Creighton University
North Dakota
Baseball Loses in Ninth Inning, 7-6 to North Dakota
3/25/2009 4:15:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Jake Magner singled to right field with two outs in the ninth inning to bring North Dakota from behind and defeat Creighton 7-6, Wednesday at the CU Sports Complex. It is the first time this season Creighton has lost when owning a lead going into the ninth.
The Fighting Sioux started their rally as David Ross singled to center before advancing to third, courtesy of two Kirk Clark (0-2) wild pitches. After Jabbee Bakhit walked and stole second, Josh Lagein walked to load the bases. Andy Sadler then struck out to make it two outs with the bases loaded. Unfortunately for the Jays, Magner singled to right, to make it 7-6 UND.
The Bluejays got on the board in the bottom of the first as Darin Ruf launched his fifth home run of the year, a solo shot to right field.
In the second the CU lead became 2-0 as Jimmy Swift scored from third on Scott Thornburg's first career sacrifice fly.
North Dakota cut into the lead in the top of the third when Bakhit tripled down the right field line before scoring on CU starter Brandon Koenigstein's wild pitch.
It became a tie game in the fourth as Magner hit a solo shot to right center to lead off the inning.
UND then took the lead in the fifth as three straight men reached base, one courtesy of a Vicente Cafaro error, en route to scoring two runs and taking a 4-2 lead.
Creighton responded in the sixth as Jimmy Swift doubled to left center, plating both T.J. Roemmich and Cafaro from first and second respectively to tie the game.
North Dakota took a brief lead in the eighth when Andrew Marek doubled to center, scoring Sadler.
The Jays would take their last lead of the game in the eighth when Ruf reached on a catcher's interference to put runners on first and second with no one out. After Cafaro's bunt advanced the runners to second and third, Roemmich walked to load the bases. Swift then was hit by a pitch to tie the game at 5-5, before Scott Thornburg walked to make it a 6-5 game heading into the ninth.
Creighton will have its home conference opener on Friday March 27, at 4:00 p.m., against Southern Illinois, at the CU Sports Complex. CU is 2-1 in conference play this season, while SIU is 3-0.
NOTES: Zane Hinkel made the first start of his career, getting the nod in the No. 9 hole as the DH...With Ruf's home run the Bluejays have scored in the first inning in six straight games...That is its longest stretch since April 22-May 5, 2007, when the team also scored in the first, six straight games...Ruf has now homered three times in the last two years on March 25...He homered twice on this day last year, a career-high...It is his first time this season to homer in back-to-back games...After having his 14-game hit streak snapped on Tuesday, Cafaro went 2-4...Matt Patterson surrendered runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
