Creighton University
Bradley
Baseball Advances With 4-1 Win Over Bradley
5/25/2011 11:56:00 AM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Mutcheson went 2-for-2 with a homer and scored three times to help top-seeded Creighton to a 4-1 victory over Bradley. It marks the third different 40-win season under Ed Servais for Creighton, and seventh overall in program history.
The game, postponed from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning due to rain, moves Creighton (40-13) into a winners bracket game against Missouri State later on Wednesday in a game scheduled for 7:30 pm. Creighton will be the home team in that contest. Bradley (22-31) will be the home team in its scheduled 12:30 pm elimination game against Southern Illinois.
Creighton drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning against Omaha native Joe Bircher, Bradley's top starter. Mutcheson singled through the left side to start the game. Nick Judkins followed with a bunt back to Bircher, but his throw was not handled by by shortstop Jason Leblebijian and both men were safe. Jimmy Swift followed with a bunt to advance both runners, and both men advanced another 90 feet on Bircher's balk to hand the Jays a 1-0 lead. Judkins scored one pitch later on Trever Adams RBI groundout to short.
Creighton starter Dufek (10-1) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third inning. After he walked Mike Tacuhman to load the bases with two away, Brad Kimball's line drive was hauled down on a diving catch from left-fielder Anthony Bemboom, preserving Creighton's lead.
The Jays added a third run in the bottom of the third frame. With one away, Mutcheson and Judkins both walked. Mutcheson tagged up on Swift's long fly ball out to center, and scored on Adams' two-out single to left.
Bradley cut into the deficit in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Rob Elliott's bloop single started things, and he moved to second on Tauchman's four-pitch walk. Elliott then scampered home when Kimball singled to left. Dufek escaped further trouble when Greg Partyka grounded out to first to end the top of the fifth.
Mutcheson added an insurance run in the seventh, when he turned around Bircher's 101st offering of the day for his second homer of the season. Bircher eventually worked out of a bases-loaded jam to end the seventh, ending his day after 129 pitches.
Dufek worked through rain to allow just six hits and one run in eight innings of work, and is now 10-1 this year. He also lowered his season ERA to 2.23, tops in the MVC. Kurt Spomer threw a perfect ninth inning to earn his 11th save of the season. Creighton had just five hits, but Mutcheson had two of them and scored three times. Adams was 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI, evening his batting average to exactly .400 on the year.
Bircher was tagged with the loss, falling to 6-6. The Omaha native allowed five hits and four runs (two earned) in seven innings of work, striking out five men. The Braves had one hit each from the top five men in the order, as well as eighth-place hitter Josh Camalick.
Creighton's next scheduled game is for 7:30 pm later tonight (Wednesday), in a game that can be heard on KOZN (1620 AM).
NOTES: The game had originally been scheduled for 7:30 pm on Tuesday night before heavy rains forced the postponement until a 9 am game on Wednesday ... Despite the 9 am start, the lights at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha were on for the entire game as cloudy and overcast conditions ruled the skies ... The single in the third inning means that Trever Adams has now reached base safely in 37 straight games ... Jonas Dufek needed just four pitches to escape the top of the seventh inning as Creighton turned an acrobatic 1-6-3 double play ... Both of Michael Mutcheson's home runs this year have come against Bradley ... Creighton has won nine straight home games ... Creighton's Jonas Dufek had eight strikeouts, giving him 113 this year. That ranks as fourth-most in single-season history at Creighton, as he moved past former first-round picks Dan Smith (108) and Alan Benes (110) on the day ... Bradley entered the game 4-0 in games starting at 9 am or earlier this season ... Creighton is now 12-0 under Ed Servais in home games vs. Bradley and has won 14 straight at home overall vs. the Braves ... Creighton is now 7-1 under Ed Servais in the opening game of the MVC Tournament and 17-12 all-time in tourney action under Servais ... Creighton is now 11-3 all-time vs. Bradley in the MVC Tournament and 44-53-1 all-time in tourney play ... Creighton has won five straight games overall this season ... Each of the last five times Creighton has had 40 or more wins, it has reached the postseason ... Kurt Spomer's 11 saves are tied for fourth-most in Creighton single-season history ... Jonas Dufek now owns 22 career wins, fifth-most in Creighton history and most by any pitcher under Ed Servais ... Creighton has now won 49 straight home games when allowing 0 or 1 run, dating to a 1-0 loss on April 19, 2002 ... Creighton has now outscored teams 9-0 in the first inning of the 13 games at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, and the Jays improved to 10-0 when scoring three or more runs at their new stadium ... Jonas Dufek and Ty Blach are both 10-1 this year. It's the first time the Jays have had two 10-game winners in the same season since 1992 (Alan Benes and Brian O'Brien). CU also did that in 1991 (Mike Heathcott and Alan Benes).
