Tuesday, March 27
6:30 pm
Creighton University
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Nebraska
13-12
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Nebraska
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Creighton
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Creighton celebrates its first run of the game on Tuesday
Photo by: Joe Willman
Church Quiets Nebraska As Baseball Earns 3-1 Victory
3/27/2018 9:10:00 PM | Baseball
Bluejays win first of three scheduled meetings this year against the Cornhuskers
OMAHA, Neb. -- Preston Church threw 6.2 innings of scoreless ball as Creighton Baseball topped Nebraska, 3-1, before 3,323 fans at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on Tuesday, March 27th.
Creighton improved to 13-6 with the victory, while Nebraska dropped to 13-12. Only a single by Luke Roskam with two outs in the ninth inning prevented CU's first shutout victory in the series since April 7, 2009.
Church escaped a jam in the first inning after yielding singles to open the game to Zac Repinski and Mojo Hagge within his first seven pitches. But the senior southpaw regrouped as NU's 3-4-5 hitters all flied out without advancing the runners on base.
Creighton wasted no time scoring the first run of the game. Isaac Collins earned his team-high 20th walk of the season and would score on Will Robertson's double down the first base line to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run that Creighton managed against Husker starter Nate Fisher, who threw 4.2 innings of four-hit ball.
The Huskers also put together back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning, but Scott Schreiber was cut down at third base by Bluejay leftfielder Thomas Luevano while trying to squeeze an extra 90 feet out of Jesse Wilkening's single down the line.
Church (2-2) was masterful in a season-long 6.2 innings of work, the longest outing by a Bluejay starter against Nebraska since Tom Oldham threw seven innings on May 15, 2002. He allowed four hits and did not allow a walk after entering the game with 13 bases on balls in 10.1 innings of work. The effort saw the Western Illinois transfer lower his ERA from 12.19 to 7.41.
Church was replaced by Mitchell Boyer, who allowed a single before retiring pinch-hitter Ben Klenke on a comebacker up the middle to close the seventh inning.
Creighton was seeking its first 1-0 win over the Huskers ever, but gladly accepted some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Collins singled with one out and raced to third base on a double to the warning track by Michael Emodi. Following an intentional walk to Robertson, Collins and Emodi scored on a two-run single from Luevano.
Jonah Smith came on to throw the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff double before picking up a pair of strikeouts to earn his second save in as many appearances over the past five days. Robertson ended the game with a catch in foul territory down the right field line before crashing into the wall.
Creighton returns to the ballpark at 6:30 p.m. on Friday when Evansville visits TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. It will be the Purple Aces' first trip to college baseball's mecca since winning 2-of-3 against the Bluejays in 2012.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 11-1 this year when scoring first ... Nebraska fell to 9-2 in games following a loss ... Creighton did not walk any Nebraska hitters ... Creighton last won the first game of the season series against Nebraska in 2013 ... Creighton improved to 11-0 when leading after six innings and is also 7-0 when its starting pitcher throws at least six innings ... Isaac Collins and Clark Brinkman have each reached base in each of the last 19 games. Brinkman's six-game hit streak is the longest active streak on the team.
Creighton improved to 13-6 with the victory, while Nebraska dropped to 13-12. Only a single by Luke Roskam with two outs in the ninth inning prevented CU's first shutout victory in the series since April 7, 2009.
Church escaped a jam in the first inning after yielding singles to open the game to Zac Repinski and Mojo Hagge within his first seven pitches. But the senior southpaw regrouped as NU's 3-4-5 hitters all flied out without advancing the runners on base.
Creighton wasted no time scoring the first run of the game. Isaac Collins earned his team-high 20th walk of the season and would score on Will Robertson's double down the first base line to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run that Creighton managed against Husker starter Nate Fisher, who threw 4.2 innings of four-hit ball.
The Huskers also put together back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning, but Scott Schreiber was cut down at third base by Bluejay leftfielder Thomas Luevano while trying to squeeze an extra 90 feet out of Jesse Wilkening's single down the line.
Church (2-2) was masterful in a season-long 6.2 innings of work, the longest outing by a Bluejay starter against Nebraska since Tom Oldham threw seven innings on May 15, 2002. He allowed four hits and did not allow a walk after entering the game with 13 bases on balls in 10.1 innings of work. The effort saw the Western Illinois transfer lower his ERA from 12.19 to 7.41.
Church was replaced by Mitchell Boyer, who allowed a single before retiring pinch-hitter Ben Klenke on a comebacker up the middle to close the seventh inning.
Creighton was seeking its first 1-0 win over the Huskers ever, but gladly accepted some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Collins singled with one out and raced to third base on a double to the warning track by Michael Emodi. Following an intentional walk to Robertson, Collins and Emodi scored on a two-run single from Luevano.
Jonah Smith came on to throw the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff double before picking up a pair of strikeouts to earn his second save in as many appearances over the past five days. Robertson ended the game with a catch in foul territory down the right field line before crashing into the wall.
Creighton returns to the ballpark at 6:30 p.m. on Friday when Evansville visits TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. It will be the Purple Aces' first trip to college baseball's mecca since winning 2-of-3 against the Bluejays in 2012.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 11-1 this year when scoring first ... Nebraska fell to 9-2 in games following a loss ... Creighton did not walk any Nebraska hitters ... Creighton last won the first game of the season series against Nebraska in 2013 ... Creighton improved to 11-0 when leading after six innings and is also 7-0 when its starting pitcher throws at least six innings ... Isaac Collins and Clark Brinkman have each reached base in each of the last 19 games. Brinkman's six-game hit streak is the longest active streak on the team.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Church, Preston (2-2)
L: Fisher, Nate (1-4)
S: Smith, Jonah (2)
Batting:
2B: Schreiber, Scott 1
RBI: Roskam, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schreiber, Scott 1
HBP: Acker, Joe 1
Batting:
2B: Emodi, Michael 1 ; Robertson, Will 1
RBI: Robertson, Will 1 ; Luevano, Thomas 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Collins, Isaac 2 ; Emodi, Michael 1
SB: Brinkman, Clark 1
CS: Strunc, Jack 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballOF/RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball2013 Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Dan Smith
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