Omaha, Neb. -- Led by the BIG EAST Preseason Co-Player of the Year, Will Robertson, the Creighton Baseball squad opens the 2019 season with a three-game series at Arkansas-Little Rock beginning Friday at 3:00 pm.

Download the complete preview (PDF).

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Probable Pitching Matchups (2018 Stats)
Friday                                                ERA    W-L    App    GS    CG    SHO    IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO
CU - Mitch Ragan (Sr.-RHP)            3.74    6-4    14    14    1    -    77.0    75    34    32    36    64
UALR - Chandler Fidel (Sr.-LHP)       4.02    6-4    16    15    2    -    96.1    97    45    43    21    92

Saturday  
CU - Denson Hull (Sr.-LHP)                4.26    1-0    12    5    -    -    25.1    22    16    12    11    22
UALR - Jose Torres (Jr.-RHP)                            Redshirted the 2018 Season

Sunday
CU - Evan Johnson (Sr.-RHP)            6.08    2-1    13    0    -    -    13.1    16    16    9    9    8
UALR - Pablo Ortiz (Sr.-RHP)            3.37    2-2    9    4    -    -    26.2    16    12    10    11    17

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Opening Day
In the 50 recorded openers, Creighton is 25-25, including a 15-7 win over Northeastern in a neutral site game in Florida. The Bluejays have won nine of the 15 season openers under Ed Servais, including six of the last nine.
 
Bluejays vs. Arkansas-Little Rock Series
Creighton leads the overall series 8-6, but is 4-5 against the Trojans under Servais. Arkansas-Little Rock swept a three-game series from Creighton in 2014.

Live Stats
The direct link for all games are provided on the Creighton website. For the series at Arkansas-Little Rock you can follow the Bluejays at

http://creighton.statbroadcast.com

Bluejays on Opening Day
The Bluejays are 25-25 all time on opening day, including 9-6 under coach Servais.

Servais History on Opening Day
Date     Opponent     Score
2/16/18    vs. Northeastern    W, 15-7
2/17/17    at UAB    L, 2-3
2/19/16    at Fresno State    L, 1-2
2/13/15    at CSU Bakersfield    W, 5-0
2/14/14    at Arkansas-Little Rock    L, 1-5
2/15/13    at Dallas Baptist    W, 11-9
2/17/12    at Central Arkansas    W, 4-3
2/19/11     vs. Toledo     W, 5-1
2/20/10     vs. SIU Edwardsville     W, 22-0
2/20/09     at Sam Houston State     L, 8-6
2/22/08     at Washington State     W, 8-4
2/9/07     vs. Gardner-Webb     W, 4-3
2/11/06     at UALR     L, 11-12
2/11/05     at Sam Houston State     W, 9-6
2/14/04     vs. Southern Utah     L, 10-5

Debunking the Myth of Slow Starts For Northern Teams
The Bluejays have fared well in the first month of the season. Below is Creighton's records in the month under Servais:

Year     Record
2004     3-3
2005     6-2
2006     5-3
2007     2-4
2008     1-2
2009     0-6
2010     3-1
2011     7-1
2012    3-2
2013    3-0
2014    3-4
2015    5-2
2016    3-3
2017    1-5
2018    4-2
Total     49-40

Scouting the Bluejays (2018: 34-16, 8-9 BIG EAST)
Creighton enters the 2019 season with tremendous experience in the field, on the plate and on the mound. The Bluejays closed the 2018 season strong with a 34-16 mark, taking each midweek game during the season.

The Bluejays, however, stumbled in BIG EAST play as Creighton missed the conference tournament last season. During 2019 Creighton hopes to turn their experience into a return not only to the BIG EAST Tournament, but to the NCAA Tournament.

Junior outfielder Will Robertson is expected to lead the offense, following his 59 RBI season last year. Robertson collected a pair of preseason All-American honors and closed the summer of 2018 with a strong performance in the Cape Cod League.

About Arkansas-Little Rock

• Located in Little Rock, Arkansas
• UALR's mascot is the Trojans.
• The Trojans were picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the 2019 Sun Belt Preseason Poll.
• Arkansas-Little Rock finished the 2018 season with a 28-28 record.

Arkansas-Little Rock Head Coach Chris Curry

• In his first head coaching position, Curry has led the Huskies to an 91-126 record in his first four years in charge, including a
• 28-28 record last season.
• The even mark of 28-28 in 2018 was the Trojans best mark under Curry.

Scouting the Trojans (2018: 28-28, 15-14 Sun Belt)
The Trojans return two-thirds of their starting rotation, including projected opening day starter Chandler Fidel (4.02 ERA). Fidel tossed 96.1 innings in 2018, collecting six wins in 15 starts. The southpaw recorded 92 strikeouts last season.

At the plate Arkansas-Little Rock welcomes back its three top hitters in Chase Coker (.297), Ryan Benavidez (.293) and Troy Alexander (.291).

The Trojans will play seven of its  first nine games at home, including three with the Bluejays and three more against future Creighton opponent Evansville.