Wednesday, May 25
Omaha, Neb. (TD Ameritrade Park Omaha)
9:30 PM
Creighton University
3
vs
10
Missouri State
Bears Top Bluejays 10-3 in MVC Tournament Action
5/26/2011 1:08:00 AM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton started its 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament run with a 9:00 am first pitch on Wednesday morning and by 12:26 am on Thursday morning had played a pair of games at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. After their Tuesday night game was postponed by weather, the top-seeded Bluejays opened with a 4-1 win over eighth-seeded Bradley Wednesday morning. That win advanced the Bluejays to a contest against Missouri State in the fifth game of the day, which started at 9:39 pm and ended early Thursday morning with the fourth-seeded Bears topping the Bluejays 10-3.
The loss drops the Bluejays (40-14) into an elimination game against Southern Illinois (23-33) on Thursday at 12:30 pm. The Bears (33-21) will be off until tomorrow night at 7:30 pm, where they await the winner of the CU-SIU contest.
Creighton struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. First-team All-MVC outfielder Trever Adams led off the frame with a single up the middle. He scored the first run of the game on Anthony Bemboom's triple which deflected off the glove of a diving Spiker Helms along the right field line. Bemboom scored with two outs, when Mike Gerber delivered a single to right field, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead after two innings.
The Bears (33-21) answered with a five-run third inning, chasing Bluejay starter Ty Blach from the game. Helms worked a leadoff walk after falling behind 0-2 and was at second with one out when Blach walked Aaron Conway on four pitches. Kevin Medrano followed by ripping his fourth triple of the season into the left centerfield alley, tying the game 2-2. Luke Voit then plated Medrano with an RBI double, giving MSU a 3-2 lead. Brent Seifert moved Voit up a base on his single to center and Seifert moved into scoring position with two outs on Tyler Paxson's sacrifice bunt. Both runners scored on a single by Derek Mattea, pushing the Bears lead to 5-2. Travis McComack proved to be the final batter Blach would face, as his single knocked the CU left-hander from the game. Reliever Chase Webb induced a ground out by Helms to get out of the inning.
The game remained 5-2 until the Bears again erupted for a five-run frame in the top of the seventh inning. MSU collected five hits and five runs off of two Bluejay relievers in the frame. Brock Chaffin, McComack, Helms and Conway each had RBI singles in the inning, with Conway's hit driving in two.
Gabriel Thibodeaux led off the Creighton eighth inning with a double and scored CU's third run on a ground out by Jimmy Swift.
Blake Barber picked up the win for MSU, throwing seven inning to improve to 8-4 on the season. The right-hander scattered seven hits and just the two second-inning runs. The senior walked just one and tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in the win.
Blach suffered just his second loss of the season for the Bluejays, dropping to 10-2 in the loss. The sophomore allowed six hits and five earned runs, while he walked two and struck out three in 2.2 innings of work. Webb kept the Bluejays in the game, allowing just one hit and no runs, striking out two in 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Creighton will return to action in an elimination game on Thursday at 12:30 pm against SIU. The Salukis lost their first game of the tournament on Tuesday, but bounced back to stay alive with a 5-1 win over Bradley on Wednesday. Creighton's game will be broadcast live on KOIL AM 1180, with live stats and free live video also available. Complete tournament information can be found here.
NOTES: Despite a day with nearly constant rain and storms all over the radar, the MVC was able to fit in five games and is now on schedule through two days at the MVC Tournament ... Trever Adams has now reached base in 38 straight games, tying the longest streak by a Bluejay since 2000 (also by Vince Pietro in 2000 and Darin Ruf in 2007) ... Ty Blach surrendered five earned runs in the third inning, one shy of his career high. He had allowed more than three earned runs in just three of his first 30 career starts, and never more than three runs in any of the first 167.2 innings of his career ... Blach has now started seven of Creighton's first 14 games played at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on the mound ... Before tonight, Blach's shortest career start in a non-predetermined outing was 4.2 innings, done twice. He lasted 2.2 innings tonight ... MSU's five runs in the third inning were more than the four runs the Bears scored in three games last weekend in Omaha ... Chase Webb threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, the second-longest outing of his season (3.2 at New Mexico on Feb. 27). His 52 pitches were a season-high ... Webb stranded two of Blach's runners in the third inning, and has now allowed just one of his past 11 inherited runners to score ... Reese McGraw had not allowed a run in his first 12.0 innings of work at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha before allowing a run in the seventh inning ... Jack VanLeur came on in the 7th inning, his 110th career appearance, tied for second-most appearances in school history with Pat Venditte (2005-08), and 13 behind school- and CU-record holder Scott Reese (2004-07) ... Creighton had its nine-game home winning streak, dating back to the April 26 win over Kansas, snapped. Creighton is now 10-4 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha and 19-5 at home this season ... Creighton fell to 4-6 all-time against Missouri State in the MVC Tournament, including a 2-2 mark under Ed Servais. Servais is 15-13 in his career against the Bears ... Creighton is now 17-13 under Ed Servais in MVC Tournament play ... CU entered tonight 10-0 when scoring three or more runs at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha ... Creighton had a five-game winning streak snapped ... Before tonight, the largest comeback by a Creighton opponent at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha had been one run. MSU trailed 2-0 before rallying tonight ... The 10 runs allowed by Creighton tonight are the most it has allowed at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
The loss drops the Bluejays (40-14) into an elimination game against Southern Illinois (23-33) on Thursday at 12:30 pm. The Bears (33-21) will be off until tomorrow night at 7:30 pm, where they await the winner of the CU-SIU contest.
