Creighton University
Missouri
Ogden's Walk-Off Double Leads Baseball To 4-3 Win Over #25 Mizzou
3/27/2007 3:00:00 AM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton senior shortstop Chad Ogden hit a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning that platted Robbie Knight from first, leading the Creighton baseball team to a 4-3 victory over the red-hot 25th-ranked Missouri Tigers Tuesday afternoon at the CU Sports Complex. With one out, Ogden took a 3-2 pitch and knocked it off the wall in left field giving Knight plenty of time to round the bases from first as Bluejays won their third-straight game and gave the Tigers only their second loss in 16 games.
Ogden finished his day going 1-for-5, while Chris Gradoville finished 3-for-4 and Andrew Small finished 2-for-4 recording a team-leading two RBI along with his first home run of the season with a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth.
CU scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth, added two more in the sixth and held the Tigers to just three runs in the top of the seventh as they improve to 15-8 on the seaon. With the loss the Tigers fell to 20-7, as they have now lost two-straight after winning 14 in a row.
Senior Andy Masten earned the win for the Jays pitching an inning of no-hit baseball in the ninth, as CU used a total of eight pitchers on the day with senior Teddy Ogilvie getting his second start of the season. After MU's Ryan Lollis grounded out to begin the inning, Masten sat down the final two batters as he improves to 4-1 on the season. Ogilvie went only one inning on the day in his start allowing just two hits, as the CU pitchers held the Tigers to just eight total hits on the game.
Taking the loss for MU was Brant Combs (1-1) who went a third of an inning giving up one run on one hit.
CU started the scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning after Steve Winkelmann reached on a single to right and Brett Mieras reached after getting hit by a pitch. Michael Lam then advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt, just before Knight followed with sacrifice bunt of his own to plate the runner from third, giving the Jays an early 1-0 lead.
Small added to that lead just an inning later, as CU went up 3-0. Gradoville led off the inning with a pop up to the first baseman, which was followed by Darin Ruf being hit by a pitch to get a runner on first for Small. Small then took a 1-1 pitch and sent it over the fence in left for just his second-career CU home run.
The Tigers wouldn't go away though as they bounced back in the top half of the seventh to tie the game up at 3-3. John McKee and Trevor Coleman both took pitches off their bodies before Kyle Mach loaded the bases with a single through the left side. That setup left fielder Jacob Priday who sent a double down the right field line that platted McKee and Coleman to make it 3-2. The hit would end the day for CU reliever Pat Venditte as he gave up three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work. Catcher Dan Pietroburgo would then tie the game with an RBI groundout to first off Scott Reese.
Reese would recover nicely though as he gave up just one hit in the rest of the seventh and eighth recording a single strikeout to setup Masten in the ninth., as the Tigers were held to just one hit in the final two innings.
After Masten shut down MU in the top half of the ninth, the Jays used the momentum in the bottom half of the inning to go after the victory. Lam grounded out to first to lead off the inning just before Knight who reached base on his 14th HBP of the season.
The Jays will return to Missouri Valley Conference action Friday afternoon when they host Northern Iowa in game one of three at the CU Sports Complex. First pitch between the Bluejays and Panthers will take place at 4 p.m.
Notes: CU is now 98-7 under head coach Ed Servais when out-hitting its opponent ... The Bluejays turned three double plays on the game giving them 29 now for the season, which is good for a 1.26 average a game ranking just ahead of their 2005 season average of 1.25 when they led the nation in double plays turned ... Robbie Knight's 14 HBPs puts him in a sixth-place tie on the CU all-time single-season list for HBPs in a season.
