Creighton University
Indiana State
Late Comeback Fuels 5-3, Indiana State Victory Over Bluejays
4/3/2010 10:00:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - If there's one thing that the Bluejay baseball team is sure of after Saturday's 5-3 loss to Indiana State, it's that one more game with Ryan Strausborger in the lineup is one too many.
The senior centerfielder tied the game in the eighth with a home run, preserved the game in the nine with a running grab in center field, and scored the winning run on Robby Ort's two-run single in the tenth for a 5-3 Indiana State (17-7, 3-2 MVC) win, Saturday night at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The win clinched the series victory for the Sycamores, who hadn't won a series over the Jays (12-8, 2-3 MVC) in Omaha since 1992.
Strausborger, a preseason all-Valley selection, was 3-for-5 on the day with a home run, a stolen base, two runs and two RBI. He is 5-for-10 in the series thus far.
Ort came up with the lone big hit not credited to Strausborger, as his sharp single off Bobby Lackovic in the tenth inning proved to be the game-winner.
After a Strausborger single and walk to start the 10th, Lackovic relieved Jack VanLeur. A sac bunt and walk loaded the bases for Ort, who connected on the first Lackovic offering to bring home the deciding runs.
The Bluejays were plagued by a lack of key hits, leaving 11 men on base; six of which were in scoring position. That included the ninth inning, when T.J. Roemmich's blast to center with two men on was caught by a sprinting Strausborger, who corralled the ball at the edge of the warning track to send the game into extras.
Tyler Browning (1-1) stopped the Creighton threat in the ninth, and hurled the final 1.1 innings for his first win of the season. VanLeur (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs in an inning and two-thirds of relief.
Brandon Koenigstein was pitching well for CU heading into the eighth, as he entered the frame with just one INS run on four hits. One bad pitch turned the tide as Jeremy Lucas' single set up Strausborger's home run two batters later, pushing the game to extras.
Alex Staehely led the Creighton sticks, posting a 3-for-4 evening with an RBI. Roemmich also had a solid night, going 2-for-5 with a double, triple and RBI.
The Sycamores struck in the first for the second straight evening, scoring on two doubles. Kyle Burnam laced a double to the left-center gap and was plated one batter later by a Tyler Graham double for the 1-0 INS lead.
Creighton answered quickly, as Robbie Knight's lead-off walk turned into a run. After the free pass, Knight swiped second and advanced to third on a Graham passed ball. Elliot Soto responded two pitches later with an RBI-groundout to knot things at one.
The Jays took their first lead of the series in the fourth, as Soto doubled to start the frame. After moving to third on a bunt, Roemmich's line drive to the right field corner earned him his second triple of the season, and a 2-1 Jays lead.
Staehely put the Jays up two with an RBI single in the fifth. His shot followed a Swift double to the wall in left, making it a 3-1 ball game. Creighton would hold that lead until the eighth.
The Bluejays and Sycamores will wrap up the series tomorrow at the CU Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
NOTES: The last Indiana State series win over Creighton came in 2001 ... With Knight's walk in the first inning, he snapped a mini-streak of two games without reaching base. The last time Knight went two straight games without reaching was his freshman year in 2007 ... Staehely's single in the third extended his hitting streak to 10 games, while the three hits matched his season-high ... Strausborger's home run was his second career homer against Creighton ... Roemmich's two-hits marked the seventh time in his last eight games with two. He has hits in 18 of 20 games this season and a streak of eight games ... The win snapped a streak of 39 consecutive Creighton wins when leading after six innings ... The Jays are now 3-2 in extra-inning contests.
