Pat Venditte

Classroom

Venditte has been solid in the classroom, and currently maintains a 2.88 cumulative grade point average in marketing. He is scheduled to graduate in December 2008. After his baseball playing career, he aspires to own a business.

Character

Venditte is one of four captains on the 2008 Bluejay baseball team. Despite gaining a lot of media attention both locally and nationally with his unique story, Venditte has never lost the respect of his teammates. He is a player that leads by example, and according to head coach Ed Servais, Venditte has a work ethic unmatched by any player he’s ever coached. One Creighton staff member even witnessed Venditte throwing a bullpen session with his father on Thanksgiving. He has emerged from a walk on whom coach Servais thought may be a marginal contributor upon his arrival as a freshman, to a near consensus preseason All-American in 2008. A great example of his team-first attitude came in last year’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game. After making 70 relief appearances in his career, Venditte took the mound as the starter for the first time in his team’s most important game and was magnificent in leading CU to the tournament title. He struck out a career-high 10 batters in a career-best 6.1 innings to earn the tournament’s most outstanding player award.

Community

Venditte has been active in the Omaha community, volunteering for various activities both on and off the Creighton campus. He has been a regular instructor at baseball camps for the Boys & Girls Club of Omaha, where he has given the attendees pitching tips and instruction. In fall 2006, Venditte helped direct traffic for parking as Creighton hosted the MVC Cross Country championship. Venditte has also volunteered at the Sienna Francis House in Omaha, a homeless shelter that also offers substance abuse treatment.

Competition

Venditte is coming off a historic season for Creighton last spring. As a junior, the switch pitcher established school records with 38 appearances and a 1.88 earned run average. He led the Bluejays with 99 strikeouts in a team-high 95.2 innings of work. Venditte recorded a scoreless streak of 43.2 innings in April and May last season on his way to earning All-American honors from four separate publications. After leading the Jays to the MVC Tournament title, he was named the tourney’s most outstanding player and the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week. Venditte enters the 2008 season as a near consensus preseason All-American. He is a first-team preseason All-American selection by Rivals.com and Ping! Baseball and a second-team choice by the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball. He is a member of the Brooks Wallace Watch List and the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Watch List. A first-team all-MVC choice last season, Venditte is a preseason all-Valley pick in 2008.