Thursday, May 19
Queens, N.Y.
6:00 pm
Creighton University
35-14, 12-4
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St. John's
26-23-1, 8-8
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St. John's
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Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Emodi and Hammer Lift Baseball Past St. John's, 6-3
5/19/2016 9:26:00 PM | Baseball
Bluejays Plate Three Against Heralded Red Storm Closer to Claim Victory
Queens, N.Y. -- A two-run blast that cleared the scoreboard in left-center by freshman Michael Emodi and a critical two-run single by junior Brennan Hammer in the top of the ninth powered the Creighton Baseball team to a 6-3 win over St. John's on Thursday, May 19.
With the win the Bluejays moved to 35-14 on the season and 12-4 in BIG EAST play, while St. John's fell to 26-23-1 overall and 8-8 in conference action.
Tied 3-3 entering the ninth inning, the Bluejays appeared to have an uphill climb in front of them as St. John's closer Thomas Hackimer was on the bump. Hackimer entered the game with a 0.19 ERA, allowing just one earned run on the season. Hackimer, however, has struggled in his career against Creighton entering Friday with a 22.50 ERA against the Bluejays over the last two seasons. After retiring both Creighton hitters that he faced in the eighth inning, Hackimer walked the first three hitters in the top of the ninth.
Following a visit to the mound from Red Storm head coach Ed Blankmeyer, Hackimer got senior Ryan Fitzgerald to pop out to short right field. Bluejay head coach Ed Servais countered by bringing Hammer off the bench to make Hackimer face the fourth left-handed hitter of the frame. Ahead in the count, 2-1, Hammer sliced a two-run single just inside the third base line to give Creighton a 5-3 edge. Emodi followed by dropping a bunt down the first base line for his third RBI of the contest to push the Creighton advantage to 6-3.
The scoring began in the top of the third as junior Kevin Connolly blasted a one-out triple over the head of Red Storm center fielder, Alex Caruso. Sitting dead red for a fastball on a 1-0 count, Emodi crushed the offering from St. John's starter Kevin Torres over the scoreboard in left-center to give Creighton a 2-0 lead. It was Emodi's second home run of the season.
Creighton manufactured a run in the fourth to make it 3-0. Senior Reagan Fowler opened the inning with a single to left. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Matt Gandy. Fowler went to third on a ground out, then came home via a two-out RBI single from senior Harrison Crawford.
The Red Storm got their runs in the fifth and seventh frames, taking advantage of an error to get on the board in the fifth. The seventh inning saw St. John's take advantage of a walk and a hit batter to tie the game at 3-3, when Michael Donadio pulled a two-run double down the right field line.
Bluejay starter Rollie Lacy settled for a no-decision, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks. Senior Nick Highberger snagged the win (1-0) for the Bluejays; tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless ball, while senior David Gerber collected his BIG EAST leading 11 save with a scoreless ninth.
Hackimer suffered his first loss (7-1) of the season, allowing three runs on one hit in one inning of work.
Fowler finished the day 2-for-4 with a run scored, but the offensive heroes were Emodi (1-for-4 with three RBI) and Hammer (1-for-1, two RBI).
Creighton and St. John's will continue the three-game series on Friday, May 20 at 12:00 pm.
With the win the Bluejays moved to 35-14 on the season and 12-4 in BIG EAST play, while St. John's fell to 26-23-1 overall and 8-8 in conference action.
Tied 3-3 entering the ninth inning, the Bluejays appeared to have an uphill climb in front of them as St. John's closer Thomas Hackimer was on the bump. Hackimer entered the game with a 0.19 ERA, allowing just one earned run on the season. Hackimer, however, has struggled in his career against Creighton entering Friday with a 22.50 ERA against the Bluejays over the last two seasons. After retiring both Creighton hitters that he faced in the eighth inning, Hackimer walked the first three hitters in the top of the ninth.
Following a visit to the mound from Red Storm head coach Ed Blankmeyer, Hackimer got senior Ryan Fitzgerald to pop out to short right field. Bluejay head coach Ed Servais countered by bringing Hammer off the bench to make Hackimer face the fourth left-handed hitter of the frame. Ahead in the count, 2-1, Hammer sliced a two-run single just inside the third base line to give Creighton a 5-3 edge. Emodi followed by dropping a bunt down the first base line for his third RBI of the contest to push the Creighton advantage to 6-3.
The scoring began in the top of the third as junior Kevin Connolly blasted a one-out triple over the head of Red Storm center fielder, Alex Caruso. Sitting dead red for a fastball on a 1-0 count, Emodi crushed the offering from St. John's starter Kevin Torres over the scoreboard in left-center to give Creighton a 2-0 lead. It was Emodi's second home run of the season.
Creighton manufactured a run in the fourth to make it 3-0. Senior Reagan Fowler opened the inning with a single to left. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Matt Gandy. Fowler went to third on a ground out, then came home via a two-out RBI single from senior Harrison Crawford.
The Red Storm got their runs in the fifth and seventh frames, taking advantage of an error to get on the board in the fifth. The seventh inning saw St. John's take advantage of a walk and a hit batter to tie the game at 3-3, when Michael Donadio pulled a two-run double down the right field line.
Bluejay starter Rollie Lacy settled for a no-decision, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks. Senior Nick Highberger snagged the win (1-0) for the Bluejays; tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless ball, while senior David Gerber collected his BIG EAST leading 11 save with a scoreless ninth.
Hackimer suffered his first loss (7-1) of the season, allowing three runs on one hit in one inning of work.
Fowler finished the day 2-for-4 with a run scored, but the offensive heroes were Emodi (1-for-4 with three RBI) and Hammer (1-for-1, two RBI).
Creighton and St. John's will continue the three-game series on Friday, May 20 at 12:00 pm.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Highberger, Nick (1-0)
L: HACKIMER, Thomas (7-1)
S: Gerber, David (11)
Batting:
3B: Connolly, Kevin 1
HR: Emodi, Michael 1
RBI: Crawford, Harrison 1 ; Hammer, Brennan 2 ; Emodi, Michael 3
SH: Gandy, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Gandy, Matt 1 ; Bamesberger, Will 1 ; Crawford, Harrison 1 ; Connolly, Kevin 1 ; Emodi, Michael 1
SB: Woodrow, Daniel 1
CS: Woodrow, Daniel 1
HBP: Woodrow, Daniel 1
Batting:
2B: DONADIO, Michael 2
RBI: CARUSO, Alex 1 ; DONADIO, Michael 2
SF: CARUSO, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CARUSO, Alex 1 ; VALENTE, John 1 ; KNIGHTES, Robbie 1
CS: BROCATO, Anthony 1 ; BERARDI, Jesse 1
HBP: VALENTE, John 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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RBI
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3
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1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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