Creighton University
Southern Illinois
Baseball One-Hit By Salukis, Falls 5-4
5/4/2008 4:45:00 PM | Baseball
SIU used four pitchers and were two outs shy of a no-hitter before the Jays nabbed their only hit of the game. Robbie Knight pulled Daniel Etienne's 1-1 fastball into left for a clean hit, driving home two runs and moving CU within 5-4 in the ninth inning.
With Michael Lam on second and Knight on first and just one away, Elliot Soto lined out to left for the second out. Darin Ruf, the 2007 MVC Player of the Year and owner of 199 career hits, then crushed a ball the opposite way, but it was hauled in by rightfielder Aaron Roberts on the warning track to end the game.
SIU's pitching finished the day allowing eight walks, hitting three batters and throwing three wild pitches. Despite giving up just one hit on the day, it nearly wasn't enough.
The Salukis scored again with two outs in the second to stretch the lead to 2-0. Tyler Lairson doubled to left-center with one out. He moved to third on a grounder for the second out, then scored on an infield single by Murphy.
Creighton scored without the benefit of a hit in the top of the fourth frame. Steve Winkelmann coaxed a one-out walk and raced all the way to third on a wild pitch from Saluki hurler Adam Curynski. The extra 90 feet on the basepaths proved crucial, as he scored on a sac fly by Nick Nordgren.
SIU scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs versus reliever Kevin Dooley. In a scene similar to the first inning, Murphy singled and moved to second on a bunt. Then with two away, the Jays once again elected to intentionally walk Kelly. Roberts singled up the middle to score Murphy for the second time of the afternoon. Tyler Bullock then lofted a double down the right-field line that scored Kelly and Roberts.
Creighton did their best to answer in the top of the eighth, but only scored one while leaving two men in scoring position. Knight was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a walk to Soto. After Ruf's flyout to center moved up both runners, Steve Winkelmann walked again. Knight would score on a wild pitch from reliever Daniel Wells, but Wells got Nordgren to foul out to first to end the threat.
Curynski's (3-1) first career MVC start was near-flawless. He did not allow a hit in a career-high five innings of work, allowing three walks and one run while striking out four. He threw 79 pitches before being lifted in favor of Jimmy Cornell. Cornell threw 2.2 hitless innings, though he did walk three men. Daniel Wells walked two and hit one in two-thirds of an inning and was lifted after throwing just six strikes in 17 pitches. He gave way to freshman Daniel Etienne, who recorded his first career save by retiring Soto and Ruf.
CU's Zak Moore (4-6) also threw well in his return to the weekend rotation.
Creighton and returns to action on Tuesday when it stops by
NOTES: Robbie Knight was hit by his MVC-high 19th pitch of the season with one down in the eighth inning. His 54 career HBP's moves him into the top-25 on the NCAA's all-time list ...The last Southern Illinois no-hitter came in 1979, by Paul Evans, who is currently the Missouri State pitching coach ...Creighton was last no-hit on April 9, when North Dakota State no-hit CU but the Jays won 2-0 in Omaha ...SIU's Daniel Wells set a school-record with his 82nd career appearance ...Darin Ruf's career-long 15-game hitting streak was snapped, as was Nick Nordgren's 10-game hit streak.
