Additional Research Turns Up Two More Baseball No-Hitters
5/28/2009 10:30:00 AM | Baseball
On May 21, 2009, Creighton freshman Brandon Koenigstein threw a seven-inning no-hitter in an 11-0 victory over traditional power Wichita State. At the time, it was believed that the Koenigstein's masterpiece was the first complete game no-hitter in Creighton Baseball history.
In the days that followed, several e-mails came in from Creighton alums with recollections of other no-hitters that were not listed in the CU baseball record book and media guide.
After further research of Omaha World-Herald archives, three no-hitters from more than 35 years ago turned up, including two thrown by Creighton pitchers and one thrown against the Jays, as detailed below:
On April 28, 1970, freshman Ray Blusiewicz hurled a five-inning no-hitter to blank South Dakota, 15-0. That game was called due to the 10-run rule. Blusiewicz walked four men and faced 19 batters overall, striking out five, for his first collegiate victory.
Less than a year later on April 2, 1971, Council Bluffs native Larry LeMaster twirled a seven-inning no-hitter against Doane in a 10-0 victory played at Boys Town. LeMaster struck out 11 men, including the side in the top of the seventh inning, and allowed three walks.
The complete game gems by Blusiewicz and LeMaster join a
combined no-hitter thrown by Dennis
Rasmussen (5.2 IP) and Joe Franco (3.1 IP) that was previously believed to be the only no-no
before Koenigstein. That game took place on
March 21, 1980 against Kansas State and resulted in an 8-0 Bluejay win.
That remains CU's only nine-inning no-hitter on record.
The research also unearthed what is now believed to be the first no-hitter thrown against Creighton. On April 8, 1965, Kearney State's (now Nebraska-Kearney) Don Wilson authored a seven-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 Loper victory over the Jays. Wilson walked four and struck out six in that contest. Last season Creighton was a rare winner while being no-hit, beating North Dakota State 2-0 in a seven-inning contest at the CU Sports Complex. NDSU's Chad Berg walked five men and hit another in the first inning before Chris Paterson threw the final five hitless innings against CU that day.
Updated No-Hitter History
No-Hitters Thrown By Creighton Pitchers
Ray Blusiewicz vs. South Dakota, 4/28/70 (5 IP, 4 BB, 5 K) in a 15-0 Creighton win
Larry LeMaster vs. Doane, 4/2/71 (7 IP, 3 BB, 11 K) in a 10-0 Creighton win
Dennis Rasmussen (5.2 IP) and Joe Franco (3.1 IP) at Kansas State, 3/21/80 in a 8-0 Creighton win
Brandon Koenigstein at Wichita State, 5/21/09 (7 IP, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K) in a 11-0 Creighton win
No-Hitters Thrown Against Creighton
Don Wilson, Kearney State, 4/8/65 (7 IP, 4 BB, 6 K) in a 1-0 Kearney State win
Chad Berg (1 IP, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K) and Chris Paterson (5 IP, 4 BB, 1 K), North Dakota State, 4/9/08 in a 2-0 Creighton win
