No. 25 Creighton plays a three-game series this weekend hosted by No. 20 BYU baseball.
The Bluejays bring a 25-8 record into the series and are ranked only in the Collegiate Baseball poll where BYU is No. 30. The Cougars, 27-7, are ranked in four polls, as high as No. 20 by Perfect Game. This is the first game for BYU against a ranked team this season.
The non-conference series starts Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a noon doubleheader on Saturday at Larry H. Miller Field.
“It’s a huge, huge series for us as far as RPI goes,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “They (Creighton) really play defense and pitch it well. They are really aggressive on offense and put the pressure on you.”
Creighton is in first place in the Big East Conference with a 5-1 record, while the Cougars are in a three-way tie for first with Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga with 10-5 records in the West Coast Conference.
“We are playing really well right now,” Littlewood said. “This is a nice week to not have a mid-week game, to get some guys healed up and mentally refresh ourselves.”
Senior Eric Urry is graduating in psychology this week from BYU, but will be in the lineup.
Mike Rucker (7-0, 2.21) will start on the mound for the Cougars in Friday night’s game televised live on BYUtv. Sophomore lefthander Hayden Rogers (4-0, 3.21) is scheduled to start the first game on Saturday, followed by Jordan Wood (0-0, 6.45) on the hill in the nightcap.
Both of Saturday’s games will be streamed by TheW.tv. All of the Creighton series will be broadcast live by ESPN 960 AM Radio and streamed live on its site as well as on BYU Radio and available on Sirius Satellite 143.
Following the Creighton series, BYU has another non-conference game, at Utah Valley University on Tuesday, before returning to league action when it hosts Gonzaga next week.