big East Tournament May 23-26.

Creighton Runs Away Late to Keep Championship Hopes Alive

Despite struggles early and often for Villanova, Creighton could not capitalize on many mistakes made by the Wildcats.

Creighton (33-11, 12-4 Big East) maneuvered their way to a 10-1 victory Thursday night at TD Ameritrade, eventually taking advantage of walks, errors, and various other issues afflicting the last-placed Villanova Wildcats (13-36, 4-11).

Wildcat starter Jimmy Kingsbury struggled with control for the entire evening, throwing 113 pitches, only 59 of which were strikes. Despite his struggles, Kingsbury kept the Bluejays scoreless into the 5th inning. Twice the Bluejays left the bases loaded, in the 3rd and 4th inning, but could not capitalize. In the 5th, errors, command issues and timely hitting finally broke open the scoreless tie.

Creighton starter Mitch Ragan pitched a gem into the 8th inning, going 7.1 innings, striking out 9 and giving up just 1 earned run, coming from a monster home run by Villanova freshman Nick Lorusso.

Creighton's 5th inning scoring came thanks to chain hitting from Parker Upton, Jake Holton, Will Robertson, and Jordan Hovey.

After giving up the bomb in the top of the 7th, Creighton answered by once again loading the bases in the bottom of the 7th, and taking advantage by drawing a walk, and scoring a 2-RBI single off the bat of Will Hanafan.

Bats exploded once again in the 8th inning, as the Bluejays tacked 4 more runs in the inning thanks in part to Jake Holton's 13th home run of the season, as well as David Vilches' 2nd of the year.

Top Players

Creighton's Mitch Ragan showed why he's the Jays' top starter with his 101-pitch gem.

Catcher David Vilches went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a home run. Vilches is batting 7-for-11 in his last 3 games.

Inside the Box Score

Villanova struggled in every facet of their defense all night, committing two errors and countless other miscues leading to extra opportunities and advanced runners for Creighton. There is a reason this team has only won 13 games all year.

Villanova threw 194 pitches on the night, recording just 99 total strikes. Compare that to Creighton's far more efficient 80 strikes in just 116 total pitches.

Up Next

Weather permitting, Creighton wants to get at least one final game in in this series, as severe weather is in the forecast all weekend. The Bluejays sit just a half-game back of Xavier atop the Big East standings, and a sweep of Villanova will mean Creighton wins outright ownership of the Big East regular season championship.

Tomorrow's first pitch is currently set for 6:30 PM local time at TD Ameritrade Park.

Bats, Gloves Come Alive as Creighton Cruises Past Omaha

Offense was on display for Creighton as the Bluejays coasted to a comfortable 13-2 win over Dodge Street Rival Omaha Tuesday afternoon.

The game started in typical small-ball, classic Creighton fashion. The Jays worked a walk, stole a base, and scored on a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead in the first.

Then the bats broke loose.

A 3rd inning leadoff double by junior Jason Allbery was followed by back-to-back walks, which set up a loaded opportunity for junior Will Robertson.

Robertson came into the game with 10 home runs and a team-high 49 RBI. He connected on the first pitch he saw and planted the no-doubter deep into section 124 out in right-center field. The bomb brought Robertson to a tie with Jake Holton at 11 home runs on the year. Not to be outdone, Jake Holton took advantage of a situation presented to him, and hit a grand slam of his own in the bottom of the 8th, retaking the team home run lead.

Creighton hammered the ball all game long, testing the range of the Maverick outfielder. Omaha's #2 defense nationally stepped up when possible, punctuated by an amazing diving catch by right fielder Ben Palensky.

Isaac Collins, who hit the ball hard in every at-bat, was able to find a gap in the 4th inning for a two-out, two RBI double to left center. A run-scoring single off the bat by pinch hitter Will Hanafan tacked on the 8th run of the game, and

Omaha struggled against Creighton's effective pitching all game, striking out eight times against CU's first two pitchers Dylan Tebrake and Ben Dotzler. Before the game, Ed Servais said he only planned on Tebrake pitching into the 3rd inning, but Tebrake took a perfect game into the 5th, retiring the first 13 batters he faced.

Top Performers

Full credit Creighton combo to Dylan Tebrake and Ben Dotzler, who combined for 8 innings, giving up 3 hits and striking out 9.

Shoutout to the bottom of the lineup, Jason Allbery and David Vilches each reached base 3 times, combining for 3-for-5 with two walks and a HBP between them.

Omaha's Ben Palensky was a shining beacon for Omaha, hitting a 2-run double in the 9th inning to end the shutout bid, on top of his spectacular diving catch.

Up Next

Creighton hosts Villanova with a chance to win the Big East regular season championship on the line.

Omaha is set to host Oral Roberts, with their own opportunity to win the Summit League regular season championship.

Creighton and Omaha in Final Non-Conference Battle for Both Teams

The Omaha Mavericks will make a short trip down Dodge Street to take on Creighton one final time. It will be the final non-conference game for both teams entering a pivotal point in their respective seasons.

Who: Creighton Bluejays vs Omaha Mavericks

When: 11 AM Tuesday, May 14

Where: TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha, NE

Watch: Jays Video

For Omaha (27-18-1)

Omaha has dropped 4 of its last 5 series, and 8 of its last 11 games as they limp into their final weekend. A 12-game conference winning streak had given the Mavericks a huge cushion early in the season, but their lead over 2nd-place South Dakota State has shrunk to just 1.5 games.

A lot rides on the line for the Mavs this weekend, from a Number 1 seed in the Summit League Tournament, to the possibility of hosting the Summit League tournament for the 2020 season. After Tuesday, the Mavericks will host preseason Summit League favorite Oral Roberts to finish out the year.

For Creighton (31-11)

Creighton is in equally important territory, sitting just a half-game back of 1st Place Xavier in the Big East standings. However, Xavier's conference season is over, and Creighton has 3 home games left against the last-place Villanova Wildcats.

Omaha will finish the season with seven home games, with the midweek Omaha matchup sandwiched between St. John's and Villanova.

Kids Day

The game is set for an 11 AM first pitch to accommodate Kids Day at TD Ameritrade.

By the Numbers

.410 Creighton's Jake Holton is batting a white-hot .410 in 42 games, with 11 home runs.

.350 Omaha is led by Parker Smejkal, batting .350 with 5 home runs.

46 to 21 As a team, Creighton has hit 46 home runs, compared to Omaha's 21.

.982 Omaha ranks 2nd nationally in fielding percentage, behind only Xavier (.984). Creighton ranks 11th nationally with a .981 fielding percentage.