Creighton University
Missouri State
Baseball Drops MVC Opener 3-0 at Missouri State
3/23/2012 9:25:00 PM | Baseball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A dominating pitching performance by Missouri State's Pierce Johnson shut down the Bluejay offense on Friday night, as Creighton dropped its MVC opener 3-0 at Missouri State. Johnson struck out a career-high 16 Bluejays in a complete game effort on the mound. Creighton drops to 11-8 on the season, 0-1 in conference play, while the Bears are now 17-6 overall, 1-0 in MVC play.
Brad McKewon led the Bluejays offensively, going 3-for-4 from the plate. The sophomore accounted for three of Creightion's five total hits, with Chance Ross and Nick Judkins each registering a single hit on the night.
The Bears scored in three different innings, two of which started off with a walk to the leadoff batter from Bluejay starter Ty Blach. The southpaw issued three total walks in the game, with two of the three batters coming around to score. MSU scored a single run in the second, third and seventh innings, enough as the Bluejays were shut out for the first time of the 2012 season.
Chase Webb came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and a pair of Bears on base. A hit batter loaded the bases before Webb made potentially the defensive play of the game, throwing his glove above his head on a line drive back at him for the third out of the inning.
Creighton stranded sevens runners on base in the game, including a pair in both the third and eighth innings.
The Bluejays and Bears will play the second game of the three-game series tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm.
NOTES: Missouri State's starting pitcher Pierce Johnson was very accurate in his control of the pitches tonight, throwing a first-pitch strike to each batter in the lineup the first time though the order. In fact, Johnson threw first-pitch strikes to 26 of the 34 Bluejay batters he faced in the game ... Ty Blach needed just four pitches in the bottom of the fourth inning to retire all three Bears batters, the first time this season a Bluejay pitcher has done that. The last time a CU pitcher used four or less pitches in an inning was when Mark Winkelman retired the Bears in the 5/27/11 meeting ... Ty Blach finished the game with four stirkeouts, but didn't record his first until the bottom of the fifth inning ... Chase Webb made a pair of plays on balls right back up the middle, one a line drive over his head and a one-hopper to lead off the eighth ... Creighton now leads Missouri State 40-39 in the overall series between the two schools.
