Creighton University
Illinois State
Baseball Takes 5-3 Road Win at Illinois State
5/12/2007 3:00:00 AM | Baseball
Masten, who was tied for the single-season CU record with Rick Heiserman and Chris Ringleb, allowed just two hits with one strikeout, as Bluejays' senior reliever Scott Reese (2-0) earned his 19th-career win and second of the season in relief duty. Reese, who replaced Jays' starter Zak Moore in the fifth inning, allowed just one run on one hit and fanned one.
The Jays got the scoring started in the second with two runs and added single runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings, while the Redbirds managed just single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
CU second baseman Michael Lam continued to swing a hot bat, as the native of
The Redbirds finally took advantage of
Though ISU was back in the game trailing 2-1, the Jays wouldn't let the new found momentum last. A leadoff single, walk and another sacrifice bunt got the Bluejays in business in the top half of the fifth. With one out and runners at second and third,
After the Redbirds got an RBI-groundout of their own in the bottom half of the inning to close within one again, the Bluejays answered again in the top of the sixth. CU took advantage of a throwing error by ISU shortstop Collin Salzenstein that brought home Lam from third while Sinclair reached on the error, as the Jays took a 4-2 lead.
Reese kept the Redbirds in check in sixth and seventh, allowing just a single run as the Jays escaped what could've been a game-changing inning with a big defensive play. ISU third baseman Ryan Anetsberger singled to center field with two on and two out, but after one Redbird run crossed the dish the tying run was beamed down on a throw from Knight to
Darin Ruf then picked up his third hit of the game in the ninth to add a Bluejay insurance run on an RBI-double to right center, as Masten closed the deal in the bottom of the ninth to keep his ninth inning scoreless streak in tact.
Ruf finished his night 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, as he collected his seventh three-hit game of the season.
With the win, the Bluejays earned their sixth-Missouri Valley Conference series win of the season and clinched at least a second place finish in the final league standings.
The two teams will wrap-up their three-game set with a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday afternoon. Junior Ben Mancuso (8-1, 1.90 ERA) will be getting the start for the Jays against an ISU starter yet to be announced.
Notes: Robbie Knight was hit by two pitches in the game and has now been beaned 30 times this season, which is just three shy of the NCAA all-time mark... Pat Venditte extended his scoreless inning streak to 26 innings... Creighton tied the NCAA record for sacrifice hits in a game with six, which has only happened three other times with the last coming in 2004 by South Carolina in a game at Arkansas... Andy Masten's 13 career-CU saves moves him into seventh on the all-time career list for saves... Chris Gradoville moved his career-long hitting streak to 13 games with his double... Creighton's six sacrifice hits moved them to 78 sacrifice hits on the season, which is three shy of their all-time MVC mark set last season... The Jays have won 37-straight games when leading after six innings and 41-straight when leading after eight... The Jays are now 15-7 on the road this season and 8-3 in MVC play... CU is hitting .285 with a team ERA of 3.49 in road contests this season... CU is now 15-5 in games where Knight has been hit by a pitch and 4-2 in games where he has been hit on multiple occasions... Creighton has won 13 of the last 15 games that Reese has pitched in.