Creighton struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. First-team All-MVC outfielder Trever Adams led off the frame with a single up the middle. He scored the first run of the game on Anthony Bemboom's triple which deflected off the glove of a diving Spiker Helms along the right field line. Bemboom scored with two outs, when Mike Gerber delivered a single to right field, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead after two innings.
The Bears (33-21) answered with a five-run third inning, chasing Bluejay starter Ty Blach from the game. Helms worked a leadoff walk after falling behind 0-2 and was at second with one out when Blach walked Aaron Conway on four pitches. Kevin Medrano followed by ripping his fourth triple of the season into the left centerfield alley, tying the game 2-2. Luke Voit then plated Medrano with an RBI double, giving MSU a 3-2 lead. Brent Seifert moved Voit up a base on his single to center and Seifert moved into scoring position with two outs on Tyler Paxson's sacrifice bunt. Both runners scored on a single by Derek Mattea, pushing the Bears lead to 5-2. Travis McComack proved to be the final batter Blach would face, as his single knocked the CU left-hander from the game. Reliever Chase Webb induced a ground out by Helms to get out of the inning.
The game remained 5-2 until the Bears again erupted for a five-run frame in the top of the seventh inning. MSU collected five hits and five runs off of two Bluejay relievers in the frame. Brock Chaffin, McComack, Helms and Conway each had RBI singles in the inning, with Conway's hit driving in two.
Gabriel Thibodeaux led off the Creighton eighth inning with a double and scored CU's third run on a ground out by Jimmy Swift.
Blake Barber picked up the win for MSU, throwing seven inning to improve to 8-4 on the season. The right-hander scattered seven hits and just the two second-inning runs. The senior walked just one and tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in the win.
Blach suffered just his second loss of the season for the Bluejays, dropping to 10-2 in the loss. The sophomore allowed six hits and five earned runs, while he walked two and struck out three in 2.2 innings of work. Webb kept the Bluejays in the game, allowing just one hit and no runs, striking out two in 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Creighton will return to action in an elimination game on Thursday at 12:30 pm against SIU. The Salukis lost their first game of the tournament on Tuesday, but bounced back to stay alive with a 5-1 win over Bradley on Wednesday. Creighton's game will be broadcast live on KOIL AM 1180, with live stats and free live video also available. Complete tournament information can be found here.
NOTES: Despite a day with nearly constant rain and storms all over the radar, the MVC was able to fit in five games and is now on schedule through two days at the MVC Tournament ... Trever Adams has now reached base in 38 straight games, tying the longest streak by a Bluejay since 2000 (also by Vince Pietro in 2000 and Darin Ruf in 2007) ... Ty Blach surrendered five earned runs in the third inning, one shy of his career high. He had allowed more than three earned runs in just three of his first 30 career starts, and never more than three runs in any of the first 167.2 innings of his career ... Blach has now started seven of Creighton's first 14 games played at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on the mound ... Before tonight, Blach's shortest career start in a non-predetermined outing was 4.2 innings, done twice. He lasted 2.2 innings tonight ... MSU's five runs in the third inning were more than the four runs the Bears scored in three games last weekend in Omaha ... Chase Webb threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, the second-longest outing of his season (3.2 at New Mexico on Feb. 27). His 52 pitches were a season-high ... Webb stranded two of Blach's runners in the third inning, and has now allowed just one of his past 11 inherited runners to score ... Reese McGraw had not allowed a run in his first 12.0 innings of work at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha before allowing a run in the seventh inning ... Jack VanLeur came on in the 7th inning, his 110th career appearance, tied for second-most appearances in school history with Pat Venditte (2005-08), and 13 behind school- and CU-record holder Scott Reese (2004-07) ... Creighton had its nine-game home winning streak, dating back to the April 26 win over Kansas, snapped. Creighton is now 10-4 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha and 19-5 at home this season ... Creighton fell to 4-6 all-time against Missouri State in the MVC Tournament, including a 2-2 mark under Ed Servais. Servais is 15-13 in his career against the Bears ... Creighton is now 17-13 under Ed Servais in MVC Tournament play ... CU entered tonight 10-0 when scoring three or more runs at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha ... Creighton had a five-game winning streak snapped ... Before tonight, the largest comeback by a Creighton opponent at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha had been one run. MSU trailed 2-0 before rallying tonight ... The 10 runs allowed by Creighton tonight are the most it has allowed at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballFriday, October 30
Friday, October 30
Thursday, October 15
Thursday, October 15
