Creighton University
BYU
Baseball Holds Off Comeback Bid by BYU in 6-5 Win
3/21/2011 8:30:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - In the first ever meeting between the two schools, the Creighton Bluejays (16-4) defeated the BYU Cougars (9-10) 6-5 after holding off an upset bid by the Cougars in the bottom of the ninth. After jumping out to an early lead, the Jays had to fight to regain the lead in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs in the frame, including what proved to be the game winner. Trever Adams went a perfect four-for-four from the plate with two RBI and a home run, while Jimmy Swift and Alex Staehely each picked up three hits of their own.
Creighton scored in the bottom of the first inning, the first time in five games they have gotten on the board in the first three innings. With two outs, Jimmy Swift drew a walk that proved to be costly for starting pitcher Mark Anderson, as Trever Adams stepped in a homered down the left field line, his fourth round tripper of the season.
The Jays wouldn't hold that lead for long, however, as BYU tied the game in the top portion of the second when starting pitcher Greg Hellhake started to struggle with control. In the first frame, Hellhake was ahead of every batter, striking out two of the three. With one out in the second, Austin Hall drew a walk and advanced to second on a Chase Frampton single. Dillon Robinson then singled on a full count, driving in Hall and putting runners on first and second. Dane Nielsen was then hit by pitch to load the bases. Hellhake struck out Jaycob Brugman to get to two outs, but then hit Stephen Wells to force in the tying run. Kurt Spomer came in to pitch for the Jays, getting Andrew Law to pop up to Swift to end the inning with three left on base.
Sacrifice bunts came into play big for the Jays in the third and fourth, when they took the lead by scoring one in each frame. In the third, Michael Mutcheson was hit by pitch and advanced to second on a Nick Judkins sacrifice bunt. Mutcheson advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored when Swift hit a triple, his first of the season. In the fourth, Staehely doubled for the Valley leading 12th time this season to lead off the inning. Anthony Bemboom then sacrificed him to third base and Staehely then scored on an error by Hall at first base on Mike Gerbers infield hit.
Just like earlier in the game, the Jays didn't hold the lead for long. BYU evened the game at four in the top of the fifth inning. Law reached on a throwing error by Chance Ross, just his third of the season. The Jays then brought in Jack VanLeur to pitch for Spomer, making his 10th appearance on the season. VanLeur issued a walk to Alex Wolfe that put runners on first and second. Ryan Bernal then sacrificed the two over, putting runners on second and third. VanLeur then forced Hall to pop up to Swift just behind the edge of the infield dirt. But Creighton couldn't get out of the inning unscathed, as Frampton singled to right field, driving in both base runners.
The Cougars took their first lead of the game in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, Wolfe unleashed on a VanLeur pitch, driving it over the right field wall and a wall-climbing Adams in right field. VanLeur forced another groundout and then was replaced by Chase Webb. Webb struck out Hall to end the inning and threat.
Creighton took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning. Judkins ripped the second triple of the day to lead off the frame. Swift then knocked in his 16th and 17th RBI of the season, putting him just one behind Staehely for the team lead, with a single through the left side. Swift advanced to second on a passed ball and then scored when Adams picked up his fourth hit of the day, a double that went into the BYU bull pen. Staehely walked and the Cougars brought in Jared Miller to pitch. Miller forced an out at third on an attempted sacrifice bunt and an inning ending double play to get the Cougars out of the inning just giving up the two runs.
With many defensive highlights on the day, Creighton's best play came in the top of the eighth. With one out, Robinson singled up the middle for his second hit of the day. Swift then came up with an inning ending double play, started by a diving stop to his back hand side. Swift then got on his knees and whistled it over to second where Staehely quickly stepped on the base and then threw out Nielsen at first, preventing the Cougars from scoring any runs in the frame.
Mark Winkelman came in to pitch for the Jays in the top of the ninth, hoping to pick up his second save of the season. With one out, Wells singled through the right side, followed by a Law bunt for a basehit, surprising the Bluejay defense and putting runners on first and second. Wolfe struck out swinging before Bernal loaded the bases with a four pitch walk. The Jays brought in Reese McGraw to get the final out, striking out Hall for the second time on the day.
Webb earned the win for the Jays, his first of the season, while McGraw picked up his team leading fourth save of the season. The three, four and five batters in Creighton's line-up, (Swift, Adams and Staehely) went 10-for-10 on the day with four runs and five runs driven in. The Jays as a team had 12 hits on the day, walking twice and leaving eight runners on base. BYU finished the day with 10 hits and eight strikeouts, leaving nine runners on base including twice leaving the bases juiced.
The two teams will meet for the series finale tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. from the CU Sports Complex. Live stats and radio will be available by following the links on the www.gocreighton.com website.
